The Beresheet moon lander will attempt to become the first privately-funded spacecraft to reach the moon, and these photos show the robotic probe’s journey through testing inside a clean room at Israel Aerospace Industries, followed by its attachment to a multi-satellite stack for launch on a Falcon 9 rocket.
Beresheet, which means “genesis” or “in the beginning” in Hebrew, is the product of a nearly eight-year effort by SpaceIL, an Israeli non-profit. With the help of backing from billionaire entrepreneurs, and donations from Israeli companies like IAI, the spacecraft is set for launch Feb. 21 from Cape Canaveral.
Landing on the moon is scheduled for April. Read our full story for details on the mission.
The completed SpaceIL Beresheet lunar lander is pictured with its solar panels attached. Credit: SpaceILSpaceIL co-founders Kfir Damari, Yonatan Winetraub and Yariv Bash insert a time capsule on the Beresheet spacecraft. The time capsule includes three discs with digital files that will remain on the moon with the spacecraft. The discs include details on the spacecraft and the crew that built it, and national and cultural symbols, such as the Israeli flag, the Israeli national anthem, and the Bible. Credit: SpaceILThe Beresheet spacecraft inside IAI’s vacuum test chamber. Credit: SpaceILCredit: SpaceILCredit: SpaceILCredit: SpaceILCredit: SpaceILCredit: SpaceILCredit: SpaceILThe Nusantara Satu spacecraft, topped with the Beresheet lunar lander and the U.S. Air Force’s S5 space situational awareness satellite, is pictured before encapsulation inside the Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SSL
SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Monday evening at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, paving the way for launch of 60 more Starlink internet satellites Tuesday night.
NASA has completed an exhaustive review of software problems and procedural oversights that prevented an unpiloted Boeing Starliner capsule from docking with the space station last year. The agency is implementing 80 recommendations to clear the way for a second test flight later this year and, if all goes well, Boeing’s first piloted flight next spring, officials said Tuesday.
Acting NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart briefs the news media on Saturday, soon after arriving at the Mojave Air & Space Port to begin an investigation into the loss of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.
