SpaceIL, a non-profit Israeli initiative whose spacecraft crashed while trying landing on the moon last year, announced yesterday, Wednesday, the planned launch of another lunar mission, whose partners will be Israeli government agencies. This project, called Beresheet 2, involves the launch of three modules – one orbital and two descent vehicles – to the surface of the moon.
The first Beresheet device (translated from Hebrew roughly as “what was at the beginning”), built by SpaceIL and state partner Israel Aerospace Industries, was intended to carry out a responsible mission that only three states of the world had previously managed to carry out – the United States, Russia and China. However, a few moments before landing, a malfunction occurred on board the device, and ultimately it crashed into the surface of the moon.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who oversaw the launch ceremony of this new project, said that the country is “full of pride” in this bold attempt to land on the surface of the natural satellite of our planet last year.
“We were disappointed and realized that we should all start again,” he said. “Today we are determined to go a new path, similar to the previous one, but different from it, and at the end of this path we plan to deliver three spacecraft to the moon at once.”
In addition to Israel Aerospace Industries, the project will be attended by the Ministry of Science and the National Space Agency of Israel. Science Minister Izhar Shai said seven countries, including the United Arab Emirates, were also interested in the project. It is expected that the Beresheet 2 will be launched into space in four years.
SpaceIL Executive Director Shimon Sarid said the goal of the project is to inspire a new generation of scientists and researchers in a country known for its advanced technologies.
“We will do this by inciting curiosity, giving hope and the ability to dream and realize our dreams, as well as through improving the quality of engineering and technological education of Israeli students, strengthening the role of the natural and technical sciences,” he said.
