{"id":69382,"date":"2019-04-14T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-14T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=69382"},"modified":"2019-04-14T06:48:06","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T04:48:06","slug":"25-05-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=69382","title":{"rendered":"Beresheet reaches moon, crashes on arrival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Israel21c\"<\/a>Beresheet reaches moon, crashes on arrival<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Abigail Klein Leichman<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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In true Israeli spirit, a disappointing end to a spectacular space mission is seen as a temporary setback on a sure trajectory to success.<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Reuven Rivlin with children at a moon landing pajama party at his official Jerusalem residence. Photo by Mark Neiman\/GPO<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Wild cheers turned to stunned silence Thursday night as Israel\u2019s Beresheet unmanned spacecraft suddenly lost contact with the control center. Only minutes before, it had sent a spectacular selfie as it neared the surface of the moon.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a little after 10pm. I was at the Jerusalem Cinemateque watching a live feed of the historic event at a design-and-tech evening hosted by Start-Up Nation Central.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sitting around me were Alex Padua, the lead industrial designer of the craft; former NASA director Dan Goldin; representatives of the X Prize Foundation; Israeli venture capitalists; and lots of local families.<\/span><\/p>\n

Several minutes away at the President\u2019s Residence, President Reuven Rivlin was hosting a pajama party for dozens of 9- to 12-year-old Israeli kids, all watching history unfold via the IAI-SpaceIL control center in Yehud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s lunar spacecraft, Beresheet, sent this selfie very close to the moon\u2019s surface before losing contact with the control room. Photo courtesy of SpaceIL\/IAI<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Our mood was euphoric as at first the complicated landing maneuver seemed to be proceeding like clockwork, actually a few minutes ahead of the estimated 10:25 touchdown.<\/span><\/p>\n

We applauded madly when the little craft successfully passed the point of no return and sent that selfie from a breathtaking altitude of 22 kilometers from the moon.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the last images sent by Beresheet on its descent to the moon. Photo courtesy of SpaceIL\/IAI<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s when things started going wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Telemetry from Beresheet was momentarily lost and regained. A problem in the main engine was quickly repaired. Then communication with Beresheet was lost and the engine problem returned.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur situation is unclear,\u201d IAI Space Division General Manager Opher Doron told thousands of astonished viewers across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUh oh, uh oh, something\u2019s not working,\u201d the man sitting next to me whispered to his teenage daughter. \u201cIt\u2019s going to crash. It\u2019s going too fast. Look how quickly the altitude went from 20,000 to 149! It must be crashing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There were several groans from the audience but mainly just tense silence until finally we heard from the control room: \u201cAll the signs are that we will not be the fourth country in the world that lands on the moon, but we recorded a huge achievement. We reached the moon, but apparently not in the way we wanted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Doron said, with surprising poise, \u201cWe had a failure in the spacecraft; we unfortunately have not managed to land successfully. We are the seventh country to orbit the moon and the fourth to reach the moon\u2019s surface. It\u2019s been a tremendous achievement up to now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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