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 12
Firefly Returns To Flight With First Launch In 11 Months
Aviation Week — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) After Wait, Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha Rocket Lifts Off at Vandenberg
Noozhawk — 6:05 am ET (1005 GMT) Firefly Successfully Launches Rocket After September Explosion
Bloomberg News — 6:05 am ET (1005 GMT) China’s SpaceSail Seeks Fresh Funding to Build Rival to Starlink
Caixin — 6:04 am ET (1004 GMT) Space Command is leaving Colorado. Are more losses ahead?
KUNC-FM Greeley, CO — 6:03 am ET (1003 GMT) |
