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Israel Set To Launch Historic Moon Landing Mission
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50%: World's First Private Moon Lander Will Carry Israeli Time Capsule
By Samantha Mathewson December 18, 2018 Spaceflight
The first-ever private moon mission is expected to launch in February 2019, and it will carry some extra-special Israeli cargo to the lunar surface.
The nonprofit SpaceIL and the government-owned corporation Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which manufactured the spacecraft, announced in a statement Monday (Dec. 17) that the lunar spacecraft, dubbed Beresheet will carry a digital time capsule with Israeli national memorabilia.
SpaceIL’s mission to the moon began as part of the Google Lunar X Prize competition. SpaceIL was the only Israeli team that participated in the competition, which originally offered a first prize of $30 million to the privately-funded team that could put a robotic spacecraft on the moon, move the craft 1,640 feet (500 meters) and have it beam high-definition photos and video back to Earth. [Moon Rush: These Companies Have Big Plans for Lunar Exploration]
However, no team was able to make a launch attempt to reach the moon by the March 31, 2018, and the Google Lunar X Prize competition ended with no winner.
Regardless, SpaceIL continued on with its mission to land a spacecraft on the moon. The corporation recently confirmed that Beresheet — meaning Genesis in Hebrew — completed a series of intensive tests and would soon be shipped to the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for launch in February.
"Aside from landing on the moon, SpaceIL's collective vision is to create a new 'Apollo Effect' to inspire the next generation in Israel and around the world to think differently about science, engineering, technology and math," company representatives said on SpaceIL's mission page.
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Propelled by a SpaceX Falcon rocket launch, the robotic lander will lift off from Cape Canaveral in February. Beresheet was previously slated to launch to the moon before the end of this year, SpaceIL officials have said.
The time capsule, which consists of three small discs, includes digital files of memorabilia such as Israel's declaration of independence and national anthem, Hebrew songs, the Wayfarer's Prayer (the Jewish prayer for a safe journey), paintings by Israeli children, the Israeli flag, the Bible, Israeli literature, and other tokens of the country's heritage, according to the statement.
"This is a very emotional moment," Yonatan Winetraub, one of three SpaceIL founders, said in the statement. "It is very possible that future generations will find this information and want to learn more about this historic moment."
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Other half of this article found here: [ link to www.space.com (secure)]
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