«Israeli» Spacecraft Crashes in Attempt to Land on Moon

By staff, Agencies

An “Israeli” spacecraft has crashed into the moon moments before touchdown, failing in an ambitious attempt to make history as the first privately funded lunar landing.

Around 20 minutes before the scheduled landing on Thursday, engine firings slowed the Beresheet's descent. Engineers watched in silence as the craft, its movements streamed live on dozens of screens, glided towards a free fall.

The spacecraft lost communication with ground control during its final descent. Moments later, the mission was declared a failure.

"We definitely crashed on the surface of the moon," said Opher Doron of “Israel” Aerospace Industries.

He said the spacecraft's engine turned off shortly before landing, and scientists were still trying to figure out the cause. The spacecraft was in pieces scattered at the landing site, he said.

Beresheet had traveled through space for seven weeks in a series of expanding orbits around Earth before crossing into the moon's gravity last week.

The mishap occurred in front of a packed audience that included the entity’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was broadcast live on national television.

The failure was a disappointing ending to a 6.5 million kilometre lunar voyage, almost unprecedented in length, that was designed to conserve fuel and reduce costs. The spacecraft hitched a ride on a SpaceX rocket launched from Florida in February.