---
title: "SpaceX Just Launched the First Commercial Lunar Lander, Ever"
description: "It's official: Israeli space company SpaceIL's lunar lander Beresheet launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket."
date: "2019-02-21"
modified: "2019-02-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/first-lunar-lander-spaceil-spacex-launch"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "falcon 9"
  - "lunar lander"
  - "spaceil"
  - "SpaceX"
---

# SpaceX Just Launched the First Commercial Lunar Lander, Ever

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/first-lunar-lander-spaceil-spacex-launch.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Making History

It's official: Israeli space company SpaceIL's [lunar lander Beresheet](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/lunar-lander-private-spacex-launch>) just [launched into space](<https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1098760732152279040>) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this evening, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX [confirmed](<https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1098772221693067265>) the successful deployment just after 9:30pm EST.

If all goes well, the dishwasher-sized spacecraft will be the first private spacecraft to ever reach the lunar surface.

## A Long Way to Go

SpaceIL is planning for the spacecraft, which is called the Beresheet, to land in April after slowly expanding its elliptical path around the Earth until it's close enough to the Moon. It will circle the Moon several times before making its way down to the surface.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine congratulated the Israeli team. "This is a historic step for all nations and commercial space as we look to extend our collaborations beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the Moon," he said [in a statement](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-administrator-statement-on-israeli-moon-mission>).

## Time Capsule

On board the Beresheet is a time capsule filled with digital files including the Torah, the Israeli flag, a variety of national artwork — and a digital copy of the entirety of the English-language Wikipedia encyclopedia, [according to the *New York Times*](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/science/spacex-launch-israel.html>).

Once Beresheet has completed its mission, it will not attempt to return to Earth. But it will map the Moon's magnetic field and take some snapshots using on-board scientific instruments.

**READ MORE:** [SpaceX Rocket Carries Israeli Lunar Lander Into Orbit](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/science/spacex-launch-israel.html>) \[*New York Times*\]

***More on the lander: [First Private Lunar Lander Passes Launch Tests at SpaceX Facility](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/lunar-lander-private-spacex-launch>)***

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)