The Israeli spacecraft to the moon "Bereshit" will carry a time capsule inside

SpaceIL's first Israeli spacecraft in collaboration with the Aerospace Industry, understanding a digital time capsule containing national, historical and cultural symbols, such as the Declaration of Independence, Israeli songs, the Road Prayer, a collection of drawings by Israeli children and other materials collected over the past few years from the general public

At an event that took place yesterday (Monday) at a space factory in the aerospace industry, the SpaceIL association presented the "time capsule" that will be carried by the first Israeli spacecraft to the moon. This is a huge database that is stored on three special disks, which can be unloaded from the spacecraft.

The spaceship that was only revealed last week- "Genesis", will carry the capsule and inside it: hundreds of digital files starting with details about the association, details about the spacecraft construction project and the crew, national symbols, cultural cargo and materials collected from the general public over the years in order to send it to the moon with the spacecraft.

The time capsule will remain on the moon even after landing and completing the mission. Since the spacecraft is not expected to return to Earth, the information contained in it will remain on the moon indefinitely, and may be found and retrieved by future generations.

Examples of the information the capsule contains:

• Written databases such as encyclopedia volumes and dictionaries in 27 languages, as a symbol of the information accumulated by all of humanity
• National and traditional symbols - such as the Declaration of Independence, the Israeli flag, Hatikvah, the Road Prayer, the Bible and more.
• Cultural information database - Israeli songs, figures of leading cultures, art books, and Israeli literature, science books, Israeli discoveries and developments that influenced the world and more.
• Info-graphic information of the State of Israel including maps, photos of the country's landscapes and more
• Information about the SpaceIL association, the people working in it and its educational activity
• Documentation of the mission from its beginning including original drawings of the spacecraft, data and information on how it was built, the scientific mission and more.
• "The crowd's choice" - photos and files collected over the years in many public activities initiated by the association, such as "Selfie next to the model of the spaceship in Nabvg", children painting for the moon and more.
• A children's book inspired by the mission to the moon

As you remember, the spacecraft will be launched on a SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida in the USA. It will be a secondary payload and will be launched into space alongside other satellites, on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. The final launch date has not yet been announced. (It should be noted that the launch dates are subject to the constraints of the launch company).

During the event, Ido Entavi, CEO of the association, noted :SpaceIL "This is another step on our way to the moon. The insertion of the disks into the spacecraft, which are a real "time capsule", indicates the readiness of the spacecraft to go to the launch site in a few weeks. The teams of SpaceIL and the Aerospace Industry have completed the training and testing of the spacecraft and its systems, and it is ready for the start of the amazing and complex journey that embodies innovation, creativity and courage. The historic journey of the spacecraft, which also includes a scientific mission, makes a significant contribution to the advancement of the space industry and the issue of space in Israel."

Jonathan Weintraub, one of the founders of the association, stated when he put the time capsule into the spacecraft: "This is an extremely exciting position. We do not know how long the spacecraft will remain on the surface of the moon and with it the time capsule, it is very possible that in the future it will be found by various parties who will want to learn more about this historical moment."

Ofer Doron, director of a space plant at the Aerospace Industry, stated: We are proud to be the first non-governmental mission in the world to go to the moon. After many years of the moon landing disappearing from the global space discourse, we are seeing great interest among world powers in returning to the lunar surface in a variety of commercial missions. There is no doubt that the technological knowledge acquired in the aerospace industry during the development and construction of Berashit together with Space IL, combined with the space capabilities developed over 30 years in the aerospace industry, put us at the forefront of the world in the ability to carry out missions to the moon.

The spacecraft, which was assembled at the Aerospace Industry, successfully completed a series of tests to examine the integration of the various systems in the spacecraft (integration), and a series of complex experiments, the purpose of which was to test its durability. At the same time, validation and verification tests were carried out for the spacecraft's function in various scenarios during the mission phases. The spacecraft will soon make its way to the launch site in the USA.

Recently, SpaceIL and the Israel Space Agency announced a collaboration with NASA, which will allow SpaceIL to improve the ability to track and communicate with the spacecraft before, during and after the moon landing. A few weeks ago, a laser reflector was installed on the spacecraft, which will allow NASA to locate the position of the spacecraft on the moon. Also, SpaceIL will share with NASA the data obtained from the scientific experiment to measure the magnetic field at the landing site.