New Google Lunar X PRIZE Team: Space IL! February 11, 2011
Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X PRIZE Team Profile, Israel, Space IL , trackbackA new team has joined the Google Lunar X PRIZE: Team Space IL!
The first Israeli team in the competition, they’re a non-profit effort launched by three engineers: Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Yonatan Winetraub.
Using a CubeSAT-esque approach, the team looks to land on the moon with an $8 million budget and donate all profits to Israeli science education:
“Unlike large satellites, we plan to build a vessel that will last only two weeks to a month in space. That helps us for two reasons: There won’t be a need for massive protection against the sun’s rays, and there won’t be a need for large battery power to drive the vessel when there is no sun …. Everything will be built from existing, cheap products.” -Yariv Bash; “Will Israel Soon Be Able to Plant Its Flag on the Moon?“, Guy Grimland, Haaretz.com
Israel as a country has a launch history—-namely Ofek reconnaissance satellites—and has an active space agency going.
Considering the Israeli infrastructure and the team’s shrewd CubeSAT inspirations, Space IL could prove to be an interesting dark horse in the competition :)
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