SMART-1's first images from the Moon (Forwarded)

From: Andrew Yee (ayee_at_nova.astro.utoronto.ca)
Date: 01/26/05

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Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2005 12:15:09 -0500

ESA News
http://www.esa.int

26 January 2005

SMART-1's first images from the Moon

ESA's SMART-1 captured its first close-range images of the Moon this January,
during a sequence of test lunar observations from an altitude between 1000 and
5000 kilometres above the lunar surface.

SMART-1 entered its first orbit around the Moon on 15 November 2004. It has
spent the two months following spiralling down to the Moon and testing its array
of instruments.

The first four days after being captured by the lunar gravity were very
critical. There had been the risk, being in an 'unstable' trajectory, of
escaping the Moon's orbit or crashing onto the surface. Because of this, the
electric propulsion system (or 'ion engine') started a thrust to stabilise the
capture.

The ion engine was switched on until 29 December, allowing SMART-1 to make
ever-decreasing loops around the Moon. The engine was switched off between 29
December and 3 January 2005 to allow scientists to start observations. At this
point, the AMIE camera [Advanced Moon micro-Imager Experiment] took the close-up
lunar images. The engine was switched off again to optimise fuel consumption on
12 January, and SMART-1 will spend until 9 February making a medium resolution
survey of the Moon, taking advantage of the favourable illumination conditions.

ESA's SMART-1 Project Scientist Bernard Foing said "A sequence of test lunar
observations was done in January at distances between 1000 and 5000 kilometres
altitude, when the electric propulsion was paused. We are conducting more survey
test observations until the electric propulsion resumes from 9 February to
spiral down further towards the Moon. SMART-1 will arrive on 28 February at the
initial orbit with altitudes between 300 and 3000 kilometres to perform the
first phase of nominal science observations for five months."

The first close-up image shows an area at lunar latitude 75 deg North with
impact craters of different sizes. The largest crater shown here, in the middle
left of the image, is Brianchon. The second largest, at the bottom of the image,
is called Pascal.

At low illumination angles, the crater shadows allow scientists to derive the
height of crater rims.

"This image was the first proof that the AMIE camera is still working well in
lunar orbit," says AMIE Principal Investigator Jean-Luc Josset of Space-X.

The composite images shown here were created to show larger-scale features. The
first mosaic shows the complex impact crater Pythagoras and the strip of images
(bottom) was produced from images taken consecutively along one orbit.

Starting with this mosaic, SMART-1 scientists expect to build up a global
medium-resolution context map, where high-resolution images later observed from
lower altitude can be integrated.

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