Europe's 1st lunar mission set to land

[tocqueville]

By DAVID McHUGH, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 23 minutes ago

BERLIN - Europe's first mission to the moon is due to crash-land in a cloud of dust and rock Sunday, ending a three-year voyage that gathered data about the lunar surface and tested a new engine intended to propel future spacecraft to Mercury and other planets.

The European Space Agency's SMART-1 should hit its target on a volcanic plain called the Lake of Excellence at 1:41 a.m. EDT, skimming low as it makes its final approach at 4,475 mph.

Observatories on earth will try to capture images of the impact and the resulting debris cloud, and European space officials hope their study of the debris will provide information about the minerals present at the impact site.

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"The prime object of this mission was to test the ion propulsion," mission manager Gerhard Schwehm told The Associated Press.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060830/ap_on_sc/europe_moon_mission_3