SpaceIL Sheds Light On Beresheet Failure

There has been a lot of speculation on the SpaceIL as their lunar landing turned out to be a failure. However, it has not demoralized the organization completely as investigations are underway, trying to figure out the reason for the failure. Many backers and investors in the space community are really optimistic about developing properly despite the challenges it is facing.

SpaceIL launched a statement on 12 April stating that there was an issue in an unknown section of the component of the satellite that led to a cascade of events and final shutdown of the main engine of Beresheet while it was landing on the lunar surface, which resulted in a complete failure of the mission. The problem was noticed for the first time when Beresheet was at an altitude of 14 above the surface of the moon. Though the exact reason for the malfunction of the engine was not specified in the report, according to a webcast, the inertial measuring section of the lander seemed to be the root cause of the problem.

Though the lander could be restarted after its failure, it was apparently too late by then as it had already gained a speed that would be too high for completing a soft landing. There was a loss of telemetry as well when it was 150 meters above the surface with a descending speed being close to 50 km per hour. SpaceIL has announced that they want to conduct tests in order to determine why the spacecraft failed to land.

SpaceIL basically is a non-profit organization that is sponsored philanthropically. It collaborated with Israel Aerospace Industries to build the Beresheet satellites. It is considered as a milestone with respect to technological advancement and is being treated by Jim Bridenstine of NASA as a perfect opportunity to learn and progress.