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Israeli Moon Lander Snaps Epic Space Selfie with a Full Earth

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Beresheet lunar lander selfie
Israel's Beresheet lunar lander captured this selfie, which was released March 5, when the spacecraft was 23,363.5 miles (37,600 kilometers) from Earth. Australia is clearly visible. (Image credit: Beresheet)

Israel's first lunar lander has notched another important milestone — its first in-space selfie.

The newly released photo shows the robotic lander, known as Beresheet, looking back at Earth from a distance of 23,363.5 miles (37,600 kilometers).

"In the photo of Earth, taken during a slow spin of the spacecraft, Australia is clearly visible," mission team members wrote in an image description today (March 5). "Also seen is the plaque installed on the spacecraft, with the Israeli flag and the inscriptions 'Am Yisrael Chai' and 'Small Country, Big Dreams.'"

Related: Israel's 1st Moon Lander Beresheet in Pictures

The Hebrew phrase "Am Yisrael chai" translates as, "The nation of Israel lives," or, "The people of Israel live."

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Several more such maneuvers are on the docket in the near future. If all goes according to plan, Beresheet — which means "in the beginning" in Hebrew — will be captured into lunar orbit on April 4, then drop softly onto the moon's surface on April 11.

Another Beresheet selfie released on March 5. A tiny sliver of Earth’s limb is visible, peeking above the spacecraft to the left of the Israeli flag. (Image credit: Beresheet)

That landing would be a major achievement. To date, the only entities to pull off a soft lunar touchdown are three superpower nations: the Soviet Union, the United States and China.

SpaceIL began as a competitor in the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million race that asked privately funded teams to land a robot on the moon and have it perform a few basic tasks. The contest ended last year without a winner, but SpaceIL and several other former teams continued shooting for the moon.

The entire Beresheet mission, including launch, costs about $100 million, mission team members have said.

Beresheet's ride through space hasn't been entirely smooth. Shortly after liftoff, team members noticed that the craft's star trackers, which are critical to navigation, are susceptible to blinding by solar radiation. And Beresheet's computer performed a reset unexpectedly just before the craft's second planned engine burn.

Mission team members have overcome these issues. For example, they traced the computer reset to cosmic radiation and firmed up Beresheet's defenses with a software update. The lander was then able to execute the engine burn, which put Beresheet back on track toward the moon.

Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Space.com Senior Writer
Michael was a science writer for the Idaho National Laboratory and has been an intern at Wired.com, The Salinas Californian newspaper, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He has also worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.