Paris - Europe's first mission to the moon, the unmanned probe SMART-1, has been safely placed in orbit, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Tuesday.

The probe was captured by the moon's gravity on Monday, ESA's director of science, David Southwood, said in a teleconference from mission control in Darmstadt, western Germany.

In the coming weeks, SMART-1 will adjust to its trajectory so that it spirals closer to the lunar surface, eventually achieving an egg-shaped orbit around the poles that will vary from 300km at its closest to 3 000km at its most distant.

The 370kg probe, launched in September 2003, is powered by an ion engine, which converts solar power into electricity that then charges atoms of the heavy gas xenon. These charged atoms, known as ions, are then disgorged from the back of the probe to give it thrust.
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