Israel's Beresheet spacecraft came very close to becoming the first privately financed lunar craft to land on the moon's surface, but it crashed during its final descent on Thursday. Israel would have been only the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface, following the Soviet Union (1966), the U.S. (1969, with astronauts on board), and China (2019). Beresheet ("In the Beginning") was in its final descent when apparent engine failure and other technical difficulties ended the mission. The $100 million project kept costs low by hitching a ride into space on a SpaceX cargo rocket in February.
"I am sorry to say that our spacecraft did not make it in one piece to the moon," said Opher Doron, the manager of Israel Aerospace Industries' Space Division, which built the spacecraft with private Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL. "We made it all the way to the moon. This is a great accomplishment. We are the seventh country to make it all the way to the moon." Beresheet's mission included scientific research on magnetic fields, though, BBC News notes, "its first job was to use its high resolution cameras to take some photos — including a selfie — which it did manage before the crash."
After the first stage of the live-streamed descent went according to plan, Doron announced that the engine had cut out, and after it came online again a few seconds later, mission control lost contact with Beresheer. At that moment, it was about 74 miles from its intended landing site, traveling at about 2,110 miles per hour. "I think that the achievement of getting to where we got is really tremendous," said project originator Morris Kahn. "I think we can be proud."
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