SMART-1, which has entered into the Moon's gravity well, is the first European spacecraft to travel to and orbit around the Moon. It was launched back on September 27th of last year.

It will test a solar-electric propulsion system as one of its primary mission objectives. The engine works by expelling a beam of charged xenon ions from the back of the probe. This is only the second time that ion propulsion has been used as a mission's primary propulsion system. The first was NASA's Deep Space 1 probe.

SMART-1 will look for water (in the form of ice) on the Moon.

__________________
Eudaimonia