Britain plans first moon mission
The Moon has seen 12 Astronauts land on it and more than 40 unmanned probes study it but now the UK could finally grace the Moon with its presence.
The UK could soon have its first mission to the Moon in the shape of an orbiting spacecraft that would fire instruments (known as “penetrators” ) into the lunar surface.
The darts could carry a small suite of instruments, and these would yield new information about the rocky interior such as seismometers to listen for “Moonquakes”.
The venture has been considered by Britain’s astronomy funding agency, PParc, and has been presented to European partners. The concept has been prepared by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), one of the country’s leading space companies.
The founder and chief executive of SSTL, Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, has written a report which says the costs of space exploration have fallen sufficiently for the UK to think about launching such a probe by 2010.
Reference for posting: http://news.bbc.co.uk
astronomy, mission to the moon, spacecraft, space companies
