Europe Reaches For The Moon

On Sunday, Europe's first mission to the moon blasted off aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. The spacecraft has deployed its solar arrays and is currently undergoing initial checkout of its systems under control from ESA/ESOC. This checkout will continue until 4 October and will include with the initial firing of SMART-1’s innovative ion engine.

A Unique Propulsion Systen
The first technology to be demonstrated on SMART-1 will be Solar Electric Primary Propulsion (SEPP), a highly efficient and lightweight propulsion system that is ideal for long-duration deep space missions in and beyond our solar system.