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Britain is considering plans for its own moon mission, the BBC has said, citing plans submitted to the body that funds British space exploration.
Proposals for two missions have been submitted to the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, and the first, if approved, could be launched by 2010.
The first potential mission, "Moonlight", would see four metre (yard)-long darts fired two metres deep into the moon's surface from an orbiting probe, giving scientists information about the possibility of "moonquakes" and other data about the moon's centre.
If "Moonlight" were successful, a second mission named "Moonraker" could be launched, sending a spacecraft to the surface of the moon in search of suitable sites for potential manned bases.
According to Professor Martin Sweeting, founder and chief executive of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., which prepared the study for the funding body, the cost of space exploration had fallen enough for Britain to "go it alone".
"Current small missions to the moon cost around 500 million euro ($938 million) ... With advances in small satellites we could probably cut the cost by at least a fifth," Sweeting told the BBC.
- AFP
