New ESA space rocket to push out the boundaries
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced details of a new type of rocket engine, known as solar-electric propulsion or the 'ion engine', that could open up a number of new avenues for space exploration. The ion engine does not burn fuel as chemical rockets do; instead it converts sunlight into electricity via solar panels and uses it to electrically charge heavy gas atoms, which accelerate from the spacecraft at high velocity and drive the spacecraft forward. Some gas fuel is required but this technique is much more energy-efficient than traditional rockets. A small ion engine is currently powering the orbit of ESA's telecommunications satellite, Artemis, around the Earth and, early in 2003, ESA's SMART-1 moon orbiter will blast off from a location in French Guiana. Once in space, this small craft will use an ion engine to reach the Moon. With the ion engine technique, previously unfeasible missions should soon be possible. SMART-1 will test a manoeuvring technique, using its ion engine and the gravitational pull of the Moon. This is a prerequisite for the viability of ESA`s BepiColombo mission to Mercury, which lifts off in 2012. Giuseppe Racca, project manager for SMART-1, says: 'With chemical propulsion you can only do a fly-by or go into a very elongated orbit around the planet. If you want to achieve a low Mercury orbit and really observe the planet, then you can only do that with electric propulsion.' Meanwhile, ESA has issued invitations to the press to view two of their space missions, currently in the final stages of preparation. They are the Rosetta mission to rendezvous with Comet Wirtanen and study the origins of our solar system, and the Integral spacecraft which, through gamma radiation detection, will study the most violent events in the Universe and give clues as to what made it inhabitable.