00:00 On this day in space.
00:03 In 2006, a European satellite named SMART-1 crashed into the moon.
00:08 This wasn't actually as disastrous as it sounds because the spacecraft did it on purpose.
00:13 SMART-1 launched in 2003 and was the first European spacecraft to go to the moon.
00:17 It was also the first mission of a program called Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology,
00:22 which was a series of low-cost spacecraft that the European Space Agency launched to test new spaceflight technologies.
00:28 SMART-1's primary objective was to do a flight test of something called solar electric primary propulsion,
00:33 or a solar-powered electric engine.
00:35 While it orbited the moon for almost two years, it looked for water, ice, and other chemicals on the lunar surface.
00:41 When it slammed into the moon, that was also for science.
00:44 Astronomers back on Earth watched the impact with their telescopes,
00:47 hoping that it would give them some insight into the mechanics of meteor impacts.
00:51 And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:54 (electronic beeping)
00:57 you
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