An Israeli spacecraft crashed into the moon Thursday just moments before touchdown, failing in an ambitious attempt to make history as the first privately funded lunar landing.
The spacecraft lost communication with ground control during its final descent. Moments later, the mission was declared a failure.He said the spacecraft's engine turned off shortly before landing, and scientists were still trying to figure out the cause. The spacecraft, called Beresheet, was in pieces scattered at the landing site, he said.
"We will try again," Netanyahu said. "We reached the moon, but we want to land more comfortably, and that is for the next time." Around 20 minutes before the scheduled landing, engine firings slowed Beresheet's descent. Engineers watched in silence as the craft, its movements streamed live on dozens of screens, glided toward a free-fall.
"We are full of admiration for the wonderful people who brought the spacecraft to the moon," Rivlin said. "True, not as we had hoped, but we will succeed in the end." Beresheet made the final cut, but after several deadline extensions, the competition ended last year without a winner.
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