Beresheet completes first maneuver around the moon

Over the weekend, the Israeli spacecraft took more photos of the far side of the moon from 550 km. and 2500 km. away.

The moon from 550 kilometers away, as taken by Beresheet, April 7th, 2019 (photo credit: ISRAEL SPACE AGENCY)
The moon from 550 kilometers away, as taken by Beresheet, April 7th, 2019
(photo credit: ISRAEL SPACE AGENCY)
Beresheet is another step closer to landing on the moon.
Beresheet lunar spacecraft in moon"s orbit
At 4:36 a.m. on Sunday Israel time, Israel's lunar mission Beresheet successfully performed the first maneuver around the moon, the engineering team of SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries confirmed.
"During the maneuver, Beresheet's engines operated for about 271 seconds and the amount of fuel burned was approximately 55 kg," they said. "In this maneuver, all the engines operated at the same time to slow the spacecraft with maximum thrust to date."
The maneuver, reduced the apolune, which means an orbiting body's farthest point from the moon, from 10,400 kilometers to 750 km.
The perilune, which is the closest point to the moon, sees Beresheet approximately 460 km. away.
Over the weekend, Beresheet took more photos of the far side of the moon from 550 km. and 2500 km.
With the success of Lunar Capture, Israel has become only the seventh country to enter the moon's orbit.
During the coming week, intensive maneuvers and preparations for the landing will be conducted.
Beresheet is expected to land on Thursday, April 11.