[meteorite-list] CATCHING THE SMART-1 CRASH FLASH

[Sterling K. Webb]

Hi, All,

    Catching the flash from SMART-1 crash was
not easy. And, if you have the image of long planning,
preparation, and testing to do so, prepare to modify 
that thought somewhat.
    The CFHT got the job done. But it's clear that
space exploration related observation is a kind of
orphan:
    "Concerning the ground-based observations, he 
[Koschny] said he felt that many observers were not 
really prepared to observe the Moon. They didn't have 
adequate pre-crash practice sessions, he said, because 
many astronomers could not obtain enough observing time. 
Observing time at major facilities is a precious commodity 
and can be oversubscribed with a variety of astronomical 
research agendas. 'We should allocate more time to 
telescopes for observing objects in the Solar System!'"
    Just as when the List had a thread about the reasons
why meteoritic scientists can't get their hands on much
of the material they need to study, the need (and competition) 
for the resources to do science that obviously needs to be 
done is clearly far greater than what is available.
    To babble about the fate of societies that do not invest
in their own future, here on the List, would probably be,
as the idom has it, preaching to the choir...
    Well, maybe I'll go watch the movie 2001 again, fly to
the space wheel on Pan-Am, take the shuttle to the Moon,
take a crawler tour out to Tranquility Monument, then the
monorail down to the SMART crater, and wonder in what 
year the year 2001 will finally arrive.
    Happy Laborless Day!


Sterling K. Webb
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http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060904_smart-1_results.html

Moon Crash Stirs Up Ideas For The Future 
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 04 September 2006
01:52 pm ET


    In a flash it was over. 
    The European Space Agency's (ESA) SMART-1 
spacecraft punched into the Moon's barren surface 
early Sunday morning. It made an on-purpose plunge 
and is believed to have slammed into a hillside within 
the Lake of Excellence, a volcanic plain. 
    It was a destructive ending to a nearly three-year 
mission of testing space technology and examining 
Earth's celestial neighbor. The craft's demise is providing 
valuable insight into future lunar research.
    The exact impact time of SMART-1 was recorded at 
1:42:22 a.m. ET on Sept. 3, when ESA's New Norcia 
ground station in Australia abruptly lost radio contact 
with the probe.
    A global network of professional and amateur ground 
observers focused their respective instruments on the 
SMART-1's predicted impact zone. So far, at the top 
of the hit list is the observation by the Canada-France-
Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) from atop Mauna Kea 
situated on the Big Island of Hawaii.
    Scientists at CFHT recorded an impact burst, possibly 
caused by thermal emission from the roughly 4,500 miles 
per hour (2 kilometers per second) crash of the spacecraft 
itself, or maybe the detonation of leftover hydrazine fuel 
onboard SMART-1.

Dash for the flash
    The impacting spacecraft was caught by WIRCam - 
a wide-field infrared camera at the CFHT that represents 
one of the largest astronomical mosaic of infrared 
detectors ever built.
    But readying the WIRCam to track the Moon, as well 
as handle SMART-1 duties, was no small effort. A bit 
of luck was needed, too. It was a literal dash for the 
flash, explained Christian Veillet, Executive Director 
of the CFHT.
    "We moved to WIRCam only on Friday evening, 
not for SMART-1, but because it is part of our operations," 
Veillet explained. Time was spent that night to check the 
camera, the pointing, the filter to be used, he said.
    "We had never looked at the Moon with WIRCam," 
Veillet told SPACE.com. "Our brand new field infrared 
mosaic looks more into deep space than to nearby bodies."
    Veillet said he and his team had no choice but to use 
the narrowest filter they had for the camera. Also, they 
had to use exposure times meant more for observing 
brown dwarfs or remote galaxies, not for up close and 
personal Moon watching.
    Most of Saturday, Veillet said, was busily spent writing 
scripts to allow the production of decent images in near 
real time. 
    "Then came the evening [of the impact]. Weather was 
superb, everything worked well and we were lucky enough 
to capture a flash. Actually, I did not think we would see it," 
Veillet said. He was anticipating that kicked-up dust might 
be visible after the impact itself. 

Right hemisphere at the right time
    Due to the camera's operating mode, there was a 
30-percent chance of simply missing the event by not 
looking at the right time.
    "The impact happened six seconds after the start of an 
exposure and four seconds before its end. We saw the flash 
as soon as the image was processed," Veillet added. The 
flash looked extremely bright ... much brighter than had been 
anticipated, he said.
    "Finding the right area on the Moon was difficult due to 
the low contrast of the Earthshine area," Veillet continued. 
"It helped me to have looked at the Moon before ... as I 
spent more than 10 years of my life in charge of the French 
lunar laser ranging station ... and also coordinating the 
international network of lunar laser ranging stations before 
coming to CFHT in 1996. It was like coming back in time 
by 15 years!"
    In post-impact mode, Veillet said work is underway at 
CFHT to carry out more serious processing of the imagery 
to locate the impact site and check if dust was visible after 
the impact.
As for future lunar missions ending with an impact, Veillet 
advised: "The main thing is to make sure that somebody 
can observe it from Earth. The SMART-1 team prepared 
the final orbits to make sure [that] would indeed happen. 
We were lucky to be in the right hemisphere at the right time. 
It will be very interesting to have others look at the SMART-1 
impact site in the coming days with visible or infrared cameras 
and check if something is visible or not at the point of impact."

Sleep-starved
    "It was a great experience," explained a sleep-starved 
Detlef Koschny, ESA planetary scientist and coordinator 
of the amateur campaign to watch for SMART-1's smashing 
finale on the Moon. He was stationed at the European Space 
Agency's Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. 
    "We had some last-minute issues to sort out with the data 
downlink ... the spacecraft went into a safe mode on Friday,
 just two days before [impact], but we recovered in record time. 
I was very excited about this spectacular end of mission," 
he told SPACE.com.
    SMART-1's impact on the Moon not only tossed up lunar 
dust, but also gave rise to a few ideas for the future.
    "There are still uncertainties in the precise shape of the 
Moon," Koschny noted. While he said that fact is a bit 
surprising, what's needed now is a laser altimeter orbiting 
the Moon to help size up the orb to a greater degree.  
    Koschny was pleased to see the HFCT imagery of the 
impact. Concerning the ground-based observations, he said 
he felt that many observers were not really prepared to 
observe the Moon. They didn't have adequate pre-crash 
practice sessions, he said, because many astronomers 
could not obtain enough observing time. 
    Observing time at major facilities is a precious commodity 
and can be oversubscribed with a variety of astronomical 
research agendas. 
    "We should allocate more time to telescopes for observing 
objects in the Solar System!" Koschny advised.

Olympic exploration
    "We're looking forward to collecting the worldwide 
reports from this impact," said Bernard Foing, ESA's 
SMART-1 Project Scientist. 
    The call is out to the community to search for the 
ejecta blankets of lunar surface material stirred up from 
the crash, Foing said, "and for future lunar orbiters to 
search for the SMART-1 crater."
    Foing said he was fortunate to follow SMART-1 
from conception, development, launch, voyage, 
lunar capture, its science phase, and end of mission. 
    "It was in its destiny to end on the Moon ... and it 
was emotional to share this with observers and the public," 
Foing said. "I look forward to the future where we can 
pass the SMART-1 flame to the next nations in the 
Olympic exploration of the Moon."