As the launch of ESA's SMART-1 probe nears, a number of articles have been popping up about the robot spacecraft and the new technologies it will use to reach the moon. ScienceDaily.com reports on the solar-electric ion propulsion system and miniaturized components that allowed the ESA to build the probe so inexpensively. A SpaceRef.com article includes details of the French contributions to the probe and SwissInfo.org has a similar article on the Swiss contributions. A Nature article from last month talks a bit more about the sensors being carried by the probe.