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For generations Mankind dreamt of going to the moon. That dream came true July 20th 1969 when the Eagle landed and Neil Armstrong made his giant leap for mankind..
Another lunar adventure began in September 2003 with the launch of the European Space Agency's Smart One satellite. Bernard Foing is head of science on the mission..
Bernard Foing
We are going to observe the moon from a polar orbit and map its
composition.
Then, we will build up bands of images and put them together to
construct a high resolution map of the lunar surface.
Back on earth at Noordwijk near Amsterdam in the Netherlands;
ESA'sEuropean Centre of Research and Space Technology.
From here they control the new instruments on board Smart One.One of Foing's colleagues, engineer, Jim Volp, says its a challenging task.
ITV Jim Volp
The problem is a....decision
The mission was due to end this coming August but has been extended for another year, thanks to the ionic engine with a reserve of some 60 litres of xeno

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