JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli spacecraft Beresheet has sent home a video of a sunrise from the spacecraft’s point of view before it enters the moon’s orbit.
The Beresheet camera also caught some selfie images with earth from 81,400 miles and nearly 165,000 miles away. It also sent back a short selfie video.,
The spacecraft is in its largest elliptical orbit around the earth and is scheduled to intersect the moon’s orbit and be captured in it on April 4 at 251,655 miles from earth.
The lunar lander is expected to land on the moon’s surface on April 11. The landing site has been identified as the northeastern part of Mare Serenitatis, or the Sea of Serenity, a flat area on the moon’s surface.
The Beresheet spacecraft is a joint venture between private companies SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries and continues to communicate with the Israel Aerospace Industries and SpaceIL control room in Yehud in central Israel.