Israel failed to become the first nation to land a privately financed spacecraft on the moon when “Beresheet” crashed before a scheduled touch down in the Sea of Tranquility late Thursday night.
The main engine failed a few kilometers above the surface, leaving nothing to slow the craft’s descent, said Opher Doron, general manager of Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.’s space division. The $100 million project was a joint venture between a private company, SpaceIL, and state-owned IAI, financed mostly by philanthropists including SpaceIL President Morris Kahn, a founder of Amdocs Ltd., and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
