Why does SMART-1 represent a breakthrough in planetary exploration?
SMART-1 is the first European spacecraft to use an ion engine as a main propulsion system, however it introduces an additional challenge – to go to Moon, the spacecraft combines for the first time ever solar-electric propulsion with manoeuvres using the gravity of celestial bodies. Engineers will therefore have to consider the gravity of Earth and the Moon at each stage of the journey, and adjust accordingly the thrust provided by the ion engine. These kinds of manoeuvres have never been done before; experts developed new mathematical optimisation techniques specifically to exploit them.
