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Start from Genesis: Journey to the Moon Renews | Israel today

2021-04-02T08:01:44.592Z


| You sat down The Israeli dream of reaching the moon may have crashed with the "Genesis" spacecraft, but for developers Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Jonathan Weintraub, this was just the beginning • In 2024 they plan to launch "Genesis 2" - and this time seven more countries will join the project, including the United Arab Emirates And Bahrain "The orbiting spacecraft will hover around the moon, and to it will


The Israeli dream of reaching the moon may have crashed with the "Genesis" spacecraft, but for developers Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Jonathan Weintraub, this was just the beginning • In 2024 they plan to launch "Genesis 2" - and this time seven more countries will join the project, including the United Arab Emirates And Bahrain

  • "The orbiting spacecraft will hover around the moon, and to it will be attached two landers, which are the smallest spacecraft built to date."

    Model of "Genesis 2"

    Photo: 

    Eric Sultan

Nothing

in SpaceIL's offices indicates that the people who launched the first Israeli spacecraft to the moon are roaming there, and are now working on the second.

The four offices and the conference room are located in a side hallway inside the Lewinsky Seminary, and the name of the association appears last on the small directional sign, hidden to the tools.



Modesty is the name of the game, and so are the founders - Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Jonathan Weintraub.

None of them got rich, they do not fantasize about a magnificent tower with a sea view, nor about a reality show.

Thanks to them, two years ago, Israel became the seventh country to reach the moon, although not as hoped.

Their spacecraft, Genesis, crashed on lunar soil after one of its sensors stopped working, and a repair order sent to it led to a temporary shutdown of the engine.

All that remains of the ambitious mission are dark scorching marks and a small crater, immortalized on NASA cameras. 



The ending chord disappointed them a bit, but it was clear to all three that their vision was only at the beginning.

Now they are stretching the challenge to new and more complex boundaries.



Three months ago, after a year of wrestling between the Moon and Mars, they announced a "Genesis 2" project, a spacecraft and two landers, to be launched in the first half of 2024. Instead of one landing, there will be two.

Israel will lead the project, but seven more countries will join it;

And this will be the first time students from around the world will be able to explore the information coming from the spacecraft sensors. 



"The orbiting spacecraft will hover around the moon, and will be connected to two landers, which are the smallest spacecraft built to date," explains Kfir, who serves as deputy CEO and handles education, community relations and marketing. "The landers will be separated from the spacecraft in different locations around the moon. On the dark side, which never turns its face to the earth.

To date, only the Chinese have succeeded in such a task. "Is 



there a fear that" Genesis 2 "will also crash?



Opponent:" Obviously.

If the project was safe and easy, everyone would build spacecraft and fly them to the moon. " 



Kfir:" Fear does not lead us. "Did



you choose two landers to increase your chances of landing? 



Jonathan:" We wanted to do something no one had done before.

We will be the first to send a scope and two landers, and not just one. " 

"Going from us forever" 

January 17, 2019 was for Kfir (38) one of the defining days of his life.

After nine years of hard work on the construction of the first Israeli spacecraft, he stepped on the runway at Ben-Gurion Airport and accompanied it, wrapped in a golden thermal blanket and tucked inside a container, on its way to the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida. 



"It was raining that day, so I took a blue folding umbrella with me and put it in my coat pocket," he recalled.

"I looked at the container, and that was the moment when the consciousness permeated: no more repairs, software problems, engineering completions. In the beginning goes from us forever. 



" They moved the container, and the procession beside it seemed to me like a slow motion.

An opponent was next to me, and Jonathan was at his house in the US. I was so focused that I did not notice that the umbrella fell and the container ran over it. On the way back from the plane, someone asked me if it was mine. The umbrella was crushed and broken, but I could not throw it. "From an emotional place, as if it were the last souvenir. To this day, it is kept with me and symbolizes the experiences from that period." 



The spacecraft was launched a month later, on February 22.

Kfir and Jonathan (34) stayed at Cape Canaveral, Yariv (40) stayed in Israel and watched the takeoff from the control room at IAI.

For the first seven weeks, Genesis revolved around the earth, in a difficult journey.

Its stellar tracking system is blinded by the sun, and one day the computer will reboot itself in an unplanned manner.

Each time she performed a maneuver - turning on engines to repair a track - the three developers skipped a beat. 



"There is no doubt that in the beginning there was a troublemaker from the first moment," laughs Kfir. 



Rival: "Because we are the only ones who sent a spacecraft to the moon in one blow, without practicing launches."



After almost two months in space, on the evening of April 11, the spacecraft sent a selfie with the Israeli flag.

She then sent a picture of the moon's surface, and then the connection with it was severed.

Due to the shutdown of the engine, it initially lost a lot of altitude and fell to the ground at a speed of 900 meters per second.

The State of Israel missed the opportunity to become the fourth to land a spacecraft on the moon, after the United States, Russia and China. 

"There was a problem with one of the acceleration sensors, 13 km above the ground, and the spacecraft switched to the backup component," explains Kfir. "Due to previous malfunctions, the control room staff thought it would be appropriate to initialize the sensor, but the command also caused the computer to boot.

The computer turned off the engines that were supposed to slow down the spacecraft, and by the time it took off, it was too late. " 



So this is not just a technical glitch, as we previously thought, but also a human error?



Kfir:" Whoever made the decision did the right thing at that moment, though Landing event.

In retrospect, it turned out that one of the control room staffs was hesitant about the order because he was doing an experiment that the other staffs were not familiar with.

Today we are smarter and more experienced.

Next time we will make sure there is a better flow of information between the teams and make sure they do more exercises. " 



Opponent:" Unfortunately, when you build such systems, it's like Swiss cheese.

If you stack enough slices, all the holes will be clogged.

When you do not have enough money, you do not stack enough layers, so the system is not completely immune. "



Why do you call the crash a" landing event "? 



Opponent:" I have no problem saying 'crash', but there are people in the organization who have difficulty with this definition.

They prefer a 'hard landing'.

"Sometimes, when I talk to engineers and say 'we crashed', they remind me of the most important thing: we were the first in Israel and in the world to build a private spacecraft and reach the moon."

"Do not make comparisons" 

In front of the front door of Yariv's house in Tel Aviv is a large school bag, with a large print of a gray spaceship.

The case belongs to Yoav Bash (6), and his father half apologizes: "This is what he chose of his own free will."



There is no mention in the house of the work of Yariv, who in recent years has also set up a skimmer company for errands.

Black sofas, a glass table, a large TV screen, and next to a children's play area, sloping with cars.

Only in the kitchen is there a small model of Genesis, hidden among the cereal boxes, soft drink bottles and coffee capsules.

"I have no explanation for why it's here," an opponent shrugs.



He is an electronics and computer engineer, married to Noa, medical director, and the father of Yoav and Assaf (4).

About four and a half years ago he went on a ski holiday in France, and while surfing flew in the air and landed on his back.

He has since been paralyzed in both legs and in a wheelchair. 



Kfir is sitting on the couch, wearing a black T-shirt with a large SpaceIL logo.

He is a communications systems engineer and lectures on entrepreneurship, is married to Dotan, an occupational therapist, and the father of Laor (7 years old) and Maayan (4 years old).

He lives in Rosh HaAyin, and until recently was the owner of a startup in the field of information security.



Jonathan joins the call, using the zoom.

He lives in Mountain View, California, in Silicon Valley, California with his new wife, also in high-tech.

He is an electrical engineer and a graduate of NASA's space studies program, completing his doctoral studies at Stanford University and developing a unique device for detecting skin cancer using an external scan. Is



detecting cancer more exciting than building a spacecraft? 



"I do not make comparisons.

In both cases, it is an important technology, but there is no doubt that in the last year, health has been at the center of the world. "

An opponent sends Jonathan a picture of thousands of golden threads, which look like hundreds of wool balls after a tsunami.

"Look," he enthusiastically points to Kfir as well.

"These are the cables that connect all the modules in the NASA probe, which has now landed on Mars.

It's crazy and unbelievably complex. " 



Jonathan:" It reminds me that all the cables of Genesis were in blue and white. "Is 



there envy of the success of the Americans on Mars? 



Opponent:" There is amazement.

When they released the video of the landing I had tears in my eyes.

The more you study the solar system, the better. "



Did you feel that in Israel there was a" Genesis effect "like the" Apollo effect "that occurred after the first landing of astronauts on the moon?



Jonathan:" The effect could not be missed even here, in Los Angeles .

A year ago I was sitting at a bar with my wife and wearing a SpaceIL shirt.

I was approached by two American students who recognized the logo, and told me, 'Congratulations on the launch.'

I was excited.

Genesis effect crossed Israel. 



"" Are you sure it was not a bar in Pasadena? ", A rival stings, targeting NASA's unmanned spacecraft laboratory.

"Maybe that's why they recognized the logo?" 



Jonathan laughs.

"One hundred percent sure. In my opinion, Genesis was a phenomenal success. This is the first time a private association has reached the moon, and another small association in a small country. The space field in Israel is strengthening, and students and universities are sending quite a few nano-satellites into the atmosphere. We started this wave. Something that will be bigger than us, and here it is happening. " 



Kfir: "After the Genesis landing event, there was a record number of enrollees in the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space at the Technion. Students are studying there today, joining the organization as children when it was in its infancy, and hearing lectures by our volunteers.



" The main goal is to nurture the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Sometimes after the lectures they approach me and ask for an autograph.

I'm thrilled by this.

I'm not a celeb, I'm an engineer.

We are in the right direction if engineers and scientists become role models. " 



Do you feel that you disappointed those children when the spacecraft crashed?



Kfir:" I think they gave a lot of inspiration. " 



Jonathan:" I think



Genesis

is a success story. "

Yariv:" Genesis was an inspiration and success, but It is clear to me that there was also disappointment.

This is a silver medal at the Olympics.

Is a silver medal a disappointment or a success? " 



Jonathan:" People did not believe we would be able to launch anything. " 



Opponent:" True.

Senior figures in the Israeli space industry did not believe that the spacecraft would communicate with us in orbit.

Obviously I would have been happy for a gold medal, but this is the first time that Israel is going to such an Olympics, and it came back with a silver medal. " 



Kfir:" In the beginning, it opened the hunger for children.

In August we opened an online space camp online, and I was sure a maximum of 2,000 children would enroll.

20,000 were registered within two weeks. "

"Mars stays in the background" 

They have been together since 2010, very different in character.

An opponent is the cynical, the sentimental Kfir, and Jonathan the optimistic.

Yariv was the first to consider launching a small plastic rocket into the atmosphere and calling it "the first Israeli spacecraft."

He called Jonathan and added him to the project.

That night he posted to Facebook asking who was willing to join the global competition of Google and the XPRIZE Foundation, which promised $ 20 million to whoever landed a spacecraft on the moon.

Kfir replied: "I".



A month later, one Saturday night, over a glass of beer, the three came up with the initial sketches of Genesis.

These looked more like the design of a soft drink bottle.



"Remember what happened when we launched a rocket in 2011 to test an optical ground tracking system?", Laughs Jonathan.

"It looked like a missile and consisted of a PVC pipe with the words 'Sewer pipe' written on it. After we finished the experiment and filmed us on TV, I put the rocket in the trunk and returned home to Holon. On the way I stopped at a mall, and the security guard checked the car and asked what it was. In all seriousness I told him I was building a spaceship to fly to the moon, and the security guard was sure I was working on it, because it was written that it belonged to the sewer.



"I left the rocket in my mother's house, and a few months later a plumber came to open a blockage.

He saw the rocket on the floor and asked her if it was the sewer pipe from the TV.

I have no idea where she is today. " 



The road to Genesis lasted another eight and a half years, and included many economic and planning obstacles. Quite a few investors and professionals thought the three were deluded. Although they, and the other competing groups, did not meet Google's goal - March 2018 - the spacecraft was launched Almost a year later, XPRIZE awarded them a $ 1 million prize.



How did the idea for Genesis 2 come about? 



Kfir: "After the landing event two years ago, it was clear that we were not stopping the Genesis effect and sending another spacecraft.

In the first year we were not sure what to do.

The moon is in our DNA, but we wanted to do something impossible again.



”Thanks to $ 2 million donations from businessmen Len Belvatnik and Freddie Simon, and along with the $ 1 million we received as a prize, we once again funded the spacecraft project.

At first, we recruited CEO, Brigadier General (Res.) Shimon Sarig, who was head of the Air Force Equipment Division.

He initially suggested sending a orbiting spacecraft with four landers.

Physically it didn’t work out, so we were left with two.

In fact, these are three spacecraft. " 



Yariv:" Even after the crash, we were aimed at the moon, but Mars remained in the background.

We have examined the issue, but it is a much longer task, and on a very high budget.

So we decided to do the moon again, but better.

Apparently we failed with one spaceship, so this time we will do it with three, in an effort to stay with the same budget, $ 100 million. " 



Jonathan:" It was important to me that the current mission would also be inspiring and groundbreaking.

Two landings will be a meter and a half high, and each will weigh 120 kg. All three together will weigh 630 kg, only 50 more than Genesis 1. " 



Kfir:" The lower the weight, the smaller the landings, the budget is sane.

We are approaching the day when students and teachers will be able to send spacecraft into space, not just satellites. " 



Yariv:" Agree.

It's just important that we be first in what we do. "



How do you maintain a friendly relationship while working?



Kfir:" We have arguments, but we have learned to compromise, because it is clear that this project is bigger than us.

We are an association, not a company, and we have no percentages or shares.

The goal is to do something good for the Israeli public. "



Yariv:" In the first years it was more difficult, because we were less experienced.

Over time we learned to work together without drinking each other's oxygen.

Besides, each of us also has a separate life and personal projects, from which we make a living. "

"We did not trade" 

Genesis 2 successfully completed the initial design phase, in which the technical possibility of building a comprehensive spacecraft with two landers was examined.

Now they are entering the second stage - designing the subsystems and components.

"We examine which types exist in the market, and which can suit us," says Kfir.

"In the third phase, we will examine some of the components in a simulator that will be built with IAI." 



Yariv: "We have Bereishit's computer software, some of which will be used by us this time as well. One of the important things for me is transparency, so that the public can enjoy what is happening in the control room. After Bereishit's mission ended, we found that his control team was violated. Because everything is broadcast live all the time on the website and on Facebook.



"On the one hand, it is important to me that people feel liberated.

On the other hand, an occurrence in the control room adds interest.

Maybe we can only hear a small number of people, or we will prepare the team in advance and do exercises with them. "The 



launch of Genesis 2 took place four months ago at the President's House. Kfir stood in front, this time in an unusual button-down shirt, and excitedly told about the association. It was broadcast live on Zoom and was watched by students at the Givatayim Observatory, the Yarka Space Center, a religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, schools in East Jerusalem and Ashdod, and Ben-Gurion University.



A model of the new spacecraft, a kind of cylinder surrounded by colored balls (fuel tanks), was placed on the table. flanked by two landers, Shiutmao body of the spacecraft. Yariv attended the ceremony, and Jonathan watched it later on YouTube. 



what was different between the launch of the Genesis nine years ago to that of Genesis 2? 



Yariv: "first people said, 'Hiya Rbak, some delusional.

Now there is a lot of enthusiasm.

People already understand the impact and the potential. " 



What have you changed? 



Opponent:" We have learned a lot, we are more realistic.

But there are things that have remained the same.

We did not trade. " 

Although they have a ready-made initial model, quite a bit of the project is still a lot of fog.

In the meantime, 15 engineers are working on it, and soon the team will be expanded and moved to offices in Yehud, not far from IAI.

The identity of the partners who will take part in the mission is still open.

Seven countries have expressed interest, but the three agree to reveal only the names of two - the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

All partnerships will assist in funding and jointly select the research assignments.



Kfir: "There is interest in Europe, America and Africa. Not everyone has experience in space. In the meantime, we have opened up the possibility for the public to make suggestions for conducting research in space and on the moon. You can contact our Facebook page."



Have you come across any original ideas? 



Kfir: "We were offered to produce water in space and try to grow vegetation on the moon." 



Jonathan: "There were also funny ideas. Someone suggested that instead of bringing stones from the moon, as in the song, we bring stones to the moon. Someone else asked if it was possible to get a moonstone to embed it in an engagement ring." 



They do not give up on two decisions: landing on the dark side of the moon, and interactive access by anyone in the world to information coming from the spacecraft.

"People will sit in their countries and be able to see the data," says Kfir.

"For example, check temperature, movement in space, images of the moon. The information will be available to them. If they want to make any measurements, they will apply to the control room, where they will decide how to do it and pass it on to them." 



How long will Genesis 2 be in space? 



Kfir: "The orbiting spacecraft will last two years. At first it will lower the first landing on the bright side of the moon, and after a few days it will lower the second on the other side. Each landing will last between three and four days, due to extreme heat and cold conditions, then stop working." 



What is special about the dark side? 



Yariv: "It's intriguing. It has a lot more craters in it, because of meteors that collided with it. China made observations there in 2019 and examined the ground using a lander. We are not yet closed on what we will investigate there." 



Kfir: "Evidence can be sought for water in the earth. This means that organisms may have existed on the moon in the past." 



Are you curious to get to the area where Genesis 1 crashed and see what is left of it? 



Jonathan: "Estimates are that she completely crashed." 



Opponent: "There must be only a pit left." 



Kfir: "You can not know. There was a mechanical disintegration, not an explosion." 



Jonathan: "I'm sure the time capsule has survived."



Opponent: "Maybe her pieces." 



Jonathan: "If it's broken, it's not to pieces but to a few individual parts." 



Kfir: "Anyway, we are sending another spacecraft for science purposes, not to locate the first one." 



Opponent: "It's also not worth the effort. There is a difference between landing on the moon and landing at a specific point. The resources and engineering significance are too complex and add risk." 



What will you do with the spacecraft after two years?



Rival: "It will have to be decided whether to smash it or send it to continue hovering in space." 

"Just so we don't get a virus out of there" 

How relevant is the spacecraft in an era of economic crisis following the Corona? 



Kfir: "I hope that by the time of the launch, the corona will no longer be there. But it is precisely the health crisis that teaches how important scientists are. Without them, there would be no vaccine today. Everyone should be reminded that it is possible to continue dreaming. 



Jonathan: "I felt the difficulty in talking to an American donor, who was very interested and wanted to put a serious amount. When the epidemic began, he sought to delay everything until the global crisis was over." 



Opponent: "It's legitimate. These are people who put millions of dollars a year on donations. It's okay if they don't have a spaceship right now. Not everyone is as dedicated to the issue as our former donor, Maurice Kahn." 



Have you considered combining research with corona viruses in space? 



Opponent: "Only we will not bring a virus from there to Earth."



Jonathan: "Do you want to take the risk that the missile will explode in the launch and the corona will scatter everywhere? Let's not involve joy in joy."



Have you ever dreamed of flying to the moon yourself? 



Kfir: "Yes. The thought of being able to fly into space and see up close what we saw from the cameras of Genesis sounds amazing."



Rival: "Me too".



Jonathan: "I would be happy to fly too, but my wife will not let me. She will be stressed. I envy Eitan Steve, flying into space." 



Yariv: "Every such flight, even if it is private and paid, lowers the threshold for access to space." 



Kfir: "Getting to a space station sounds like a dream." 



Jonathan: "There is a sense that only purple individuals reach space, but it becomes more accessible. Students build satellites, we build a second spacecraft, and people fly privately. It's an evolving narrative. In the future people will be able to buy space tickets, like they buy a Hawaii vacation ticket. I We are proud to have been a part of the trend. " 

tala@israelhayom.co.il

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-04-02

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