In this file photo of an artist's rendition, released by the European Space Agency, the European-made SMART-1 solar-powered satellite is seen nearing the Moon on its way to make the first comprehensive inventory of key chemical elements in the lunar surface. Europe's first mission to the moon is due to crash-land in a cloud of dust and rock Sunday, after 3 years of travel.

Europe's first spacecraft to the moon ended its three-year mission Sunday by crashing into the lunar surface in a volcanic plane called the Lake of Excellence, to a round of applause in the mission control room in Germany.

Hitting at 2 kilometers (1\miles) per second, or 7,200 kilometers per hour (4,475 mph), the impact of the SMART-1 spacecraft was expected to leave a 3-meter-by-10-meter crater and send dust kilometers above the surface. Observatories watched the event from Earth and scientists hoped the cloud of dust and debris would provide clues to the geologic composition of the site. [AP]