Israel launched probe to the moon

by Patrick McDonough
edited by Tyler Peterson

The Israeli non-profit space program, SpaceIL, has launched their probe to the moon this Thursday the  21st, according to CNN

SpaceIL sent the scientific drone to the moon to learn more about the surface and magnetic field. The spacecraft will orbit the moon prior to descending to the surface in order to study the magnetic field.

This landing on the moon will be the fourth time a country has landed a probe on the moon, after China landed theirs in 2013.

(CNN: The Spacecraft Beresheet)

The probe, named “Beresheet,” a reference to the first words in the Hebrew Bible “In the Beginning…,” is the first probe from SpaceIL to be launched. Beresheet is completely funded from donations to the space agency. The spacecraft costs $100 million.

According to the article “the unmanned craft, weighing 1,300 pounds and standing approximately five feet tall, began an approximate seven-week journey to the moon”