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The European Space Agency SMART-1 mission is to study the permanently shadowed craters of the South Pole of the Moon, ESA has announced. This is an area thought to contain deposits of water ice originating from the collision of Near Earth Objects with our satellite. Ice was first detected in the polar regions of the Moon in 1996 by the NASA Clementine mission and there is thought to be in excess of 6.6 billion tonnes of water ice in the craters at the South Pole. The ice is thought to be present 40 cm below the surface of the Moon's regolith soil. Water ice cannot survive in sunlit regions of the Moon because the surface temperature reaches 395 degrees Kelvin and the ice thus turns to gas. The Moon's gravity is also too low to prevent water vapour from being lost into space. Sunlight, however, never penetrates the permanently shadowed craters at the South Pole and here ice from comets that have collided with the Moon's surface can survive. Ice deposits are particularly important since they may provide a source of water for a future base. SMART-1 has infrared and X-ray spectrometers and will be able to study the minerals present in these regions providing clues to the origins and nature of the ice deposits. Although SMART-1 will conduct scientific studies of the Moon its primary objective is to test its experimental propulsion system. The SMART-1 spacecraft is driven by a highly efficient Solar Electric Primary Propulsion system that uses electricity generated from solar cells to accelerate ions of Xenon to produce thrust. If successful the drive will be used on future ESA missions. SMART-1 is to be launched towards the end of 2003 and will take 15-17 months to reach the Moon.
More info: European Space Agency
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