Israel based SpaceIL will soon attempt to be the first private organization ever to land on the moon.
A lunar landing is a feat only accomplished by the US, the USSR, and China. Government agencies were needed to operate those missions.
The Beresheet Spacecraft carries digital files including the Torah.
You can watch as it unfolds live on Youtube. The feed will go live at 2:45pm EDT and landing is estimated at 3:25pm EDT.
Even the Israeli Airport Authority is getting in on the fun:
Now that I’ve been to Antarctica, I guess the only question is how many miles will it cost me to get to the moon?
45,643 waiting!!!
The Beresheet Spacecraft carries digital files including the Torah.
Commandment #614
🙂
Did they try to return the Torah ?
לֹא בַשָּׁמַיִם, הִוא: לֵאמֹר, מִי יַעֲלֶה-לָּנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ, וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ, וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה. יג וְלֹא-מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם, הִוא: לֵאמֹר, מִי יַעֲבָר-לָנוּ אֶל-עֵבֶר הַיָּם וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ, וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ, וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה.
Thanks for the reminder!
כִּי-אֶרְאֶה שָׁמֶיךָ, מַעֲשֵׂה אֶצְבְּעֹתֶיךָ– יָרֵחַ וְכוֹכָבִים, אֲשֶׁר כּוֹנָנְתָּה.
Well that’s one way to land 🙁 Better luck next time
Not to be the party pooper, but is this really so impressive? To land an unmanned space craft on the moon in 2019 (with 2019 technology) when a manned spacecraft was landed on the moon in 1969 (with 1969 technology)? It almost seems like an adult perform the same feats that his friends did in kindergarten, and then taking pride in his accomplishments. Obviously I’m rooting for a successful mission and I’ll be proud when it’s all done, but I feel like they should have spend the time and effort accomplishing something groundbreaking for 2019, even if on a smaller scale.
process was broken, likely not enough testing
The 1969 effort was by a major world superpower, spending ~$22 Billion (about 130 billion in today’s dollars). The budget for this was $100 million – 1/1000 the cost.
For reference, the Chinese space agency which landed on the moon recently has a budget of $11 billion.
Um yes it is when they are the 4th country in the world to land on the moon with the third country (China) only landing this year. So a country as small and insignificant (not in my eyes but in a majority of the world’s) as Israel, it’s an amazing feat. It’s a big chidush Hashem as Israel says “Hey, we are more than meets the eye!”
True that they would have been the fourth, but probably because no other countries have decided to expend resources on such an effort. Do you think that the UK, or Germany, or maybe even Canada wouldn’t be able to do accomplish this if they wanted to, especially considering that the spacecraft hitched a ride to space and wasn’t launched independently?
Please don’t use Kiddush hashem on such mundane topics. It desensitizes it from its true meaning.
R, why do you think you get to declare what is worth of Kiddush hashem? If Jej thinks it is worthy, then isn’t it?
Well they failed – in 2019. Can’t get much right these days.
Sorry, with all due respect, you are totally uninformed, this is great feat for a low budget $100M. China just landed as well, but this is totally diff with a diff method.
see link : https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47879538
It’s similar to the pride the Israelis are busy with the Kinor David bridge in Jerusalem. Did you ever hear the Americans making a big deal about the Williamsburg or Manhattan Bridge? Although they are much more magnificent! Typical Israeli pride.
kindergarten or not they are the fourth country getting this far up to 2019
On the plus side we still have time to figure out how to say קדוש לבנה on the moon
What just happened?? They managed to orbit but they couldn’t land? what happened to the Spacecraft?
Crash landed on the moon.
But the landing took place…..it was just at too high rate of speed. 😉
Programmer might have moonlighted as a Gett driver in TA.
Impressive as IL is only 4th Nation to have made physical contact with the moon.
Shame about the engi
crashed
BDE
לא בחיל ולא בכח כי אם ברוחי אמר ה
I think Satmar would have stopped saying Kiddush-Levana ,would there be an isreali flag on the moon,,,
Well, it was fun to watch:
1) The number of viewers on the stream go from 5K to 45K within seconds of the DD post
2) The descent of the first non-government moon orbiter.
Unfortunately it didn’t make a (soft) landing.
Maybe someone can shed some light, is there anything to gain landing on the moon?
It is beyond me that there are starving people, we could use faster internet,education etc.. and they spend billions on literally going to nowhere!
Possibly money they could make in the future selling trips to the moon.
This is an old criticism of space exploration in general. We should be proud that Israel has the technology to even crash land on the moon. China’s first probe crashed too. The technology used and explored does make gains toward helping us on earth. And, really, if you think it’s so easy to land something on the moon and that’s why nobody else bothered- why don’t you personally land something, or attempt to land something on the moon. What can you expect – for the first space project of Israel – landing on a planet in the Andromeda Galaxy?
I spotted a Neturei karta praying kiddush levana with extraordinary kavanna last month.
When I asked him why the intense swaying and jumping, he said next month there may be an Israeli flag on the moon, and he won’t be able to fulfill the mitzva properly….
Will it carry a printer up to the moon to print a Tanya there??
IT carries a copy of the Tanya
This is very bad news! They are now going to waste even more money contemplating what went wrong, and spend billions more try to correct it and land! We need to fix the minds not the spaceship
Dan,
I think i would now stick to Antarctica! And the question is how many miles they wasted trying to get there. and thank G-D they forget to send anybody in the piece of beresheet!
@Dan, Time to add to the post: “UPDATE: DEAD”
Good one!!! 🙂
Lol
Israeli Drivers…not surprised.
Name the next one Exodus
dan I think you should bid for tickets if ever takes off I think you will be the lead ASTROMILER!!
Hashomeim shmeim lahashem v’hauretz Nussen lvnei udom
Maybe it’s no coincidence that it didn’t succeed
according to snapshot from your chase ur it sounds like you should have enough mileage~ distance for bereshits one way was ab 4 million miles YOU should b able to return too!!
Couldn’t help but notice the altitude counter counting down, and it stopped at 146 meters. My question is… 146 meters above what? Sea of serenity level? Or was it just not that accurate (cost saving measure)?
Many thanks for the heads up on this, Dan-