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
|
|
Thursday, March 19
Firefly Aerospace Selected for the 2025 Robert J. Collier Trophy
National Aeronautic Association — 5:22 am ET (0922 GMT) Satellite development begins for EUMETSAT Polar System – Sterna
EUMETSAT — 5:22 am ET (0922 GMT) Minotaur IV rocket motor stacking at Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-8
US Space Force — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) MDA Space awarded contract with Canadian Department of National Defence to deliver Ground-Based Optical Capability for Space Surveillance
MDA — 5:18 am ET (0918 GMT) Rocket Lab wins record contract with US Department of War
Radio New Zealand — 5:17 am ET (0917 GMT) |
