Europe's first spacecraft to the moon ended its three-year mission today by crashing into the lunar surface in a volcanic plane called the Lake of Excellence, to a round of applause in the mission control room.
Hitting at two kilometres per second, or 7200 kmh, the impact of the SMART-1 spacecraft was expected to leave a three- by-10-metre crater and send dust kilometres above the surface.
Observatories watched the event from Earth and scientists hoped the cloud of dust and debris would provide clues to the geologic composition of the site.