Littering goes lunar!
Europe disposes of its junk spacecraft - on the moon:
At 6.42 am [September 3rd], the moon acquired a new piece of space junk when the dishwasher-size Smart-1 probe slammed into its surface at 2km a second at a site on the moon's earthward side called the Lake of Excellence.
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Smart (Small Mission for Advanced Research and Technology)-1 is Europe's first foray to the moon.The 366kg (750lb) probe has been observing the moon's surface since March 2005 and testing new spaceship technology, but mission controllers at the European Space Agency opted for a spectacular conclusion.
The probe would have hit the moon's surface anyway, but scientists adjusted its trajectory so that the crash could be watched from Earth. The final adjustments were made last Friday.
The crash will have gouged a 10-metre wide scar and scattered debris over about 30 square miles.
