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It was a small message for Israel.
Israel, which failed in its slow landing attempt on its spacecraft on the moon, was congratulated by someone who came out much better: the famous astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the lunar surface.
"Condolences to the LG Beresheet @TeamSpaceIL for what was almost!", The veteran of the Apollo 11 mission, 89 years old, in July 1969 said on Twitter on Thursday.
"The communications were lost with the spacecraft just 150 meters (!!!) above the surface and he could not block the landing – never lose hope – your hard work, your work, Team and your innovation are a source of inspiration for all! "He added.
Nearly half a century ago, his commander, Neil Armstrong, uttered the immortal words "It's a small step for man, a big step for humanity" when he set foot on the sea of tranquility.
Beresheet – which means "Genesis" in Hebrew – crashed on the moon after the breakdown of its main engine during landing procedures on Thursday night, thus ending its 4 million kilometer journey and the dreams of the Jewish state.
NASA's director Jim Bridenstine also praised Israel for the success with which he put a machine into lunar orbit.
"While NASA regrets the end of the SpaceIL mission without a successful lunar landing of the Beresheet lander, we congratulate SpaceIL, the Israeli aerospace industries and the State of Israel for the incredible exploit to send the first mission financed by private funds on the lunar orbit, "said Bridenstine said in a statement.
"Each attempt to reach new milestones opens up opportunities for us to learn, adjust and move forward. I have no doubt that Israel and SpaceIL will continue to explore and I look forward to celebrating their future achievements, "he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would try again.
"We have reached the moon but we want to land more slowly and it will be the next attempt. This very attempt is an extraordinary feat and I think you see with much applause here that we are truly the fourth country to reach it. If we persist, we will be the fourth country to land on the moon, "said Bibi.
Israel can still claim the title of seventh country to have made the lunar orbit and the fourth to reach the lunar surface – but not in one piece.
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