Its predecessor, Beresheet 1, reached the moon in April 2019, but crash-landed due to what appeared to be engine trouble, moments before touchdown.
By GREER FAY CASHMANIsraeli scientists inspect Beresheet in Yehud (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)The sky is no longer the limit – nor is the moon. Israel’s space technology has moved at such a rapid pace that the moon is likely to become a stepping-stone on the way to the wider galaxy.Quips to this effect were made by various speakers on Wednesday at the launch of Space IL’s Beresheet 2, the spacecraft that hopefully will land on the moon without crashing.Its predecessor, Beresheet 1, reached the moon in April 2019, but crash-landed due to what appeared to be engine trouble, moments before touchdown.Viewers watching on social media, as the Beresheet 2 project was launched at the Presidents’ Residence, may not have realized the full significance of a signing ceremony on boards containing the draft plans of Beresheet 2. It was an extraordinary combination of past, present and future.The signing by Rivlin, Science and Technology Minister Izhar Shay, Space IL CEO Shimon Sarid, and Israel Aeronautical Industries CEO Boaz Levy represented the present. Three model spacecraft on the table where they signed represented the future. The table itself once belonged to Benjamin Disraeli, twice prime minister of Great Britain in the 19th century.Space IL co-founder Kfir Damara noted that youngsters from around the country and Space IL centers in Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Beersheba, Givatayim, east Jerusalem, Yirka and west Jerusalem were watching the ceremony online.One of the educational aims of Space IL, conceived in 2010, was to encourage youth to become enamored with science, technology and space. The spacecraft developed by Space IL was called Beresheet to symbolize the genesis of a new era in Israel’s space saga.Recalling the disappointment when Beresheet 1 crashed, Rivlin said: “We realized that we would have to start all over again, this time with three spacecraft heading for the moon. If this endeavor succeeds,” he said, “it will contribute greatly to human knowledge – about the galaxy and also planet Earth.Although there has been less excitement than over the launching of Beresheet 1, Rivlin termed the Beresheet 2 project “a historic event,” and commended all those connected with Space IL. “We are waiting impatiently to receive your greetings from the moon,” he said.Shay drew a parallel between the Space IL project developers and the founders of the modern State of Israel, who like them considered their idea crazy.
Although Space IL is a not-for-profit civilian enterprise, Shay said that the ministry had been happy to support it from day one, and he pledged his best efforts to ensure support would continue to new projects.Mentioning that Israel’s second astronaut, Eytan Stibbe, will launch into space next year in a US spacecraft, Shay said, “The sky is not the limit.... It’s something we pass on the way to the next target.”Sarid said he is pleased that Space IL has also paved the way for enhanced cooperation with other friendly countries engaged in space technology and exploration.Levy said that Space IL had utilized some of the technologies developed by what was then called Israel Aircraft Industries in the 1980s.The partnership with Space IL has resulted in a major breakthrough, and contributes to Israel’s reputation as a Start-Up Nation, he said, adding that as far as IAI is concerned, “the moon is not the limit.”Mali Marton, a Space IL volunteer, who teaches space innovation to high schoolers in Space IL’s Ashdod center, said that she and other volunteers have collectively spoken to more than a million children in Israeli schools around the country to promote interest in space research.
