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The Israeli spacecraft Beresheet captured a striking image of the moon moments before its crash Thursday on the lunar surface.
The spacecraft experienced an engine problem a few seconds before reaching the moon. Beresheet was a few hundred meters above the lunar surface when Mission Control in Yehud, Israel, lost contact with the probe.
The lander would have been the first private mission to reach the moon.
Beresheet, which means "originally in Hebrew," was developed by SpaceIL, an Israeli non-profit organization, and by Israel, a state-owned group, Aerospace Industries.
"Preliminary data provided by the engineering teams of SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) suggest that a technical problem in one of the components of Beresheet has triggered the chain of 39 events that caused the malfunction of the main engine of the spacecraft, "explained the mission. released Friday.
"If the main engine did not work properly, it was impossible to stop the Beresheet speed. Beresheet solved the problem by restarting the engine. However, at that time, his speed was too fast to slow down and the landing could not be completed as planned.
"The data shows that the first technical problem occurred 14 km above the moon. The contact with the spacecraft was lost while he was 150 meters above the lunar surface. Beresheet was moving vertically at 500 km / h until the inevitable collision with the lunar surface, "the mission explained.
"Full tests will take place next week to better understand the events," he added.
Beresheet took a selfie approaching the lunar surface, which was greeted with enthusiastic applause in Mission Control. Moments later, however, the team that built the washer-sized probe looked at it in horror as it became apparent that the bold mission had failed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among the audience during the Mission Control landing attempt, which was broadcast live on national television.
"We will try again," said Netanyahu. "We have reached the moon, but we want to land more comfortably, and it will be for next time."
The unmanned spacecraft would have brought Israel into an exclusive club of nations exploring space. Only three countries – the United States, the Soviet Union and China – have made "soft landings" on the lunar surface.
Israel, however, is one of seven countries to have orbited around the moon, thanks to the Beresheet mission.
The attempt to land on the moon has earned praise from Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
"Condolences to the LG Beresheet @TeamSpaceIL for what was almost! The communications were lost with the spacecraft just 150 meters (!!!) above the surface and he was unable to block the landing. Never lose hope – your hard work, your teamwork and your innovation are inspiring for all! He tweeted.
Beresheet was launched Feb. 21 from Cape Canaveral Air Base at the top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The mission was born from the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition to pose an unmanned probe on the moon. The $ 30 million competition was dropped without a winner last year after the organizers announced that none of the five finalists would reach the March 31, 2018 deadline for launching the event. the moon, announced Space.com.
Nevertheless, the XPRIZE Foundation awarded SpaceIL a $ 1 million Moonshot Award for its achievements, which allowed it to successfully enter the lunar orbit and attempt to land on the lunar surface.
"SpaceIL's mission has not only touched the moon, it has touched the lives and hearts of everyone watching," said Peter H. Diamandis, executive chairman and founder of XPRIZE, in a statement. .
"The legacy that SpaceIL will leave in the future of the space industry is considerable. The team's ability to build a lunar lander for $ 100 million and fewer than 50 engineers is remarkable, a quantum leap towards affordable and accessible space exploration. "
Associated Press contributed to this article.
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