The Moon as seen from SMART-1

The AMIE camera on board ESA's SMART-1 acquired its first image of a crescent moon on 18 January 2004. On 29 January, between 2000 and 2119 UT, images of the first quarter Moon were taken through several filters.

The result is a small, but impressive, image revealing, clockwise from the top: Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis, Mare Fecunditatis and Mare Nectaris, with Mare Crisium also visible near the limb.

The result is very encouraging as the spacecraft is still over 300 000 kilometres from the Moon. The camera appears to have survived its journey through the high-radiation environment with no apparent reduction in performance. Taking images is also an excellent test of the pointing ability of the spacecraft.