Israel plans to launch a lunar mission on SpaceX rocket this year

Three countries landed missions on the moon: the United States, Russia and China. Israel hopes to be the fourth when it will launch a spaceship in December with the help of a rocket SpaceX Falcon 9.

The unmanned mission is a joint effort of the private company Israel Aerospace Industries and the non-profit organization SpaceIL. SpaceIL participated in the Google Lunar XPrize Competition which ended earlier this year with no ultimate winner . The people of SpaceIL do not let that stop them from completing the lunar journey.

On Tuesday, the team announced its goal of a lunar landing on February 13, 2019, but it has not yet set a specific launch date in December. It will take about two months for the spacecraft to reach its destination after launch.

SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries raised $ 88 million (£ 66 million, $ 118 million) from private donors to finance the project over the past eight years.

The delicate spacecraft is barely 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall and weighs 1,322 pounds (600 kilograms). The team says it will be the smallest spacecraft to land on the moon.

Once he touches the moon, the spaceship will use its cameras to take pictures and videos of the lunar surface. It will also measure the magnetic field of the moon at the landing site with the help of a magnetometer.

The spacecraft will undergo final tests over the coming months to ensure that it can survive the rigors of launch, flight and landing. When it passes, it will leave in the space of Cape Canaveral, Florida, as a secondary payload with satellites on a SpaceX rocket

"The launch of the first Israeli spacecraft will fill Israel, in its 70th year with pride, "said SpaceIL President Morris Kahn. "It's a national achievement that will put us on the map of the world's space."

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