April 7, 2019, Updated April 10, 2019

On December 13, SpaceIL announces that the name of the first Israeli spacecraft to the moon will be Beresheet (In the Beginning, or Genesis, the first word in the Bible).

SpaceIL names its spacecraft Beresheet by popular vote. Photo via SpaceIL Facebook page

The Israeli public was invited to suggest Hebrew names on SpaceIL’s Facebook page and then vote for their favorite out of nine finalists. The name Beresheet got most of the votes, symbolizing the beginning of a new space era in Israel.