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An Israeli organization said it hoped to become the first non-governmental entity to land a spaceship on the moon when it will attempt to launch a module later in the year.
SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries launch their unmanned vehicle in December, told the team at a press conference in an IAI facility at the outside Tel Aviv.
When he succeeds, Israel will become the fourth country to land a ship on the moon, after the United States, the Soviet Union and China.
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SpaceIL will send the module still unknown to the United States in November before launch. The 585-kg landing craft will move on a SpaceX Falcon rocket to enter the Earth's orbit, then launch several times around the planet to reach the Moon. On landing, the vessel will relay photographs and collect data on the magnetism of the moon for the research of the Weizmann Institute of Israel
The $ 95 million project ($ AUD128 million) financed mainly by South African billionaire Morris Kahn and other donors. Kahn said it would be "a huge feat."
SpaceIL was founded in 2011 and originally competed for Google Lunar Xprize, who challenged private companies to try to land an unmanned spacecraft on the
But the $ 20 million competition US was abandoned by the technology giant early in the year when it became clear that none of the five companies would meet the March deadline
Despite the financial pitfalls of recent years that have almost wrecked SpaceIL's spacecraft, the team is confident that the December launch will unfold in time
"This project will bring the # 39, aerospace industry in the deep space. ", Said Kahn, principal donor and president of SpaceIL
The purpose of the mission is not only to place an Israeli spacecraft on the moon, but to inspire a future generation of Israelis to pursue Careers in Mathematics, Science and Engineering Joseph Weiss, President and CEO of IAI
Israel has emerged as a technological titan in recent decades, producing a profusion of 39 High-tech companies attracting heavy international investment A large part of the module's embedded computers have been developed and produced locally
The lunar mission is scheduled to last only two days after landing But the SpaceIL team hopes that the establishment of an Israeli module on the moon could help maintain Israel 's technological momentum for years to come.
"What we are doing, is trying to replicate the Apollo effect in the United States," Kahn told reporters, referring to the rise of interest in science and engineering after the US space program landed on the moon in 1969.
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2018
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