Beresheet lander crashes on the Moon
Posted: Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 10:35 AM ET (1435 GMT)
SpaceIL's Beresheeet lander crashed into the surface of the Moon Thursday after its main engine malfunctioned. The initial stages of the lander's descent appeared to be going well until the main engine issue. Controllers tried resetting the spacecraft's systems to get the engine working again, but that effort appeared to be too late to salvage the landing. The $100 million spacecraft, built by Israel Aerospace Industries for SpaceIL, would have been the first privately funded spacecraft to soft land on the Moon, and made Israel only the fourth country to accomplish the feat. SpaceIL, a competitor in the former Google Lunar X Prize, will still receive a $1 million "Moonshot Award" from the X Prize Foundation for coming close to landing. SpaceIL's chairman, billionaire Morris Kahn, announced later that the organization would attempt a second mission to land on the Moon.
SpaceIL's Beresheeet lander crashed into the surface of the Moon Thursday after its main engine malfunctioned. The initial stages of the lander's descent appeared to be going well until the main engine issue. Controllers tried resetting the spacecraft's systems to get the engine working again, but that effort appeared to be too late to salvage the landing. The $100 million spacecraft, built by Israel Aerospace Industries for SpaceIL, would have been the first privately funded spacecraft to soft land on the Moon, and made Israel only the fourth country to accomplish the feat. SpaceIL, a competitor in the former Google Lunar X Prize, will still receive a $1 million "Moonshot Award" from the X Prize Foundation for coming close to landing. SpaceIL's chairman, billionaire Morris Kahn, announced later that the organization would attempt a second mission to land on the Moon.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, July 20
Attacking Starlink
National Review — 4:12 am ET (0812 GMT) Starlink Launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base Scheduled for Monday Morning
KEYT-TV Santa Barbara, CA — 4:11 am ET (0811 GMT) Could space could become Korea’s next powerhouse industry after chips?
JoongAng Daily — 4:11 am ET (0811 GMT) Commentary: Canaveral’s Exploration Tower could inspire new space age
Orlando Sentinel — 4:09 am ET (0809 GMT) SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 rocket out of Vandenberg Space Force Base
KSBY-TV San Luis Obispo, CA — 4:08 am ET (0808 GMT) |
