Israeli Moon Lander Sends Selfie From 23,000 Miles Away
The Israeli lunar lander Beresheet takes a “selfie” on its way to the moon. Image by spaceIL
By Aiden Pink March 5, 2019
Beresheet, the Israeli lunar lander currently on its way to the moon, sent a selfie back to Earth from more than 23,000 miles away.
A plaque on the outside of the module, which is about the size of a washing machine, reads “small country, big dreams” and “Am Yisrael Chai” – the people of Israel live.
Beresheet, the Hebrew word for Genesis, launched last month from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It is a joint project of the company SpaceIL and Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.
If Beresheet successfully lands in April, it will be the first time a private-sector initiative reaches the moon, and Israel will be the fourth country to make it there, after the United States, the Soviet Union and China.
Beresheet suffered from a computer glitch last week but recovered fast enough to carry out a key maneuver, the Times of Israel reported.
Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink
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