Space. The mystery mankind has been trying to solve for decades. We’ve sent space probes to collect samples from asteroids and study tectonic activity on our neighbouring planets. But our greatest obsession always has been and still remains – unlocking the secrets of the moon. Till date, only 3 countries (USSR, USA and China) have achieved a soft landing on the moon. Israel will become the fourth with its moon lander “Beresheet.”
A newbie’s guide to Beresheet – What is it and what does it do?
Fly me to the moon: An attempt to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon has received a major boost from @NASA.
Full story @Jerusalem_Post: https://t.co/J87nsJk9OJ pic.twitter.com/VbIvPFaUiw
— Eytan Halon (@eytanhalon) October 3, 2018
The name Beresheet translates to “in the beginning” or “Genesis”. It is Israel’s first lunar spacecraft which will orbit the Earth for 8 weeks before landing on the moon. Fun fact: Apart from the Israeli flag, it also has a time capsule, an English Wikipedia and keys to 5,000 languages on board.
Recently, the spacecraft sent back this stunning video of a sunrise! Isn’t it amazing that we can now catch a glimpse of what this phenomenon looks like from outer space?
Sunrise Video from #Beresheet ☀️ From the #spacecraft's point of view. In the video, #earth can be seen hiding the #sun & then exiting the same shadow created by the Earth and the sun's exposure. This process creates a kind of sunrise image! #IsraelToTheMoon @ILAerospaceIAI pic.twitter.com/y6IR80oz73
— Israel To The Moon (@TeamSpaceIL) March 24, 2019
But what is Beresheet trying to study on the moon?
What are we going to do on the moon? 🌛 On the #spacecraft is a magnetometer device which we'll use to study magnetic fields on Earth & other worlds. We'll trace the source of this mysterious field & get a glimpse of the #moon's ancient past ➡ #IsraelToTheMoon pic.twitter.com/0kyf1IQI4c
— Israel To The Moon (@TeamSpaceIL) February 7, 2019
To put simply, the lander will detect magnetic activity on the moon and also find rocks (that are billions of years old) with magnetic signatures. The aim is to find out how these rocks were magnetised thereby solving some of the mysteries of the universe.
We’re looking forward to seeing more of the lander’s images and videos in the future and sincerely hope that it succeeds in its moon mission.