Israeli Group To Attempt Moon Landing 150
cold fjord writes: "NDTV reports, 'Israel plans to do what only the world's biggest countries have so far managed to do: land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon ... only Russia, the U.S. and China have soft landed on the moon, and India hard landed its tri-colour using the moon impact probe in 2008 ... The washing machine-sized spacecraft that weighs 121 kilograms is being readied by a not-for-profit venture called SpaceIL. ... The Israeli lunar probe had its genesis after the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize was announced as a competition which challenged non-state-owned space agencies to land on the moon, send back photos, and move 500 meters on the surface of the moon. About two dozen global teams are racing to win the prize- SpaceIL reckons it's in pole position. ... ex-NASA engineer Yonatan Winetraub and two of his friends conceived of the spacecraft in 2010 ... then used a Facebook page to promote the dream. Today, the dream has matured into a $36 million mission with 20 full time employees and 250 volunteers. ... Around 40,000 school students have been associated with this project.' Further details are available here."
Re:What people are forgetting... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Here come the rednecks (Score:2, Informative)
Yeah, but that's only one tiny part of the space race --- America's the clear leader if you look at the big milestones, instead of just cherry-picking one isolated mission. Like, first satellite in orbit [wikipedia.org] --- oops, ignore that. How about first human in space [wikipedia.org] --- aww, shit; well they aren't really in space unless they can do the first spacewalk [wikipedia.org] --- dang. Well, the free and equal US at least got the first woman in space [wikipedia.org]... fooey. Well, near-earth is easy stuff anyway; how about first to reach another planet [wikipedia.org]? Darn, but first to touch another planet [wikipedia.org]... well, first to soft-land on another planet [wikipedia.org]... shit. OK, first sample-return from outside earth [wikipedia.org]... err, let's focus on what's really important in the space race...
USA Number One! USA! USA! USA!
Re:Better Idea (Score:2, Informative)
Hmmm [nytimes.com]
Please try to avoid spreading misinformation (Score:5, Informative)
The US gives Israel about 3 billion a year in financial aid, and Israel can only use this money to buy military equipment back from the US.
Israel's defense budget is about 15 billion a year.
Re:One word (Score:2, Informative)
Specifically Hollywood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]
We all knew it was coming...
You Are Cherry Picking (Score:5, Informative)
Let's look at the subject in more detail. First satellite, first human, first successful lunar mission -- clearly the Soviets.
After that:
First successful mission to another planet: Mariner 2 flyby of Venus, 1962, USA. Your listing of Venera 1 as the "first to reach another planet" neglects to mention that the spacecraft failed before it got there.
First successful mission to Mars: Mariner 4, 1964, USA.
First communications satellites: passive, Echo I, 1960, USA; active, Courier 1B, USA.
First spacecraft rendezvous in orbit: Geminis 6 and 7, 1965, USA.
First spacecraft docking in orbit: Gemini 8, 1966, USA.
First manned spacecraft beyond low earth orbit: Apollo 8, 1968, USA
First manned spacecraft in lunar orbit: Apollo 8, 1968, USA
First spacecraft to orbit another planet: Mariner 9, Nov 1971, USA
First mission beyond the inner solar system: Pioneer 10, 1973, USA
First flyby of Jupiter: Pioneer 10, 1973, USA
There are many others.
Now let's examine some of the Soviet space firsts:
First soft lander on the Moon: 3 Feb 1966, Luna 9, USSR, a success by any definition, sent back pictures, operated for 3 days on lunar surface
compared to:, Surveyor 1, first USA soft lander, landed 14 July 1966, operated for nearly 6 months on the lunar surface
First soft lander on Mars: Mars 3, Dec 1971, USSR, operated for 14.5 seconds on the surface, compared to Viking 1, first USA Mars lander, July 1976, operated for 6 years on the surface.
So the story that the USSR was the clear leader in early space exploration is clearly false. Both nations had impressive 'firsts', anyone who doesn't acknowledge the accomplishments of both has poor knowledge of the subject.