SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launches Beresheet’s lunar spacecraft and two other spacecraft on February 21, 2019
The historic Israeli lunar mission is progressing well, although one problem may have arisen. The Beresheet device started on February 21 on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. His goal - to become the first private ship, not created in the USSR, USA or China and landed on the moon.
Attempt to landing the moon will take place no earlier than April 11th. The data obtained show that the device has successfully unfolded its legs and began to test in orbit. The first two stages were completed within 2 minutes 40 minutes after launch. However, tests indicate a high sensitivity to glare from the sun in star trackers (a key point in navigation).
Beresheet is a joint project of IAI and the non-profit organization SpaceIL. The landing gear should conduct a little scientific work during a two-day mission on the surface. But the main goal is to consolidate Israel as a country that has been on the moon, and to inspire young people to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Beresheet has a temporary capsule inside which there is a library with a large amount of information about earthly culture and society, including the entire English-language Wikipedia. Initially, SpaceIL participated in the Google Lunar X Prize contest, where it was possible to get $ 30 million for a project to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. But last year the project was closed without a winner, and SpaceIL continued to work independently.
Beresheet will help pave the way for low-cost research for private companies. In total, the mission took $ 100 million. It was possible to save money due to the Falcon 9 rocket. It was possible to purchase a rocket that would send the device to an earth satellite directly, but the company chose a longer, but relatively cheap, path.
