July 10, 2018
SpaceIL’s unmanned probe will blast off before year’s end; touchdown scheduled for February 13, 2019, when it will unfurl national flag, conduct experiments
Israeli billionaire and investor Morris Kahn (L) speaks to journalists in front of a Israeli Aerospace Industries spacecraft during a press conference to announce its launch to the moon, in Yehud, near Tel Aviv, on July 10, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX)
Save the date. On February 13, 2019, an Israeli-built unmanned spacecraft is expected to land on the moon, having blasted off from Earth two months earlier, project managers said at a news conference Tuesday.
If all goes well, the SpaceIL spider-like craft will give Israel entry into the exclusive club of just three nations that have so far achieved a controlled landing on the moon’s surface.
The probe will be launched sometime in December from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, officials said during the media event, held at an Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) space technology site in Yehud. It is scheduled to land on February 13, 2019.