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SpaceIL (Israel) lunar landing mission (Dec. 2018--Feb. 2019)

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  • SpaceIL (Israel) lunar landing mission (Dec. 2018--Feb. 2019)

    Yes, it's serious. A Google Lunar X-Prize entrant continuing on their own funding.

    There will be others, including one with lunar rovers built by Audi (PTScientists).

    https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...mber-1.6264356

    First Israeli Spacecraft to Head to Moon on Back of Elon Musk's SpaceX Rocket

    The first Israeli spacecraft planned to land on the Moon will be launched in December, the SpaceIL initiative behind the craft announced on Tuesday. The plan is for the spacecraft to land on the Moon on February 13, 2019, after a two-month trip.

    The SpaceIL organization is participating in the Google Lunar XC Prize competition to land the first privately funded unmanned spacecraft on the Moon. Even though the competition officially ended with no winner at the end of March this year, after a number of extensions to the deadline for the $30 million in cash prizes, the competition still continues without the cash.

    But SpaceIL continued to develop its spaceship, which it began to build in 2013 in cooperation with Israel Aeronautics Industries. The spacecraft will be launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket built by Elon Musks SpaceX company. The spacecraft will separate from its two-stage launch rocket at a height of 60,000 kilometers above the earth, where it will enter an elliptical orbit around the earth, which will expand slowly until the craft is captured by lunar gravity.

    Ido Anteby, the CEO of the nonprofit SpaceIL, says this will be the smallest spacecraft ever to land on the Moon. "It is about two meters in diameter and a meter and a half high. It will weigh 585 kilograms at launch, but will land with a weight of only 180 kilos after burning off most of its fuel."

    SpaceIL is hoping to make Israel the fourth country in the world after the United States, Russia and China, to land a spacecraft on the Moon. Beyond the technological and public relations achievement, the initiative is meant to arouse interest in space and science among Israelis, and especially the younger generation, and encourage them to study the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) professions.
    >
    SpaceIL @TeamSpaceIL
    We have a launch and landing dates! December 2018- Launch, February 13 2019- First Israeli spacecraft lands on the moon! SpaceIL's moon mission is officially underway #SpaceIL https://t.co/f5V2E0Ue2d

    https://twitter.com/TeamSpaceIL/stat...008270850?s=19
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    Yoav Landsman @MasaCritit
    Oh, I misunderstood you earlier. Our launcher is a Falcon 9, not a Falcon Heavy.



    Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 10 July 2018, 21:01.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

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