Israel Replicates Space Conditions Ahead Of New Mission

By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels December 18, 2022 2 minutes

A simulation of the landing process of a Beresheet 2 lander using Sim.Space technology. Courtesy

The harsh conditions of space will be replicated – in a laboratory here on Earth.

Israeli company Sim.space has developed a hybrid laboratory that will allow crews to train for the upcoming Beresheet 2 mission in 2025.

SpaceIL, the Israeli aerospace organization behind the mission, aims to conduct a double landing on both sides of the moon and orbit it for five years.

This follows its Beresheet 1 mission in 2019, a low-cost privately-funded lunar program that reached the Moon, but crashed onto its surface after a failure during the braking procedure and a sudden loss of communication.

The organization’s crews will be able to practice operational procedures for landing, and for emergencies.

Sim.space founders Asaf Lewin and Amir Notea were also responsible for the development of the hybrid laboratory and digital simulations for the Beresheet 1 mission.

Its advanced infrastructure will perform system simulations in real time to examine the execution of a series of commands required in the various stages of the mission, by first running them in a laboratory on Earth.

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Only after the laboratory verifies that the commands required for the next stage are likely to be received without problems, will they give permission to execute them in real space.

“In order to succeed in making history again, in the challenging mission of Beresheet 2, we are using advanced technologies and tools in preparation for the launch planned for 2025,” said Shimon Sharid, CEO of SpaceIL.

“We are happy that Sim.space is joining us on the journey, and is bringing its vast experience from various projects in the field of space and aviation, as well as experience from the Beresheet 1 mission.

“We learned lessons from Beresheet 1, and together we will observe possible scenarios within the framework of the Beresheet 2 mission, and we will specify the necessary commands in space and prepare for the best moments of truth.”

Asaf Lewin, CEO of Sim.space, said: “We are happy and excited that the SpaceIL organization chose to integrate us into the fascinating project of Beresheet 2.

“The Beresheet 1 mission achieved many significant international achievements, including being the first private spacecraft to successfully orbit the moon, but from our point of view, the final mission of Beresheet 1, which was to achieve a ‘soft landing of an Israeli spacecraft on the moon’ has not yet been completed. We will do everything in our power to make sure that this time this mission is completed successfully x 2.”