Ben-Gurion Airport? Make sure you don't accidentally land on the moon
Israel is set to make history on Thursday night when the SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries' spacecraft Beresheet is scheduled to land on the moon.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFIsrael Airports Authority lists moon landing on its timetable, Ben Gurion Airport website on April 11th, 2019(photo credit: screenshot)
Are you on a flight from Madrid to Tel Aviv and slated to land at Ben Gurion Airport at 10 p.m. on Thursday?You might have a delay because there is another landing planned for the exact same time, as listed in the arrival section on the Airport Authority's website, even though the destination in that case is not Tel Aviv, but the moon.Israel is set to make history on Thursday night when the SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries' spacecraft Beresheet is scheduled to land on the moon, making Israel only the fourth country to achieve a moon landing.Last week, Beresheet successfully exited the earth's orbit and let the moon's gravitational force draw it into it's own orbit. The maneuver, called Lunar Capture, was the most complex one in a series of maneuvers performed by Beresheet and already a historical achievement, because Israel was only the 7th country to do so. But the climax in Beresheet's journey is the long awaited moon landing, which will take place at approximately 10 p.m. Israel time Thursday night.The 49-day journey is likely the longest flight to have been listed on the Airport Authority's website and obviously a gag, but the cute tribute comes to show how excited Israel is about Beresheet's expected moon landing.You can follow Beresheet on it's final descent here.
