Israel could become the fourth country to land on the moon

Israel unveiled its plan to launch an unmanned spacecraft at the December moon next year. If successful, Israel would become the fourth country in the world to land on the moon – a feat that only Russia, the United States and China have managed to achieve.

"After eight difficult years, I am proud of Israel's first spacecraft. in its final stages of construction and testing, will soon be on the moon. The launch of the first Israeli spacecraft will fill Israel, in its 70th year, with pride. It's a national achievement that will put us on the map of the world's space. Morris Kahn, president of the Israeli non-profit organization SpaceIL said Tuesday.

The unmanned spacecraft resembles a pod and weighs about 1300 pounds.It will be launched by a SpaceX rocket and is expected to reach the Moon on February 13, 2019. Upon arrival, the spacecraft will take pictures and videos of the landing site, fly around and explore the magnetic field of the moon.

"Trying to reproduce the Apollo effect in the United States, "said Kahn, a reference to the American Apollo mission that took the first humans to the moon in 1969.

The December space launch is a joint venture between SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries however , the project began as part of the Google Lunar XPrize project, which offered $ 30 million in 2010 to try to launch the moon and achieve specific mission goals. "By deepening the project and by including associated For more and more people, we understood its complexity, "said Israeli scientist Kfir Damari

. The lunar mission of Israel is a small, important step in the right direction. The success of the mission could accelerate space exploration and inspire the scientific community and the locals.

On the Moon, the spacecraft should be operational for two days and transmit the data to the IAI's control center until the closure of its systems.