A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched an Indonesian communications satellite and Israel's first lunar lander Thursday night from Cape Canaveral.
This is historic for two reasons: Israel has never before tried a lunar landing, and no one has ever launched a privately funded moon mission. Called Beresheet — Hebrew for "in the beginning" — the spacecraft is roughly the size of a washing machine, and is expected to reach the moon in about two months. The nonprofit organization SpaceIL is behind the $100 million mission, and says that Beresheet has already started sending data back to Earth.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Samarkand travel guide: the cultural heart of UzbekistanThe Week Recommends The mesmerising ancient city blends old and new
-
A 'golden age' of luxury train travelThe Week Recommends Plush new sleeper trains are cropping up across Europe from Norway to Italy
-
Nigel Hamilton's 6 inspirational books for fellow writersFeature The award-winning author recommends works by John Banville, Ann Patchett, and more
-
DOJ seeks breakup of Google, ChromeSpeed Read The Justice Department aims to force Google to sell off Chrome and make other changes to rectify its illegal search monopoly
-
Racist texts tell Black people in US to prepare for slaverySpeed Read Recipients in at least a dozen states have been told to prepare to 'pick cotton' on slave plantations
-
Australia proposes social media ban before age 16Speed Read Australia proposes social media ban before age 16
-
FTC bans fake online product reviewsSpeed Read The agency will enforce fines of up to $51,744 per violation
-
States sue TikTok over children's mental healthSpeed Read The lawsuit was filed by 13 states and Washington, D.C.
-
Amazon ending 'Just Walk Out' grocery checkoutSpeed Read In its place, the company will let customers scan while they shop with Amazon Dash Cart
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suitSpeed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
-
House votes to force TikTok to sell or face US banspeed read The House passed a bill to ban TikTok on national security grounds unless it sells to a non-Chinese company
