The engineering team of SpaceIL and IAI successfully the last maneuver before landing on the moon.
The maneuver, which was performed at 7:40 PM Israeli time, lowered the spacecraft’s altitude in preparation for its landing tomorrow .
Following the maneuver, Beresheet is again in an elliptical orbit, with its perilune (the closest point to the moon) only 15-17 km from the moon’s surface and its epilune (the farthest point from the moon) at 200 km. The maneuver was performed on the far side of the moon with no real time communication. The spacecraft’s engines were activated for 32 seconds and the amount of fuel consumed was 5 kg.
Having completed the maneuver, Beresheet will continue to orbit the moon in an elliptical orbit every two hours.