Lulav Space’s landing sensor suite, powered by Ramon.Space’s space computing platform, selected for SpaceIL’s Beresheet 2 lunar missions.

By Abigail Klein Leichman, ISRAEL21c

Israeli space development organization SpaceIL plans a double landing on the Moon in 2025, aiming to continue in orbit for five years as a platform for science education activities.

SpaceIL cofounder and deputy CEO Kfir Damari reports that SpaceIL has chosen Beresheet 2’s landing sensors and navigation system — vision-based landing sensor algorithms from Lulav Space on a radiation-hardened computing platform from Ramon.Space – for the challenging two landings on both sides of the Moon.

The combined Israeli navigation solution is expected to deliver superior performance, durability and cost-efficiency in comparison to legacy radar or laser-based systems.

“The timely and consistent processing of complex algorithms in space make the difference between mission success and failure,” said Avi Shabtai, CEO at Ramon.Space.

“After being involved in over 50 space missions to date, an additional Israeli space mission to the Moon is very exciting and we expect our computing platform to be the engine that will power many more missions to come.”

Another Israeli product to be implemented in Beresheet 2 is Jupiter-Space technology from intelligent video transmission company Maris-Tech to manage camera operation, store and compress images and implement several mission algorithms on both lunar landers.

In addition, Swedish space company AAC Clyde Space has been contracted to provide the mission computer for the landers.

“It will execute the flight software, which performs all the mission tasks including communication with Earth, monitoring and handling failures, and management of the automatic landing system,” said Damari.

“Meanwhile, our software engineers team is writing the software that will be implemented on the computer. This software will be tested on the development model we’ll get in the next few days.”

Founded in 2011, SpaceIL launched its Beresheet 1 mission in 2019, a low-cost lunar program and the first private Moon mission that reached the Moon, although disappointingly it crashed on arrival.

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The experiment’s goal is to maximize productivity and allow efficient management of resources on future space colonies on the moon and Mars.

By Kobi Richter, TPS

Israeli chickpea seeds will be among the supplies and equipment sent to the International Space Station (ISS) on February 19, 2022, for a series of experiments aimed at controlling the growth of crops via technology.

Contained for optimal growth in a small device called a “miniature greenhouse,” they will be delivered as part of Northrop Grumman’s 17^th commercial resupply services mission to the ISS, aboard its Cygnus spacecraft.

These special greenhouses are also well-suited for travel to the moon, which will be the next step of the mission.

The chickpeas will be part of a project called “Space Hummus,” which will test hydroponic techniques for plant growth in zero gravity.

A superfood with high nutritional value, chickpeas grow quickly and easily, making them ideal for space cultivation.

Scientists will conduct experiments on the ISS using special LEDs to see how well plant growth can be controlled, remotely observing and controlling root growth through video and still images. The goal is to maximize productivity and allow efficient management of resources on future space colonies on the moon and Mars.

The team believes that perfecting techniques for control, part of a field called synthetic biology, could be essential to growing crops in a space station or on the moon and other planets.

“We can’t let the plans ‘grow wild’ in future colonies because they will quickly run out of resources,” said Yonatan Winetraub, co-founder of SpaceIL and the visionary behind the experiment. “Our hope is to use our technology to control the rate of chickpea growth in space with zero gravity and limited resources.”

Led by Winetraub, scientists and engineers from Israel and Stanford University, VC fund Moon2Mars Ventures and the Desert Mars Analog Ramon Station (D-Mars), the experiments will receive additional assistance from Yeruham Science Center high-school students and be performed in part by Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe in the RAKIA mission, 2022.

The “Space Hummus” experiment is supported by the Strauss Group, an Israeli food and beverage company, and the Haifa Group, which specializes in advanced technological solutions for precision agriculture and has developed a unique nutrient formula for growing chickpeas in space to ensure high-quality crops per unit area.

“We don’t know if chickpeas can grow in space. This is something that has actually never been done before,” said Winetraub.

“The challenge is not just how to grow as many chickpeas as possible, but how to control the way they are grown – so that we maximize our limited resources. The more we learn to grow food with fewer resources, the more prepared we will be for the challenges that await us on Earth, as well,” he added.

NASA has recently announced that it is looking at ways to provide astronauts with nutrients in a long-lasting, easily absorbed form, such as through freshly grown fruits and vegetables. They agree that the challenge is how to do that in a closed environment without sunlight or Earth’s gravity.

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The joint endeavor aims to become the first mission to space to perform a double landing on the moon.

By TPS, World Israel News Staff

Israel’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Orit Farkash HaCohen and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister for Advanced Technology Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri signed a historic agreement on Wednesday at the 2021 world Expo in Dubai for the cooperation in Space projects.

The UAE Space Agency has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Israel Space Agency to enhance cooperation in scientific research, space exploration, and knowledge transfer to “accelerate economic growth and human progress.”

The agreement lays the framework for a strategic partnership that will strengthen efforts to gather and analyze scientific space data. Both parties will enhance collaboration and cooperation in a wide range of strategic fields, including exploration, research, data analysis, education and more.

The UAE will exchange research and develop scientific instruments for Israel’s Beresheet-2 mission to land a spacecraft on the Moon by 2024 as part of the landmark agreement.

The joint endeavor aims to become the first mission to space to perform a double landing on the moon.

Morris Kahn, founder of SpaceIL, the Israeli company that developed the first version of the Beresheet spacecraft, said that the joint initiative with the UAE is based on a deep relationship and common values.

“Over the past few months, we have forged a strong relationship with senior UAE officials who seek to establish a deep relationship based on shared values ​​of education, technology and inspiration for the younger generations of the two peoples,” he said, cited by Israel Hayom.

Universities in Israel and the UAE will also launch collaborative research projects. They include exploring the red tide phenomenon, analyzing red palm weevil infestation which threatens date palm cultivation, and mapping aerosols – solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere. Vegetation and environmental data gathered by the Venus microsatellite used by the Israel Space Agency and the French Space Agency will also be shared with the UAE.

Israel has witnessed near-unprecedented developments in space research, advanced technologies and the expansion of its private sector in recent decades, including becoming the eighth country in the world to successfully launch and position satellites in space.

The Emirates’ space program started in 2006 with a knowledge transfer program that saw Emirati engineers working with partners around the world to develop the UAE’s spacecraft design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, launching a series of earth observation satellites designed and built by Emirati engineers.

Farkash-Hacohen stated that “governments sign agreements but people and collaborations are the ones that truly make peace.”

“Israel is an international leader in the worlds of research, space, science and hi-tech. I share Minister Al Amiri’s vision of harnessing science and space not only as an economic stimulus but also for bringing hearts together and educating our next generation.”

Al Amiri noted that “sharing knowledge and expertise is a key part of the UAE’s vision to create an attractive and competitive national space industry. If you look at the most successful global space programs in history, the common denominator is collaboration.”

“Israel has a globally recognized space industry and developing bilateral and multilateral partnerships has never been so important as we embrace a new era of space exploration,” she added.

This is the 15th agreement signed between Israel and the UAE in a bit more than a year’s time since the signing of the Abraham Accords.

Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain signed a historic peace agreement at the White House in September 2020, the first agreement to be signed between Israel and an Arab country in 25 years.

The UAE is the first major Arab state to recognize Israel since the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty was signed in October 1994.

Announced on August 13, the Abraham Accords is the first between a Gulf state and Israel and is expected to lead to similar agreements with other Arab countries, possibly Oman or Saudi Arabia.

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Unprecedented: Israel’s ambitious 2024 moonshot includes two simultaneous landings.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli efforts to return to outer space took a step forward as SpaceIL announced on Sunday it secured $70 million in funding for the Beresheet 2 moonshot. The first Beresheet lander crashed into the moon in 2019.

Landing Beresheet 2 by the target date of 2024 will cost an overall $100 million, according to SpaceIL.

Beresheet 2 will be made up of three craft: a mother craft remaining in orbit around the moon for five years, and a pair of landers with separate missions making simultaneous landings. No nation has ever attempted simultaneous landings.

One lander’s mission will be to explore the far side of the moon. Landing a craft on the moon’s far side is especially difficult because the moon blocks all radio contact with the Earth. In 2019, China became the first and only country to land a craft there by using a a satellite to relay transmissions between Earth and the craft.

In 2019, Israel launched the Beresheet moon lander, which would have been the first privately funded and smallest craft to land on the lunar surface. In another first, the Beresheet was the first lunar craft launched from a rocket as a secondary payload. Beresheet was a “hitchhiker” or secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket whose primary payload was an Indonesian telecommunications satellite.

In initial findings, SpaceIL said Beresheet’s crash was due to a series of technical glitches causing an engine to shut down during its descent. The craft hit the lunar surface at a speed of more than 1,800 mph. SpaceIL never released the findings of its full investigation into the failure.

The primary benefactors for Beresheet 2 are billionaires Morris Kahn, Patrick Drahi and Martin Moshal. Kahn, an entrepreneur, also serves as chairman of SpaceIL. Drahi is French businessman and Israeli national currently living in Switzerland. Moshal is a South African tech entrepreneur.

“I am grateful to our dear donors, who believe in the power of the “Beresheet 2” extraordinary mission to inspire a whole generation of students and dreamers, for their confidence in the ability of SpaceIL to realize this challenging mission, which will place Israel at the front row of global deep-space technology,” SpaceIL CEO Shimon Sarid said in a statement.

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Billionaire Len Blavatnik recently announced a $1 million grant for SpaceIL, the entity behind Israel’s next moon mission.

The post WATCH: Israeli moon mission receives $1 million boost appeared first on World Israel News.

Here is a recap of the top Israel news stories on November 25, 2019.

And in case you missed our last recap…

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SpaceIL is working on ideas to get to Mars as well, says co-founder Kfir Damari.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The NGO that sent the world’s first private spacecraft to the moon in April, only to see it crash at the last moment, is going to send another one by 2022, Sputnik News reported Sunday.

SpaceIL cofounder Kfir Damari told the Russian site that the second attempt would cost even less than the $100 million shoe-string budget for developing its original Beresheet, or Genesis, lander.

“The second attempt will take us about three years and will be significantly cheaper than the first project – costing roughly $80 million,” said Damari. “Firstly, because we already have the experience, the know-how and the design, and secondly because we learned from past mistakes.”

The technical failures that led to the crash were already identified and investigated in the weeks that followed the crash landing on the lunar surface.

Damari’s announcement is perhaps surprising because SpaceIL said in June that it would “search for another significant challenge” rather than simply repeat a similar journey, which “does not set the bar required of groundbreaking missions.” However, the successful entrepreneur revealed that the startup has not broken its word, saying that no less than a Mars exploration mission was in the early planning stages.

Such a target would put the tiny Israeli NGO in the rarified company of the world’s superpowers – the United States, Russia and China. But SpaceIL’s founders and financial backers wanted to do more than reach outer space. Its stated goals include inspiring children all over the world to love science and reach for the stars, figuratively if not literally.

Damari therefore never considered the lunar mission a failure.

“Despite the fact that Beresheet crashed, hundreds of kids wrote to us saying we inspired them to become engineers and scientists. So all I want to do is to fulfill the potential of these kids and show them that if they can dream it, they can do it,” he said in the report.

The three-year window is less than half the eight years it took the first time, which was prompted by a $20 million competition for a non-governmental group to reach the moon, called the Google Lunar XPRIZE.

Although the competition was halted as none of the finalists, including SpaceIL, could meet its requirements, the Israeli organization went on with the help of wealthy donors.

The prize committee did give the organization $1 million in recognition of their “successful failure,” in that it joined the ranks of seven countries to orbit the moon and was one of only four to attempt a soft landing.

The Beresheet 2 project will also get more help from the government this time around. After the little lander almost made it, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space pledged $5.5 million for a second attempt, more than doubling its contribution for the first, historic try.

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The tiny creatures might have survived the crash landing.

By World Israel News Staff

When Israel’s Genesis lander crashed into the moon on April 11, few knew that it had carried samples of a tiny life form with extraordinary powers of regeneration. So much so, that it may have survived the space craft’s disintegration on the lunar surface.

Genesis carried a payload belonging to the Arch Mission Foundation, whose goal is to create “a backup of planet Earth.” The foundation’s project was a “DVD-sized archive,” a lunar library packed with “30 million pages of information, human DNA samples, and thousands of tardigrades,” Wired magazine reported on Monday.

Tardigrades, or “little water bears,” are tiny eight-legged, segmented creatures measuring about 1.5 millimeters long. They are considered among the most resilient creatures ever discovered and can survive extreme conditions, including radiation, dehydration and starvation. They can even survive space.

The founder of the Arch Mission Foundation, Noah Spivack, told Wired that Tardigrades can enter dormant states  “in which all metabolic processes stop and the water in their cells is replaced by a protein that effectively turns the cells into glass.” Tardigrades have been revived after 10 years in dormancy.

The little creatures are a favorite of space buffs. The most recent incarnation of the Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery, played off the idea of tardigrades by introducing a highly advanced creature of the same name which looked virtually identical to the real tardigrades and which could navigate the universe.

Spivack said that based on analysis of the crash and the location of the disc-sized library on the lander, he’s confident that the payload survived.

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The organization announces that it will pick a mission that is more groundbreaking than landing safely on the moon.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

SpaceIL, the organization that almost completed its mission to land a spacecraft on the moon in April, has decided not to try again, it announced Tuesday.

Even though the Beresheet (Genesis) lander crashed only a few kilometers from the moon’s surface, its journey “was seared into Israel and the world’s consciousness as a successful one, a breakthrough,” SpaceIL’s statement said.

The mission also broke many records, it said, such as being the smallest spacecraft (2m. x 1.5m.), built with the lowest budget ($100 million), that traveled the greatest distance to get to the moon (6.5 million kilometers).

The nonprofit organization, which sees exciting the younger generation about science in general and space in particular as a major part of its mission, will therefore move forward rather than repeating the journey, despite its previous intention to launch Beresheet 2.

“The repetition of a similar journey does not set the bar required of groundbreaking missions, so it was decided to search for another significant challenge,” SpaceIL said in a statement.

When the Beresheet lunar lander’s engine failed at the last moment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was watching from the control room, told the press, “Write this down, in three years we will get another spacecraft on the moon, and this one will land in one piece.”

The Ministry of Science’s Israel Space Agency announced in early May that it would contribute NIS 20 million towards the next attempt.

On May 15, a NASA spacecraft found Beresheet’s probable remains. Cameras on its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) “captured a dark smudge, about 10 meters [32 feet] wide, that indicates the point of impact,” NASA officials said. There was “a light halo around the smudge,” they said, which “could have formed from gas associated with the impact or from fine soil particles blown outward during Beresheet’s descent, which smoothed out the soil around the landing site, making it highly reflective.”

The LRO has been going around the moon since 2009, looking particularly for water or ice, and has found the remains of other probes that hit the moon in the 1960s and 1970s.

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The Genesis spacecraft crashed due to a sensor failure that created a cascading effect leading to the main engine shutdown minutes before touchdown.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

An initial investigation into last week’s failed landing of the Israeli lunar module Beresheet (or, “Genesis”) has found that a technical malfunction led to the main engine’s shutdown during the critical last minutes of descent, causing it to crash on the moon.

Dr. Ido Anteby, SpaceIL CEO, said one of the spacecraft’s inertial measurement units (IMUs), which gauges acceleration, malfunctioned during the landing maneuver, correctly sending a failure message to the control center. The engineers then commanded the sensor to restart, which reset the lander’s computer. This brought about a quick chain of events that caused the main engine to shut down.

Ground control engineers attempted to restart the engine six times. Two tries were temporarily successful, but by that point Genesis had closed the distance to the moon to the point where there wasn’t enough time to slow the craft. It hit the lunar surface at 500 km/hr.

“When the engine doesn’t work, the spacecraft cannot make a soft landing, and that’s how the fate of the mission was sealed,” Dr. Anteby said.

He said that until the malfunction everything had been working perfectly.

“When we finish the entire investigation, we’ll know if and how things should have been done differently,” he said, “But it seems that if this incident had not occurred, the spacecraft would have continued with its landing.”

The full investigation will take a few more weeks as the initial findings have come solely from an examination of the lunar lander’s telemetry readings, according to Dr. Anteby. The more in-depth look will include a search for the cause of the initial sensor malfunction, as the component had worked correctly during all the various maneuvers the spacecraft had performed on its way to the moon.

The human element has to be examined as well, he said. “We have not yet performed an analysis of the decision-making in the control room,” Dr. Anteby said.

Morrish Kahn, the main benefactor supporting the years-long project to make Israel only the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon, remains undeterred by the findings.

“These incidents are an inseparable part of such a groundbreaking and complicated project,” said Kahn, who serves as SpaceIL’s president.

“What’s important now is to learn the lessons in the best way possible, look at the mistakes courageously, and move on. This is our message to the Jewish people and this is the spirit behind the Beresheet project.”

Mr. Kahn announced on April 13, only two days after lander’s failure, that SpaceIL would attempt a second landing with Genesis 2.

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While the Genesis mission concluded with a crash landing on the lunar surface, SpaceIL’s chairman vowed to make a second attempt. 

By World Israel News Staff

Just days after the Genesis lunar mission concluded with a crash landing and SpaceIL chairman Morris Kahn announced another privately-funded attempt to reach the moon, Israel’s Culture Minister Miri Regev announced that Kahn and project initiator Kfir Damari will be honored as joint torchbearers at the annual state Independence Day ceremony on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl in May.

The ceremony marks the transition from Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen and terror victims to Independence Day, which are national holidays observed on consecutive days.

The torch lighting is a major part of the ceremony. Among the other honorees at this year’s event will be the mothers of three teens abducted and murdered by Palestinian terrorists in June 2014.

SpaceIL issued a statement saying that the announcement marks an “exciting day” for their venture.

In choosing Kahn and Damari, Regev was acting on the recommendation of a selection committee. In the announcement, SpaceIL is cited for its promotion of “scientific and technological education in Israel” and encouraging Israeli innovation.

On the heels of the nearly successful space mission, Kahn announced the establishment of Genesis 2.

He pledged to lead the second Israeli spacecraft toward achieving a successful lunar landing.

“This is part of my message to the younger generation: even if you do not succeed, you get up again and try,” said Kahn, adding that he plans to form a new group of donors to support Genesis 2, as well as appointing a new team for the follow-up mission, and will himself lead the project.

He said that the work for the new project would begin immediately.

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Here is a recap of the top Israel news stories on April 14, 2019.

And in case you missed last Thursday’s recap…

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SpaceIL said it would try a second time to land a spacecraft on the moon with a new lander, Genesis 2.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

SpaceIL said it would try a second time to land a spacecraft on the moon with a new spacecraft already named “Beresheet 2” (or, “Genesis 2”). Morris Kahn, the South African-born Israeli billionaire and main funder of the project, made the announcement during an interview on Israel’s “Meet the Press” program on Saturday.

Work on the second spacecraft will begin immediately.

SpaceIl is the nonprofit that led the attempt to put Israel’s first spacecraft, Genesis, on the moon. It crashed into the lunar surface on Thursday night Israel time. If successful, it would have been the world’s first privately funded effort to put a lander on the moon.

Genesis came tantalizingly close. Israelis watched a live feed from SpaceIL’s control center in Yahud, Israel. All systems appeared to be working as the engines fired to slow the craft for a soft landing. Suddenly communication was lost and the engines shut down.

Ground control managed to reestablish communication and the engines restarted, but by then it was too late and the spacecraft crashed into the moon’s surface at 500 km/hr.

Although it’s unlikely all the data will be recovered given the lost connection, SpaceIL determined that a faulty acceleration sensor caused the problem, which led to the engines shutting down early. The team will take a more in-depth look over the coming week to learn as much as possible about what went wrong.

Despite the failure to soft-land Genesis, the atmosphere at SpaceIL’s control center was surprisingly upbeat on Thursday night.

“If at first you don’t succeed, you try again,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in attendance.

In an interview shortly afterwards, Mr. Kahn said, referring to a plaque that was on the spacecraft, “The flag of Israel and the slogan ‘small country, big dreams’ is on the moon. The slogan ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ [‘the people of Israel lives’] is on the moon. I think we’ve done a lot. I’m happy.”

The first Genesis was built by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) with funding from private donors like Mr. Kahn.

The next attempt will be a national project, Mr. Kahn says, with funds gathered from the public. Prime Minister Netanyahu also promises the government’s help this time around.

Much was learned from the first attempt.  Opher Doron, the general manager of IAI, says the European Space Agency is interested in working with Israel now that it has practical experience under its belt.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the start of the weekly Cabinet Meeting on Sunday, said, “We intend to launch ‘Beresheet II’ …

“This proves, first of all, our abilities, our aspirations and the fact that we are not stymied by failures. The difference between winners and losers is that we do not give up. We will try again and again until we succeed. I estimate that we will have a better chance of succeeding the second time.”

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While Israeli spacecraft Beresheet’s didn’t manage to land intact on the moon’s surface, SpaceIL president Morris Khan, struck an optimistic tone focusing on the mission’s accomplishments.

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Watch live footage of Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft land on the moon!

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Excitement is building in Israel as its first-ever spacecraft, Genesis, is set to land on the moon today at 10:00 p.m. – 11 p.m. Israel time (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT). 

By David Isaac, World Israel News

Israelis are looking skyward tonight as the Genesis spacecraft — the name was chosen in an online vote — is scheduled to touch down on Thursday between 10:00-11:00 p.m. Israel time (3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT).

Once Genesis touches the lunar surface, Israel will have entered the history books as only the fourth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon, sharing the honor with far larger countries with much deeper pockets – the U.S., China and Russia.

Israel has already made history with its spacecraft. Last week it became only the seventh country to place a spacecraft in lunar orbit.

Shortly before touchdown, Genesis will conduct a two-step deceleration process as it dives toward the lunar surface, an operation of about 15 minutes. After landing, it will take a selfie.

It’s main scientific contribution will be measuring the moon’s magnetic field.

Israelis will be justifiably proud of their achievement. As a sign of the general enthusiasm, an official Ben Gurion International Airport app listed the moon as one of its  destinations.

An official Ben Gurion International Airport app listed the moon as a destination on Thursday. (Facebook)

Genesis got its start in 2010 when three young Israeli engineers – Yonatan Winetraub, Yariv Bash and Kfir Damari — registered for the Google Lunar X Prize competition. The competition offered $20 million for the first non-governmental entity to land a spacecraft on the moon. The contest’s aim was to encourage commercial spaceflight and exploration.

However, when the Google Lunar X Prize announced in 2018 that the contest deadline had passed, Israel’s team (among many teams competing around the world) was the only one that decided to go for the moon anyway. In a show of appreciation, Google announced on March 29 that it would award $1 million to SpaceIL, the nonprofit company established to run the Israeli effort.

For a history of Israel’s space history, see the timeline of milestones on Israel’s journey to the moon.

A live feed of the Genesis landing can be seen below:

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