Israel's 1st Moon Lander: The SpaceIL Beresheet Lunar Mission in Pictures

News
By Christine Lunsford
published

Built for the X Prize

SpaceIL

SpaceIl originally envisioned the Beresheet lander as its entry in the Google Lunar X Prize, a private moon shot contest that promised up to $30 million in prizes for teams that reached the moon. The contest ended in 2018 with no winners.

Target: Moon

Courtesy of Spaceflight Industries

This image shows one concept of spacecraft separation for SpaceIL's moon lander on its way to the lunar surface. Ultimately, the spacecraft will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as a secondary payload in February 2019.

A Look at the Lander

Courtesy of SpaceIL

This diagram shows the major elements of SpaceIL's Beresheet moon lander

An Early Vision

Google Lunar X Prize

An early concept of what SpaceIL's moon lander might look like

Beresheet on the Moon

Courtesy of SpaceIL

Will SpaceIL's Bereseheet moon lander reach the lunar surface in 2019? We'll have to wait and see. If it does, check back here for the latest images from the mission!

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Christine Lunsford
Christine Lunsford
Producer and Contributing Writer

Christine Lunsford joined the Space.com team in 2010 as a freelance producer and later became a contributing writer, covering astrophotography images, astronomy photos and amazing space galleries and more. During her more than 10 years with Space.com, oversaw the site's monthly skywatching updates and produced overnight features and stories on the latest space discoveries. She enjoys learning about subjects of all kinds.