ESA Science & Technology - SMART-1 Osculating Orbit up to 26.10.04

Since the start of the mission SMART-1's orbital elements have been changed by the ion-engine and the lunar resonances as follows:

• The semi-major axis from 24 626 km to 242 466 km
• The perigee altitude from 656 km to 173 339 km
• The apogee altitude from 35 880 km to 300 000 km
• The orbital period from 10 hours 41 minutes to nearly 14 days

Also note the change in the orbit inclination, which has now reached 20°. As explained in status report No. 29, it was mainly the task of the last resonance to shift the orbit plane of the spacecraft towards the the lunar orbit plane, which is inclined at 28° with respect to the Earth equator (it varies between 28° 35' and 18°21' with a period of 18.6 years).