27 September

2003: On 27 September 2003, SMART-1 left Earth on a long journey to the Moon. It was launched from Europe’s Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, at 20:14 hrs local time (23:14 hrs GMT).

ESA’s SMART-1 was one of three payloads on Ariane Flight 162. Fourty-two minutes after launch SMART-1, the last of the three satellites, was successfully released. While the other two satellites manoeuvred to geostationary orbits, SMART-1, with its revolutionary ion drive, began its much longer journey to the Moon.