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European Moon Mission Ready for Launch
merryprankster writes "Europe's first mission to the Moon is set for blast off from Kourou in French Guiana just after midnight, local time, on Sunday. SMART
1 will study the composition of lunar rock through X-ray observations. The probe uses a new solar electric propulsion system which converts solar energy its panels into motion via the expulsion of ions. Details at the ESA mission site."
The probe uses a new solar electric propulsion system which converts solar energy its panels into motion via the expulsion of ions.
IMHO that is much more interesting than the mission itself. The less chemical fuel needed to get moving once in space could mean more room for payload.
Beat the weenies to the punch:
I, for one, welcome our new ion propelled masters!
Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!
Natalie Portman could fly one of these to my house anytime!
The lengths people will go to to hurt the ego of chemical-rocket engineers!
Chemical rockets, 70, found dead in their suburban home, truly an American icon.
Obligatory goatse.cx link.
Trolling is a art,
To the moon Alice!
--------
Free your mind.
Why not collaborate with NASA instead of trying to re-invent the wheel?
Because NASA's wheel is square.
... that launched the first Borg!
e.g. "On its long trek through space the cube-shaped probe..."
do you wheely think so?
We'll know if the USA actually went to the moon or if that was just a hoax, unless this is a hoax as well. I guess this time I can break out my telescope.
Well, they should add another one to the ship. Twin Ion Engine craft are pretty speedy, and highly manueverable as well.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Wouldn't it just be easier to create a giant trebuchet and hurl the pod into space???? If anything it'd be a nifty Junkyard Wars project :)
And all of Switzerland will breathe a sigh of relief, as what could have been the single biggest competitor to that lovely wholey Swiss cheese, turns out not to be after all.
Sure they are highly maneuverable, but you pay for that with a complete lack of ray shielding. Hell, 2 full power blasts from an X-Wing and you are toast...
As long as there is a star in our Solar system, then SMART 1's mission can last a good while
Unfortunately, however, our solar system contains only one star, meaning that solar powered engines lacked redundancy...
(YES, that's a JOKE...)
Life is short: void the warranty.
It was about time Europe get itself a special effects industry capable of faking lunar missions. The USA perfected this technology in the late sixties and look how profitable the American movie industry is now.
Are they going to use the same stage sets that were used for the Apollo project? Seems like it would be important to look consistent.
I hope they add some special effects, maybe some living rocks that shoot lasers, or holes in the surface that suck astronauts up in plumes of moon dust.
I love sequels!
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
finally, we get to look at the alien bases on the other side of the moon.
I hear they aren't really going, they are just using the USA's sound stage from the last "missions".
--replacning tin foil hat.
Actually, Ion propulsion is faster. It just has much less tork, if I may use the analogy.
Maybe so, but it's nothing required to the amount of Tork required to drive the last train to Clarksville.
If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.