Forty five years ago this week, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. An Israeli company, SpaceIL, is competing to win the Google Lunar X prize that requires a private company to land a craft on the moon and then travel at least 500 meters. What unique technology will SpaceIL be the first to utilize?
A. The Israeli craft will be launched and guided to the moon using the technology developed by Israel to guide the missiles fired by the Iron Dome defense system.
B. Rather than navigating the lunar surface on wheels, the Israeli craft will travel across the moon's surface using the patented Etz Chaim system. The craft will rest upon a flat platform with rollers on each end that alternately furl and unfurl, thus propelling the craft forward.
C. The Israeli space craft will navigate using SLAM technology (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping), which allows the craft to navigate in space, where GPS technology is not available.
D. The Israeli space craft will navigate using SHALOM technology (Simultaneous High Altitude Localization and Observational Mapping), which allows the craft to peacefully navigate in space, where GPS technology is not available.
E. To ensure against landing on an uneven rocky surface (a problem that almost doomed Armstrong and Aldrin's Eagle lunar module) the Israeli craft will land safely by first ejecting a protective padding upon which it will set down. The padding was designed based on bulletproof vests developed by the Israeli military.