Beresheet takes first pictures of the moon's surface
During the coming week, intensive maneuvers and preparations for the landing will be conducted.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFThe surface of the moon as captured by Beresheet with the Earth in the background(photo credit: BERESHEET)
During the complex moon-capture maneuver successfully carried out by SpaceIL's engineering team and IAI on Thursday night, Beresheet photographed spectacular images of the moon while the engines were running and at the peak of the moon's capture maneuver.The images provide a rare visibility of the lunar surface in perspective that can not be photographed from Earth. One picture shows the earth is hidden by the moon. The larger craters seen on surface are the oldest craters of more than 4.5 billion years old, the smaller craters are younger.The Earth blocked by the moon as Beresheet photograhps its surface during orbit.In another picture the far side of the moon is visible while the Earth is in the background.The photographs were taken from a height of 470 km above the moon surface from the fourth peripheral camera of Beresheet.With the success of Lunar Capture, Israel has become the seventh country to enter the moon's orbit.During the coming week, intensive maneuvers and preparations for the landing will be conducted.
