After a difficult accident in 2019, Israel will attempt to land on the moon again

The Lunar Lander Beresheet 2 is scheduled to land – gently – on the surface of the Moon in 2024.

After Israel’s first attempt to land on the moon has failed, the country will now make a second attempt. This says the Israeli non-profit organization SpaceIL. “We are proud to announce that Beresheet 2 will go to the moon in the first half of 2024!” The team tweeted.

We are proud to announce this # Beresheet 2 It will head to the moon in the first half of 2024! It will include two landers, each of which will conduct experiments on the surface of the moon, and an orbiter that will remain for several years. #IsraelToTheMoon pic.twitter.com/fdenHdHmmV

– Israel To The Moon (TeamSpaceIL) December 9, 2020

Israel goes to the moon and takes …
Beresheet 2 will consist of an orbiter – which will orbit the natural satellite for several years – and at least two lunar Earths. These landers will travel to the surface of the moon and each will conduct some important scientific experiments. Several specialists are currently working hard to form the Beresheet Mission 2. This includes all the knowledge, experience and lessons learned during Beresheet’s first mission.

Beresheet
In fact, because as you might remember, this isn’t the first time Israel has turned toward the moon. In 2019, the country made a first attempt. The entire project took about eight years in total, during which a small group of scientists and engineers worked with great dedication at Beresheet. This initially happened in the context of Google Lunar XPrize. But when it ended without a winner, SpaceIL decided to go ahead and did everything it could to get the Beresheet on the moon.

Landing is very difficult
Expectations were high. Because if it succeeded, Israel would be the fourth country – after the United States, Russia and China – to put a ship on the moon. The launch of Beresheet, the first private lunar lander – and thus not funded by the government – went well. The probe has also succeeded in orbit around the moon. But during the landing a fatal error occurred. The main engine on board the probe failed, causing the spacecraft to land hard and crash. What should have been a huge milestone turned into a tragedy. Later, NASA photographed the unfortunate LMV’s final resting place. The images show a dark spot indicating that the collapse has caused the surface to fluctuate significantly.

Second try
The fatal accident ended a promising journey. And although the mission made history in many ways, SpaceIL’s disappointment was no less. But, as it turned out, SpaceIL did not give up. The Beresheet 2 will go further than its predecessor and will not be equipped with one landing craft, but two. In addition, many experiments will be conducted on the surface of the moon.

Experiments
What will those experiences look like? This is the one currently hatching. The company recently posted a call for proposal. SpaceIL says new orders are still coming. “The ideas will be judged by a professional team,” the Israeli company said. Then the experiments to be conducted will be determined as part of the Beresheet 2 mission.

A matter of time
Overall, SpaceIL shows by this bold mission that they will not leave themselves disappointed. There is a second assignment in preparation. It is therefore only a matter of time until Israel is allowed to join the prestigious list of countries that have landed on the moon. Moreover, this time developments will be a little faster than the first time. Because this time, Israel thinks it will only take three years to prepare the Beresheet 2.

So 2024 promises to be an interesting “lunar year”. Since Israel doesn’t just want to return to the moon that year, NASA is also planning to fly to our natural satellite in 2024. However, the important difference is that NASA’s spacecraft are manned; For example, the first woman and the next man will walk on the moon in 2024. Moreover, the Chinese are watching the moon at the moment. Although interest in the moon has declined sharply in recent decades, our natural satellite appears to be very popular again at the moment. Now let’s hope Beresheet 2 performs better than its predecessor …

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