The moon is attracting plenty of global attention with Israel lining up to land a robot on the alien surface. SpaceIL is a nonprofit organization of Israel and it plans another mission this year after its failed attempt of 2019. Last year the spacecraft Beresheet made it to lunar orbit but plummeted to the surface in the final stage. It was a major disappointment for the team. It is undeterred at the failure and wants to succeed this time around. China already has a robot on the moon exploring the far side. Its second robot is on its way back to Earth after collecting moon rocks.

Missions of this nature rely heavily on a combination of factors like artificial intelligence, robotics and Renewable Energy. America is gearing up for its Artemis program to send a team of astronauts to the moon. One of the members would be a woman. Obviously, there is a growing curiosity about the moon and its contribution to the cause of space research. Some believe it could turn out to be a stepping-stone to Mars and a possible source of useful material. In August 2018, NASA confirmed presence of ice on the moon. That would be a valuable resource.

New York Times says Beresheet 2, the second spacecraft, would be more complex compared to the earlier version. It would have two landers apart from an orbiter.

SpaceIL expects the budget for the follow-up mission to be similar to that of the earlier one. The tentative plan is to launch it in the first half of 2024.

Second attempt of Israel to land on the moon

The name of the spacecraft of SpaceIL is Beresheet which in Hebrew means “Genesis” or “in the beginning.” It suits the mission fine because it is certainly a beginning for Israel.

It wants to join stalwarts like America, Russia and China to learn more about the moon. Two of the founders of the nonprofit organization explained that they wanted to do something different rather than build and launch a carbon copy of the previous attempt. One of them is Kfir Damari. He said – "We’re looking to do something that will be meaningful.” New York Times adds that the two landers would not come down on the same place but on different locations on the moon.

As for the orbiter, it would remain in orbit for at least a couple of years

SpaceIL and Israel moon mission

SpaceIL is a nonprofit organization of Israel and it participated in a competition meant to promote the concept of a soft landing on the moon. Google sponsored it and the prize money was an attractive one. It was a tough job and none of the teams could hit the jackpot before the end of 2018 when it closed. New York Times goes on to add that SpaceIL of Israel was one of the competitors of the Google competition and it kept the momentum going. Its founders are confident their second attempt would be a success. The United States and the Soviet Union were vying for supremacy in the race to the moon during the 1960s and 1970s.

However, they switched to other areas of space research with their eyes on Mars. The moon returned center stage recently with China in the lead. It landed three spacecraft there since 2013. The Americans also have drawn up plans to send robotic missions to the moon.

Israel plans second moon mission in 2024

According to NBC News, the first moon mission of Israel failed when its spacecraft crashed on the lunar surface last year. Engineers described it as a technical failure. The country will make another attempt in early 2024 as a part of its Beresheet 2 project. It would involve launching two landing craft and an orbiter. The orbiter would circle the moon, conduct experiments and collect a wide range of data on behalf of school students.

Israel’s Science Ministry confirms this. The financing of the project would probably come from international partnerships and donors including state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries IAI and SpaceIL.
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