Europe's first Moon mission lands
Europe’s first spacecraft to the moon ended its three-year mission today by crashing into the lunar surface in a volcanic plane called the Lake of Excellence, to a round of applause in the mission control room.
The impact of the SMART-1 spacecraft was expected to leave a three metre-by-10 metre crater and send dust miles above the surface. Observatories watched the event from Earth and scientists hoped the cloud of dust and debris would provide clues to the geologic composition of the site.
