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Beresheet, a small Israeli spacecraft with giant ambition to land on the lunar surface, has completed the maneuvers to get into orbit around the moon.
At approximately 10:18 am EST Thursday, the spacecraft launched its engines for six minutes, slowing down enough to be captured by the gravity of the moon. Although the maneuver seemed to have run smoothly, it will take half a day before confirmation that the spacecraft has entered its planned orbit.
This in itself would be a major achievement, achieved only by five countries – the United States, the former Soviet Union, China, Japan and India – and the European Space Agency.
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Beresheet, built by SpaceIL, a non-profit organization based in Israel, is the first privately funded company toto end a spaceship in orbit until now From the earth. SpaceIL originally aimed to win a $ 20 million Google Lunar X prize as the first private robotic camera to land on the moon, but the deadline was passed last year. SpaceIL pushed even without monetary incentive.
On Thursday, the orbit will have an elliptical shape: the space shuttle will pass less than 310 km from the surface of the moon and will move at 6,200 miles. Three more engine launches over the next week will push Beresheet into a circular orbit 124 miles above the surface.
It was a long journey, designed skimp on the fuel, size and cost. Beresheet, which means "Genesis" or "early" in Hebrew, was launched in February. He turned on his engines several times for raise the highest point of his elliptical path around the Earth, until he crosses the path of the moon.
On Thursday, the moon and Beresheet passed very close together, the gravity of the moon sling Beresheet far from the Earth. While pulling its engines, the spacecraft slowed down enough to allow it to be captured by the gravity of the moon.
Then comes the most difficult part: the landing scheduled for 11 April.
"Our luck is still there, and we will get there," said Morris Kahn, an Israeli telecommunications billionaire who provided financial support to the mission.
If this succeeds, SpaceIL will join only NASA, the old Soviet Union and China landing a spacecraft on the moon in one piece.
The success of Beresheet is due to a renewed interest in exploring the moon. China earlier this year has successfully established its The Chang'e-4 robotic spacecraft, located at the bottom of the moon, is the first nation to do so. NASA hopes to send scientific loads to commercial landers on the Moon this year.
The Trump administration wants to send astronauts back to the moon and this month, it has announced its intention to speed up the program, with new astronaut footprints on the lunar surface as early as 2024. NASA has not yet specified the cost of this program. to get people there so quickly, and some members of Congress wondered why there was urgency.
India also intends to place its Chandrayaan-2 robot lander on the moon this year. At one point, India and Israel appeared to be in a ground race, but the launch of the Indian spacecraft experienced a series of delays, with local news recently suggesting a launch date in May.
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