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An Israeli spacecraft that could become the first private lander on the moon should be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 20:45 (eastern time) today (21 February).
You can watch the launch and a landing attempt of the reusable first floor rocket booster a few minutes later, live on the live Stream of SpaceX:
The lunar satellite of 1.322 lb (600 kg), called Beresheet Built by SpaceIL, an Israeli nonprofit organization, will spend two months traveling to space closest to the Earth after being deployed from the SpaceX rocket. Then he will attempt to land on the lunar surface and transmit video and photography to Earth, becoming the first privately designed spacecraft to do so.
Only four countries have landed robotic explorers on the lunar surface: the United States, Russia, India and China. The shuttle will carry a number of artifacts celebrating its original country, including a Hebrew Bible engraved on a metal disc the size of a coin and a time capsule containing the statement of the day. Israeli independence and memories of the survivor of the Holocaust.
Nevertheless, tonight's first mission to launch SpaceX, its second in 2019, is to launch Nusantara Satu, a communication satellite built by the US company SSL for Indonesian telecommunications operator PT PSN. The rocket, which includes a first leg that will be launched in space for the third time in eight months, also carries an experimental satellite for the US Air Force.
The lunar rulers of SpaceIL
SpaceIL was founded by three Israeli engineers and contractors and received $ 100 million in financial support from Israeli telecommunications billionaire Morris Kahn. Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate and right-wing political donor; and the Israeli Space Agency, among other donors.
Beresheet, which bears the Hebrew name of the book of the Old Testament in Genesis, was originally designed as an entry into the Google Lunar XPrize, a $ 30 million contest created in 2007 to entice teams around the world to develop effective technology for lunar earthlings. SpaceIL was one of the first competitors to win a launch contract, but delays eventually led to a missed deadline.
While the XPrize had closed last year after technical difficulties arose to arrive at the Moon at lower cost proved too difficult to overcome quickly, a number of participants nevertheless plan to continue, supporting on donations, corporate sponsorships and the nascent private market of NASA lunar transportation.
Yes Beresheet reaches the lunar surface in one piece, it will only take him about two days to create images and take magnetic measurements: the vehicle lacks thermal protection to protect itself from extreme temperature changes on the moon and will fail soon .
First of many?
Lunar exploration is expected to increase in the coming years, thanks in part to the relatively recent scientific confirmation that water, a potentially exploitable resource, can be found at the lunar poles. The Chinese National Space Agency has installed the first landing gear at the rear of the moon in 2018, and NASA has said it wants to send sensors to the lunar surface in private space vehicles this year.
Astrobotic, an American firm from Carnegie Mellon University, has planned a mission on the lunar surface for 2021; iSpace, a Japanese company, will launch an orbiter in 2020; and Moon Express, another American company, is planning its own lander. All were XPrize lunar participants. To get an idea of the challenge, consider that Astrobotic said it would charge $ 1.2 million to potential customers per kg of payload delivered to the lunar surface.
"We are witnessing the first stage in transportation, with time, we will see the extraction of resources and, over time, you will be able to buy fuel … to use so that spacecraft can go more and more. far in space, "Astrobotic CEO John Thornton told Quartz in 2018.
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