The Berensheet spacecraft is due to land on the surface of the moon on 11 April. Dr David Brown from the Department of Physics discusses the importance of this mission for Israel and for privately-funded space efforts.

Dr Brown said: “With the touchdown of Beresheet, Israel joins a very exclusive group as only the fourth (and smallest) nation ever to land a spacecraft on the Moon. Originally planned and built for the Google Lunar X-Prize, this small, privately funded spacecraft will measure the magnetic field at its landing site to investigate anomalies found by earlier missions, providing important information about the history of the Moon. This is an historic moment for Israel, and shows the potential for private spaceflight to contribute to scientific endeavour.”

11 April 2019

Contact:

Peter Thorley

Media Relations Manager (Warwick Medical School and Department of Physics)

Email: peter.thorley@warwick.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)24 761 50868

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