"Capturing the moon" - the decisive maneuver of the spacecraft "Bereshit" was successful; broadcast images from the far side of the moon

"Bereshit" is now in an elliptical orbit around the moon where the closest point is about 500 km from the moon and the farthest is about 10,000 km *  In the coming week, there will be several maneuvers around the moon in preparation for the landing

The engineering team of SpaceIL and the Aerospace Industry is now officially reporting on the success of the Beresheet spacecraft's moon capture maneuver. This is the most decisive maneuver so far in the journey of the first Israeli spacecraft to the moon, the seventh country to successfully launch an object to orbit the moon. If next week's landing is successful, Israel will be the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon.

The maneuver allowed the spacecraft to be captured by the moon's gravity and thus begin to circle it and with it the Earth.

As a reminder, on Thursday at 17:18 the spacecraft's engines started operating for about 6 minutes and slowed down by about 1000 km/h from a speed of 8,500 km/h to a speed of 7,500 km/h relative to the moon at the speed of Genesis. The maneuver was performed when there is full communication with the spacecraft and the indications received in the control room in real time correspond to the planned route. In the coming week, which is expected to be an intense week in engineering activity, a large number of maneuvers will take place, from an elliptical orbit to a circular orbit at an altitude of 200 km above the moon, the purpose of which is to lower the altitude and reach the optimal point for the autonomous landing of the spacecraft in the "Sea of ​​Calm" on 11/4 in the evening.

The maneuver put the spacecraft into an elliptical orbit around the moon where the closest point (Perilona) is about 500 km from the moon and the farthest point (Apollona) is about 10,000 km. Unlike the long orbits around the Earth, the first orbits around the moon will last about 14 hours and towards the landing the entire orbit around the moon will last only about two hours.

At the beginning of the week, the spacecraft reached for the last time the closest point to the ball in Israel in the last lap around it - only 1,700 km and from there it continued on its way to the meeting point with the moon at a range of 400 thousand km.

Maurice Kahn, chairman of the SpaceIL association, notes: "The capture is historic in itself and has put Israel in the club of only seven countries that have orbited the moon - in a week we will make another history with the landing and joining the four powers. I am proud to be Israeli today."

Ido Antavi, CEO of SpaceIL: "After six weeks in space, it seems that we have managed to pass another critical stage and be captured by the moon's gravity. This is another significant achievement that the engineering team was able to achieve, while proving professionalism, determination and creativity in solving and bypassing faults. We still have a long way to go until landing, but I am convinced that our teams will be able to complete the mission - to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon and bring pride to all of us."

Nimrod Shafer, CEO of the Aerospace Industry: "After a challenging journey, tonight we broke another Israeli record and became the seventh country to orbit the moon. "Bereshit", even before it was launched into space, is a national success story that represents our groundbreaking technological capabilities. Tonight we reached new heights again. In the coming week, the talented engineering team will work around the clock to bring us to the historic moment on 11.4/XNUMX- "Bereshit" and good luck!"

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• The spacecraft in Genesis was captured by the moon's gravity; Preparing for a busy week of maneuvers until landing
• Tonight "Capturing the Moon" - the decisive maneuver of the spacecraft "Bereshit"
• Sunrise video from space, Earth from an altitude of 30 km: the Genesis spacecraft records its way to the moon
• Genesis was launched towards the moon, the following challenges: entering orbit around the moon and landing