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Going with a bang
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09/06/2008
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Qinetiq has successfully completed test firings of missile like probes that will allow scientific measurements to be taken from the far side of the Moon.
The probes, called penetrators, travelled at 700mph along a test track before hitting a sand target that had been constructed to replicate the surface of the moon.
The penetrators are being developed for the proposed UK led MoonLITE mission, which could take place as early as 2013. The penetrators will be deployed by an orbiting spacecraft, embedding instruments into the lunar surface on impact. The instruments, which should help to reveal the Moon’s internal structure, could also be used for studying other objects in the solar system.
The three penetrators tested contained accelerometers, a data acquisition system, a power system and a variety of sensors, including a drill mechanism, seismometer and mass spectrometer. The accelerometers recorded data throughout the trial and initial examinations showed that all other sensors survived the impact.
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Author
Graham Pitcher
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