Head of SpaceIL says ‘Beresheet 2’ project to launch immediately
South African-born billionaire Morris Kahn says a new venture is being launched to take Israel to the Moon
The Israeli team behind last week’s unsuccessful attempt to land an Israeli scientific research craft on the surface of the moon are lining up to make another attempt.
Backers of SpaceIL, the private venture behind the Beresheet craft, said this week that they would fund Beresheet 2.
SpaceIL chairman Morris Kahn, who provided most of the money, said he was backing a new effort “to complete the mission,” while in an exclusive interview with Jewish News, major donor Sylvan Adams said he would think about whether to rejoin the new mission..
“It was a bittersweet moment,” said Adams, after hearing Beresheet’s engine had failed to slow the craft on descent. “We need to understand what went wrong, then give it another go. If we’re successful, we’ll inspire children to study the subjects that took us there. We missed by very little.”
South Africa-born Kahn said: “We are going to actually put a new spacecraft on the moon and we are going to complete the mission. My message for all the youngsters [is] if it doesn’t work at first, stand up, and complete it.”
Beresheet travelled more than 248,000 miles but “technical glitches” meant that it could not slow sufficiently on its lunar descent to make the planned landing, crashing instead into the moon’s surface at 300mph last Thursday.
The world’s most famous astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin and Tim Peake, applauded Israel’s moon-landing effort, which was privately funded.
Aldrin, the Apollo astronaut who was the second man to walk on the moon after Neil Armstrong, sent his condolences to the SpaceIL team “for what almost was,” adding: “Never lose hope. Your hard work, teamwork and innovation is inspiring to all.”
British astronaut Peake, who finished a six-month stint at the International Space Station in 2016, said it was “disappointing” that Beresheet did not make it safely to the surface. However, he added: “Team SpaceIL have much to be proud of.”
A successful moon landing would have made Israel only the fourth country to manage the feat, and Harel Locker, chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries, said the eight-year project had helped create Israel’s space industry.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
