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The race to the moon continues as nations around the globe gear up for their next lunar missions. Recently, Israel revealed its new goal: the Beresheet 2 project, which aims to land an unmanned craft on the moon in 2024. This comes after the first Beresheet probe’s unfortunate crash landing.
The Story of the First Beresheet
Back in 2019, Israel had a similar dream, with the original Beresheet probe. Spearheaded by the non-profit organization SpaceIL, this private mission marked Israel’s initial step towards lunar exploration. The name “Beresheet” translates to “Genesis” in Hebrew.
The mission saw the probe successfully launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, USA, in February 2019. It arrived in lunar orbit two months later, in April. However, as it prepared for landing, an engine failure caused it to crash on the moon’s surface, ending the mission abruptly.
Beresheet 2: A New Chapter Begins
Undeterred by the setback, Israel has now announced the Beresheet 2 project. Unlike its predecessor, this mission will focus on conducting experiments and gathering data for school students.
The structure of this mission is more complex than before. It involves the launch of two landing craft and an orbiter, designed to circle the moon for several years. Funding is secured through international partnerships and donors, with the total cost amounting to approximately 100 million dollars.
With Beresheet 2, Israel hopes to join the prestigious list of countries with successful lunar landings, currently including the USA, the former Soviet Union, and China.
Other Nations in the Lunar Race
Israel is not alone in its lunar aspirations. India, too, has its eyes set on the moon, with the upcoming Chandrayaan-3 mission. Scheduled for an early 2021 launch, it plans to repeat the Chandrayaan-2 mission. This means it will also include a Lander and Rover, similar to those of Chandrayaan-2, but without an orbiter. The previous Chandrayaan-2 mission ended in failure, dashing India’s hopes of becoming the first nation to successfully land on the moon on its first attempt.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also laid out plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2024, marking its entry into the lunar exploration landscape.
Meanwhile, the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is moving ahead with its Artemis program. Unlike other missions, Artemis is a crewed spaceflight program targeting the lunar south pole region. The ambitious goal? To land “the first woman and the next man” on the moon by 2024.
With several countries racing towards the moon, the upcoming years promise exciting developments in space exploration.