RAMAT GAN, Israel—A nonprofit Israeli consortium said on Feb. 18, that it hopes to make history this week by launching the first private aircraft to land on the moon.
SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) told a news conference that the landing craft—dubbed “Beresheet,” or Genesis—will take off from Florida, propelled by a SpaceX Falcon rocket on its weekslong voyage to the moon.
The launch is scheduled late Thursday in the United States, early Friday in Israel. It had been originally slated for last December.
The #Israeltothemoon countdown! ???????? pic.twitter.com/OIRmic3li4
— Israel To The Moon (@TeamSpaceIL) February 18, 2019
An Israeli nonprofit says it’ll launch what it hopes will be the first private spacecraft to land on the moon this week. https://t.co/7EI7Uj4KA6
— WCBD (@WCBD) February 18, 2019
SpaceIL CEO Ido Anteby and Opher Doron, general manager of the IAI’s space division, said the spacecraft will slingshot around the Earth at least six times in order to reach the moon and land on its surface on April 11.
If the SpaceIL mission is successful, Israel will become the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon, after the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.
SpaceIL has attempted to drum up public excitement for the lunar mission in Israel in recent months, visiting classrooms around the country and sponsoring television advertisements that put Israel on par with global powers.
FOX NEWS: First private Israel lunar mission to be launched this week https://t.co/YynETbKCPn
— Allen Watsya (@AllenWatsya) February 18, 2019
The small craft, roughly the size of a washing machine, is equipped with instruments to measure the moon’s magnetic field, as well as a copy of the Bible microscopically etched on a small metal disc.
Israel’s space program chief Avi Blasberger said he hopes SpaceIL will create a “Beresheet effect” in Israel, akin to the Apollo effect, to promote science among a new generation.
#IsraelToTheMoon Infographic ???? Incredible work @GNgraphicnews, you “eclipse it”! ha pic.twitter.com/UzwYiwccnV
— Israel To The Moon (@TeamSpaceIL) February 10, 2019
SpaceIL was founded in 2011 and originally competed for Google’s Lunar Xprize, which challenged private companies to try to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon.
But the $20 million competition was scrapped by the tech giant last year when it became clear none of the five companies would meet a preset deadline.
The SpaceIL project has ballooned in cost over the years to around $100 million, financed largely by South African-Israeli billionaire Morris Kahn and other donors from around the world.
Kahn said he believes that “every Jew, not only every Israeli, will remember where he was when Israel landed on the moon.”
Israeli #tech in 1 tweet: @TeamSpaceIL???????? will be the 1ˢᵗ non-profit to land on the moon! Short on cash, they designed the world’s most efficient low-cost moon-landing spaceship. So efficient @OHB_SE contracted @ILAerospaceIAI to build more for @ESA????????
????https://t.co/QGs08d65M9 pic.twitter.com/0oGqlYb3Dg— Elad Ratson ???????? (@EladRatson) January 30, 2019
The Preparations for launching @TeamSpaceIL first Israeli spacecraft To the #moon are in full swing! Watch the experiments before landing! @ILAerospaceIAI pic.twitter.com/kOQU3h41Gs
— Israel Space Agency (@ILSpaceAgency) December 13, 2018