After the failure of his first moon mission, Israel does not want to give up. The nonprofit organization SpaceIL, operator of the probe, is planning a second trip to the moon, reported Israeli television today. The probe „Beresheet“ had crashed on Thursday after a technical failure on landing on the earth satellite. Israel had hoped to land on the moon as the fourth nation after the great powers Russia, USA and China. It was the first privately funded mission of its kind.
SpaceIL’s main sponsor and president, Morris Kahn, said, „Given the great international support I received for this project, I have chosen a new project: Beresheet 2.“ Kahn said, „We started it and I hope we will finish it. “
The probe, weighing just under 600 kilos and 1.50 meters in height, was to place an Israeli flag on the moon and examine the magnetic field.
Among other things, the Israeli SpaceIL wanted to create a prototype for future commercial moon landings. The construction of the probe cost the equivalent of 84 million euros. The money came mainly from private donors, especially Kahn. SpaceIL also receives support from the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
