Beresheet, Israel’s privately funded, engineered, and launched mission to the Moon’s surface, has successfully entered lunar orbit
after a month and a half in transit. The craft will now adjust its orbit in preparation for landing on April 11.
The craft was launched on February 21 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, accelerating towards the moon in an ever-widening Earth orbit. In a testament to the exactitude of the engineers at SpaceIL, the organization that created the craft, Beresheet finished its burn and entered an elliptical lunar orbit within 9 minutes of the time it was predicted to do so before launch. That’s some rocket science!
Moon capture! ??
Critical lunar orbit capture took place successfully.
#Beresheet is now entering an elliptical course around the
#moon, as we get closer to the historical landing #11.4.? Eliran Avital
#Israeltothemoon @ILSpaceAgency #spaceil pic.twitter.com/1dYEezTrS8— Israel To The Moon (@TeamSpaceIL)
April 4, 2019
