European Moon mission is go

EUROPE’S first mission to the Moon is scheduled to launch in less than three weeks, project leaders confirmed yesterday.

The SMART-1 spacecraft is due to take off on September 4 from French Guiana. The European Space Agency (ESA) hopes it will provide more information on the Moon as well as testing new space travel technology.

The craft will not follow a direct route to its destination, instead using solar power technology to gradually expand its Earth orbit until the Moon's gravitational pull takes hold.