Israeli spacecraft ‘Beresheet’ crashes into moon as engine fails minutes from touchdown
- Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included, had gathered to watch country’s bid to become fourth nation make a lunar landing
- Privately funded US$100 million project was conceived by SpaceIL and funded mostly by philanthropists such as Morris Kahn and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson
Israel failed to become the first nation to land a privately financed spacecraft on the moon when “Beresheet” crashed before a scheduled touch down in the Sea of Tranquillity late Thursday night.
Opher Doron of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) said the main engine failed a few kilometres above the surface. That meant it could not slow the craft’s descent, causing it to crash.
The US$100 million project was conceived by SpaceIL, and financed mostly by philanthropists including Morris Kahn – SpaceIL’s president and a founder of Amdocs – and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that “if at first you don’t succeed, you try again. We’ll try again”.
Yariv Bash, a founder of Space IL, said they will send another probe up within two or three years.