Try as we might, it seems we just can’t get enough of that big white rock in the Earth’s orbit; as such, there’s another Israeli lunar expedition scheduled for 2025 – SpaceIL’s Beresheet 2 – which aims to conduct a double landing on the Moon and continue in orbit for five years as a platform for science education activities. Such a lofty mission demands cutting-edge technology, and two Israeli start-ups have partnered and thrown their hi-tech hats into the ring.
Ramon.Space and Lulav Space announced that the two companies are collaborating to provide an advanced navigation solution for the upcoming lunar mission, with Lulav Space bringing innovative vision-based landing sensor algorithms to the table; those algorithms will be run on Ramon.Space’s computing platform, which has undergone a radiation-hardening process in order to enable Earth-like computational capabilities.
“An accurate, robust navigation sensor is critical to support lunar landings,” said Noam Leiter, CEO at Lulav Space. “We are thrilled to have been chosen by SpaceIL for the Beresheet 2 mission. By using Ramon.Space’s computing platform, we can develop our advanced algorithms easily, rapidly, and reliably to ensure the most accurate and detailed information and support this historic mission.”
Groundbreaking innovation by Lulav.Space
In the past, lunar landers have depended on radar and laser-based sensors to touch down on the Moon’s surface; but these systems are often bulky, and require significant power. Lulav Space has developed a more efficient landing sensor that cuts down on size, mass and power use, without decreasing performance.
“The timely and consistent processing of complex algorithms in space make the difference between mission success and failure,” said Avi Shabtai, CEO at Ramon.Space. The company’s technology is in use in many satellites, spanning more than 50 space missions across the solar system.
“We are confident that our radiation-hardened computing technology, coupled with Lulav Space’s ingenuity, will see the Beresheet 2 spacecraft safely to the Moon,”
Avi Shabtai, CEO of Ramon.Space
“We are confident that our radiation-hardened computing technology, coupled with Lulav Space’s ingenuity, will see the Beresheet 2 spacecraft safely to the Moon,” Shabtai said. “After being involved in over 50 space missions to date, an additional Israeli space mission to the Moon is very exciting and we expect our computing platform to be the engine that will power many more missions to come.”
Founded in 2011, SpaceIL launched its Beresheet 1 mission in 2019. The low-cost lunar program was the first private mission to reach the Moon. Slated for 2025, Beresheet 2 will consist of two landers that will set up shop on both sides of the Moon, and an orbiter that will continue to orbit the lunar landmass for up to five years.