**6. Conclusion**

22 Space Science

Space Corporation. Using the French-made Hall effect thruster, the satellite could reach lunar orbit in more than one year from its initial geostationary transfer orbit. The Hall Effect thruster is in fact relatively old technology and has been in use since the 1960's in Russia. Although this technology is generally used in geostationary telecommunication satellites for station keeping manoeuvres, Smart-1 is one of the first examples of using the Hall Effect thrusters out of a geostationary earth orbit. Smart-1 has about 80 kg on board xenon and has managed to reach a total of 3.9 km/s ΔV in 5000 hours of operation. The spacecraft has demonstrated a cheaper, safer (with respect to hydrazine propulsion) version of space exploration by means of non-conventional propulsion technologies. Some standards designed for deep space communication that enable the reliable transfer for large amounts of satellite data over a very limited-bandwidth communication link by CCSDS, an international organization were also successfully qualified by Smart-1 and enabled future deep space missions to transmit larger volume of data back to earth from a distance of thousands and millions of kilometres away. In the final analysis, this mission provided very valuable experience to ESA and paved the way for the future, long, relatively cheap and safer missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The equipment qualified on board Smart-1, such as infrared and X-ray instruments, were also used in Indian lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1. Also, this mission enabled ESA to sign cooperation agreements with China, India, Japan, Russia and NASA regarding joint lunar programs. Another groundbreaking and extraordinary example of a relatively low-cost space exploration mission to Mars was Beagle-2. The Mars Express Orbiter carried Beagle-2 to the orbit of Mars. Although the mission failed, it had the possibility of success due to strong support from ESA by means of ground stations, NASA by allowing a co-passenger on the mothership Mars Express, and Russian Space Agency with launch service support. Again, international collaboration was the only feasible way for this kind of space exploration mission. This was facilitated by a consortium set up by the project management office, and included universities and industry. After the development phase started, a European defence and space conglomerate took over the responsibility for managing the entire program. Thereafter, one of the most outstanding financial support campaigns was organized in which British pop music artists and painters were called upon to increase the awareness of the project in the public, mainstream media, and schools. In fact, the beacon signal of the spacecraft was composed by a British pop music band and several subsystems, including the cameras, were polished by a British painter to attract the attention of mainstream media. Given the enormous public support, the main ground control station was kept open to public to show where the funds had been used. Although the mission failed at the end, the Beagle-2 was used in several science fiction movies to strengthen the image that the spacecraft actually reached the planet Mars. Nevertheless, the Beagle-2 project continues to serve as a valuable example for how support from popular artists can be used to increase public awareness. For the first time, financial donations from ordinary citizens of all ages, wealth, and occupation were used to fund a space project, and as such Beagle-2 will always remain a unique project

In keeping with the low cost theme of the mission, the control software was the first of its type deployed on a laptop and several on board systems, which were not designed and manufactured with space qualification criteria, procured from the industry; similarly, mass

spectrometer was provided by University of Leicester and University of Aberdeen.

development success story.

Space exploration has been a privilege for a few developed countries during most of the space age; however, as more nations get involved, space is becoming increasingly democratized. This has been made possible by technological developments as well as political changes as the global level. As the space programmes of nations new to space race advance, investments in space science and space exploration have increased, and, as a result, even more countries are getting involved. Although these new nations can benefit from the latecomer's advantages, they still need to overcome many obstacles to be able to contribute meaningfully to space exploration. There is a strong relationship between national science and technology policies, and advancement in space science and technology. Hence, investment in R&D backed by sound policies is a must for a successful program. Newcomers also need to seek international cooperation with strong space agencies and/or peers to share risks, costs and create synergy. Rather than imitating the missions of pioneers, they may try to find novel innovative solutions enabled by new technologies and an increasing number of international players and missions. Finally, aspiring nations should prepare for the future by following a sound but flexible plan.
