Reaching the Moon, the goal of Israel for 2019

Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. and the non-profit organization SpaceIL announce the launch of a lunar mission in December, leaving Israel on track to become the fourth country to reach the moon.

The $ 88 million unmanned Israeli spacecraft will take off in a Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. from Elon Musk. With 600 kilograms, it will be the smallest spacecraft up to now to reach the moon's surface. The two-month trip will leave Cape Canaveral, Florida.

"It gives me pleasure that the first Israeli spacecraft, which is in its final phase of construction and testing, will soon reach the moon," said Morris Kahn, president of SpaceIL and founder of Israel's developer of communication technologies. of Amdocs Media Ltd.

No government has reached the moon since the 1970s, but interest has recently resumed.

US President Donald Trump has asked for nearly $ 900 million in new funds for NASA lunar missions. China plans this year to send a probe on the dark side of the unexplored moon, where the Earth's radio signals can not be received.

Low cost

SpaceIL was formed by three people and participated in Google's Lunar XPRIZE contest, which ended in March without naming a winner. Its investors include Kahn, the American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and the Israeli Space Agency.

The success of the mission would be an important achievement, as it would provide scientists with a relatively inexpensive spacecraft for future experiments, said Tal Inbar, head of the Space Research Center and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) Fisher Institute for Strategic Studies of Space and Space, located in Herzilya, Israel.

Some hurdles still need to be overcome, such as offsetting the vessel's lower fuel capacity, Inbar said. Other larger spaceships took four days to reach the moon as they could carry more fuel, SpaceIL said.

The SpaceIL spacecraft is 1.5 meters high and two meters in diameter, and can reach a maximum speed of more than 10 kilometers per second. The fuel will represent 75% of its weight.

Civil Espacio

After landing on the moon, the ship will capture photos and videos of the landing site on the moon and record the magnetic field of the moon.

"The State of Israel, already firmly positioned in the field of space in its military activity, must leverage resources for the benefit of the civilian space, engine of the Innovation, technology and education around the world, "said IAI CEO Yossi Weiss.