Fuel-Efficient Probe Reaches Lunar Orbit
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A fuel-efficient, compact spacecraft made it into lunar orbit, signaling Europe’s first successful mission to the moon, where the probe is to study the lunar surface, officials said.
The SMART-1 craft puttered its way there, flying 13 months in expanding orbits around Earth using an ion propulsion system. Solar panels produce electricity to charge xenon gas atoms, which accelerate away from the spacecraft at high speed and produce forward thrust.
The spacecraft has used only 130 pounds of fuel, a European Space Agency spokesman said. That translates into more than 5 million miles per gallon.
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