ISRAEL’S FIRST LUNAR SPACECRAFT EXPERIENCES TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

JERUSALEM POST STAF

Space IL and the Israel Aerospace Industries, the organizations that spearheaded the projects, are currently examining the data to understand what went wrong.

SpaceIL’s Beresheet unmanned spacecraft is seen in the clean room of Israel Aerospace Industries in Yehud.. (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

Beresheet (“Genesis” in English), the Jewish state’s first lunar spacecraft, experienced some technical difficulties on Monday night. A maneuver was planned for the spacecraft, but instead the spacecraft preformed an involuntary reboot that resulted in automatic deactivation.

SpaceIL and the Israel Aerospace Industries, the organizations that spearheaded the projects, are currently examining the data to understand what went wrong. The rest of the spacecraft’s systems are working well.

Beresheet successfully completed its first maneuver toward the Moon after detaching from its launcher and completing its planned orbit of Earth on Sunday.

The lander will be captured by the moon when the lander’s orbit around the Earth takes it into close proximity to the moon (which also orbits the Earth).

After two months, the shuttle is set to land in the Sea of Serenity on April 11.