While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Israel will be launching its first two civilian satellites into space.
The Israel Space Agency and Ministry of Science will launch both with the help of the Indian Space Agency, which carries a record number of 102 additional satellites in orbit around the Earth.
The two satellites are designed to study the effects of climate change, and to perform various medical experiments.
Both were designed with innovative technologies that enable Israeli researchers to operate their experiments and obtain information directly from the satellites.
One of the two is BGUSAT, a joint project of Israel Aircraft Industries and the Ministry of Science, launched as part of a scientific mission of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, according to the Hebrew-language edition of Israel Hayom. The satellite weighs about five pounds, and is a bit bigger than a quart of milk.
The second satellite, named “DIDO,” belongs to the SpacePharma company, which has developed the world’s first “nano satellite laboratory” in which experiments will be directly controlled by the researchers.
Data from the trials are to be sent back to Earth, with researchers observing them in real time, controlled by a smart phone. An integrated automated laboratory system allows for change in the course of an experiment, and downloading of data such as temperature, radiation and other information, including microscopic images. This satellite weighs about four and a half kilos (about 10 lbs) and will be used to test the effects of gravity.