Crashing into the moon

This should be cool.

BERLIN - Europe's first mission to the moon is due to crash-land in a cloud of dust and rock early Sunday, ending a three-year voyage that gathered data about the lunar surface and tested a new engine intended to propel future spacecraft to Mercury and other planets. ...

Even before the mission ends, however, ESA is already celebrating the main goal — a successful test of the ion engine they hope to use for future interplanetary missions, such as the BepiColombo joint mission to Mercury with Japan's space agency slated for launch in 2013.

"The prime object of this mission was to test the ion propulsion," mission manager Gerhard Schwehm told The Associated Press. "This is a very efficient means to get a spacecraft over large distances with a very small mass of fuel. It worked really well."

I'm glad the Europeans had such a success with this mission. I hope the various space agencies -- and private entities -- continue to work together to move us out to the stars. And, I'm a bit jealous of Anousheh Ansari. I wish her well and hope she has a blast in space.