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Briefing
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- Lunar Mission – Space company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and non-profit SpaceIL planning mission to land on moon in December 2018, potentially becoming fourth country to do so after U.S., China, and Russia
- Smallest Aircraft – Spacecraft that is 1.5 meters high and two meters in diameter, with weight of 600 kilograms, could be smallest to reach moon
- SpaceX Partnership – Will launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida as part of second payload along with other satellites and will reach moon on February 2019
- $88 Million Investment – Spacecraft took approximately 320 million Israeli shekels ($88 million) to develop and construct, mostly coming from private donors, including SpaceIL President Mr. Morris Kahn, who donated 100 million shekels ($27 million)
- Orbiting and Landing Journey – Upon disengagement from rocket at altitude of 60,000 kilometers, spacecraft will orbit Earth, approaching higher altitude elliptical orbit upon receiving command from control room, where it will then orbit moon and eventually land on it, all executed autonomously from spacecraft's navigation control system
- Scientific Activities – Will use cameras to take photos and videos of moon’s surface and magnetometer to measure moon’s magnetic field as part of experiment in collaboration with Weizmann Institute, with data transmitted to IAI's control room
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