First SMART-1 Image Released

SMART-1, the European Space Agency's first 'Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology' spacecraft, is well on its way to the moon using a revolutionary ion propulsion drive. On 21 May 2004, SMART-1 returned its first image of Earth from an altitude of 70,000 kilomters. The photograph, showing Europe, was taken using the lightweight Advanced Moon Micro-Imager Experiment (AMIE) camera developed by Space-X of Switzerland. Once SMART-1 reaches the moon, it will use AMIE to image the moon's surface in both infrared and visible light. Launched 27 September 2003, SMART-1 will continue its spiral orbit around the Earth until it is captured by the moon's gravity and finally enters a polar elliptical lunar orbit.

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