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JERUSALEM, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) – The Israeli Space Agency (ISA) announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with NASA to engage the US space agency in the first Israeli lunar mission.
SpaceIL is an Israeli non-profit organization, created in 2011, which aims to land a satellite on the Moon by 2019.
As part of this agreement, the unmanned spacecraft will be equipped with a NASA laser reflector designed to help locate the exact position of the ship after landing.
NASA will allow SpaceIL to receive communications services with the spacecraft and to conduct space exploration through NASA's extensive network of antennas, which will facilitate communication with the Earth.
It was also agreed that NASA would have access to the data generated by the magnetometer installed on the spacecraft.
The device, developed in cooperation with the Weizmann Institute of Science of Israel, will measure the magnetic field at the landing site of the spacecraft.
In addition, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), launched 9 years ago and in orbit around the moon, will attempt to photograph the Israeli probe as it lands on the moon.
The agreement follows the recent visit by NASA head Jim Bridenstine to Israel last June, where he signed a memorandum of understanding with ISA to promote cooperation among agencies and meet with representatives of SpaceIL.
During his visit, Bridenstine said that by 2025, NASA would establish a space station around the moon and that the project would be shared by many countries.
"I am pleased to expand the trade agreement in the lunar environment, as innovative partnerships are essential to return to the moon and create new opportunities there," said Bridenstine.
The agreement was signed in Bremen, Germany, at the annual International Astronomical Congress (ICA) and World Space Week, which have been marked in Israel by various events.
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