Israel’s
Beresheet spacecraft has failed in its audacious attempt to make a
Moon landing.
The spacecraft experienced a failure of its main engine just seconds before it was expected to reach the lunar surface. "We had a failure of the spacecraft, we have not landed successfully," explained a spokesman from a deflated Mission Control in Yehud, Israel. A problem with the spacecraft's engine was reported at 3:24 p.m. ET and then communication was lost.
Before the mission's failure, Beresheet snapped a selfie as it approached the lunar surface.
The unmanned spacecraft would have taken Israel into an exclusive club of space-exploring nations. Only three countries – the U.S., the Soviet Union and China – have made successful ‘soft landings’ on the lunar surface.
Beresheet, which is Hebrew for “in the beginning,” was developed by the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL and the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries.
Beresheet was
launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 21.
The spacecraft entered lunar orbit last week, capturing its
first images of the dark side of the Moon.
The probe was expected to land within Mare Serenitatis in the Moon’s northern hemisphere. SpaceIL
notes that the site has magnetic anomalies, which would have enabled Beresheet’s magnetometer device to take measurements as part of a scientific experiment. Data from the magnetometer, which was developed with Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, was to be shared with
NASA.
www.foxnews.com
Just to keep ya in line 
