Israeli Aerospace Industries director of Space division Opher Doron speaking in front of Beresheet on December 17, 2018. Image by Getty Images

By Adrianna Chaviva Freedman April 10, 2019

Close to two months after the initial launch, an Israeli spacecraft has gone into the moon’s orbit and will attempt to land on its surface.

If it all works well, Israel will have made history in achieving the first moon landing from a private company, Business Insider reported. This would also make Israel the fourth country to have a spacecraft survive an attempt to have an object land on the moon.

Called Beresheet (Hebrew for “Genesis”), the module was launched on a SpaceX rocket on February 21. Since then, the rover has accelerated at a gradual pace towards the moon – and even passed the time by taking a selfie. SpaceIL, a nonprofit group based at Tel Aviv University, had been developing the spacecraft since 2011 on about a $100 million budget from mostly private donors.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

SpaceIL anticipates that Beresheet will land on the moon at some point between 3 and 4PM EDT on Thursday, April 11, Business Insider reported.

“This joint mission of SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will be broadcast live via satellite for a pool feed and livestreamed with access to all media,” SpaceIL wrote in a statement. The broadcast will also take viewers inside the mission control center in Yehud, Israel.

Watch below for a livestream of this historic event:

Adrianna Chaviva Freedman is the Social Media Intern for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ac_freedman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount