Beresheet

Launch data: Designation  44049 / 19009B Launch date  22 Feb 2019 - 01:45 UT Launch site  CC, SLC-40 Launch vehicle  Falcon-9v1.2 Mission  Lunar Probe Perihelion / Aphelion  242 x 68845 Eccentricity   Inclination  27.6° Period   min

The SpaceIL team with the lunar lander. Photo: SpaceIL

SpaceIL′s lander mounted on the structure that will deploy it to space. Photo: SpaceIL

A picture taken by the camera of the Beresheet spacecraft 23,363 miles (37,600 km) from Earth. Photograph: AFP/Getty

End of live:

Description:

• After eight years of development, Beresheet spacecraft will be launched from Florida′s Cape Canaveral on Friday, January 22, 2019 3:45AM IST. If successful, the 160-kilogram unmanned four-legged spacecraft will also be the smallest and cheapest spacecraft to land on the moon. Beresheet, is the creation of an Israeli nonprofit called SpaceIL, collaborating with IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) and with contribution of ISA (Israel Space Agency) of the Department of Science and Technology.
• SpaceIL was originally established as a result of the Google Lunar X Prize. The Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) was a prize of 20 million US dollars for those who could perform the first successful private landing on the moon. This prize would be awarded by the internet giant Google and the X Prize Foundation to a team that could be the first to bring an unmanned vehicle on to the surface of the moon, after which this vehicle could also move at least 500 meters across the surface of the moon. The spacecraft also had to send images and data back to Earth. While the original deadline was 2015, no participating team succeeded in its mission, after which the deadline was postponed to March 31, 2018. When it appeared in January 2018 that no participating team would still meet this deadline, it was decided that the prize was not more would be awarded but the competition would continue. Nevertheless, a few participating teams have decided to continue the development of their lunar lander and they want to bring some of these small unmanned lunar inhabitants to the moon in 2019. Of the original 29 participating teams, which were from 17 different countries, 5 are still taking part in this special competition today. These five teams are from the United States (Moon Express), Japan (Hakuto), Israel (SpaceIL), India (Team Indus). In addition, there is also an international team (Synergy Team) that is a collection of teams that originally participated in the Google Lunar X Prize but stopped their project early. These five remaining teams have already signed a contract with launching companies for launching their moon landers.
• The Israeli lunar lander ′Beresheet′ weighs 585 kilograms, is the size of a washing machine and was developed by the Israeli company SpaceIL, which is supported by the Israeli space agency ISA. This ambitious project was partly funded by ISA, but the majority of the financial resources come from private investors and funds, which makes this project particularly unique. All in all, the construction of this moon lander cost 84 million euros, making Beresheet the cheapest moon lander to date. A large part of this budget comes from the Israeli billionaire Morris Kahn who invested no less than 40 million dollars of his own capital in this project. Other major investors were also Miriam and Sheldon Adelson who live in Las Vegas and own numerous hotels, real estate and casinos. According to the Israeli government, Beresheet′s main goal is to make Israeli children enthusiastic about science and technology. In addition, this mission also has a religious secondary meaning since the name ′Beresheet′ is Hebrew for "in the beginning" and there is a digital copy of the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, on board the spacecraft. In addition, the Israeli flag, children′s drawings, a copy of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and stories and memoirs of Holocaust survivors are also on board Beresheet.

Mission details:

• The Beresheet lunar lander, from the Israeli group SpaceIL, was mounted on top of Nusantara Satu and separated from the Falcon 9 stack before it. SpaceIL plans to use Beresheet′s own propulsion system to raise its apogee to lunar distance, then enter lunar orbit and eventually land on the surface. Beresheet is 585 kg full 150 kg dry.
• The Israeli lunar probe Beresheet made a perigee raising burn at 11:29 UTC Feb 24, 2019 to 668 x 69021 km x 27.0 deg. A second burn at 19:30 UTC on Feb 28 raised apogee to 127572 km, and a third one at 13:11 UTC Mar 7 boosted the orbit to 470 x 271500 km x 27.8 deg.
• The SpaceIL Beresheet probe has made a further orbit raising burn for translunar injection. The 60 second perigee burn at 1230 UTC Mar 19 raised apogee beyond the Moon to 405 000 km. It entered an estimated 400 x 10000 km lunar orbit on Apr 4, with a 324m/s burn starting at 1418 UTC and lasting 350s.
• Beresheet set to touch down in the Sea of Tranquility on April 11.
• The SpaceIL lunar lander made several orbit circularization burns from Apr 4 to Apr 10, 2019. On Apr 6 apogee was lowered from 10000 km to 750 km; on Apr 8 at 0548 UTC the orbit was reduced to 211 x 467 km, and on Apr 10 about 1700 UTC to 16 x 200 km.
  On Apr 11 at 1912 UTC B′reshit began its landing burn, but after failure of an IMU the main engine cut off. It was restarted too late to save the landing, with impact (possibly near 18E 32N) at 1923 UTC Apr 11.