SUMMARY: The ESA's SMART-1 has taken its first close-up pictures of the Moon's surface, snapping a series of photos from an altitude ranging between 1,000 and 5,000 km above the lunar surface. SMART-1 only entered lunar orbit on November 15, and has been spiraling down for two months. The spacecraft will make a medium-resolution survey of the Moon for the next two weeks before lowering its orbit to begin 5 months of detailed observations, getting as close as 300 km. This first image is centred at lunar latitude 75° North, and the largest crater in the picture is called Brianchon.

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