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
|
|
Saturday, November 8
Globalstar Announces Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results
Business Wire — 8:41 am ET (1341 GMT) All eyes on Blue Origin as New Glenn prepares for high-stakes launch
WESH-TV Orlando — 8:38 am ET (1338 GMT) NASA's Escapade Mission May Finally Reveal How the Martian Atmosphere Works
CNET News.com — 8:37 am ET (1337 GMT) SpaceX Buys $2.6B More EchoStar Spectrum
Aviation Week — 8:33 am ET (1333 GMT) Globalstar stays mum on rumored sale of company
FierceWireless — 8:32 am ET (1332 GMT) |
