#REFLECTOR 2 CRASHES FULL#
The spacecraft carried a " time capsule" containing over 30 million pages of data, including a full copy of the English-language Wikipedia, the Wearable Rosetta disc, the PanLex database, the Torah, children's drawings, a children's book inspired by the space launch, memoirs of a Holocaust survivor, Israel's national anthem (" Hatikvah"), the Israeli flag, and a copy of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. However, in 2019 just before the launch, SpaceIL told media that the overall budget was about US$90 million, and only about US$2 million of that came from the Israeli government. The government of Israel's commitment to the project was stated to be 10% in July 2018. The costs for the project, including launch, were about US$100 million. After the mission, Lunar X Prize awarded a US$1 million award to SpaceIL to support a second mission. The time window for participation in the Google Lunar X Prize closed before the launch. SpaceIL and IAI constructed the vehicle and was supported by the Israel Space Agency. It represented the first privately initiated Moon mission and was stimulated by the Google Lunar X Prize. īeresheet was co-developed by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) with support from Israel Space Agency and Morris Kahn, its major financier. The Beresheet was the first non-governmental mission to land (albeit destructively) on the Moon, the first Israeli mission to land on the Moon, and the first ride-share mission to land on the Moon. Its mission control center was at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in Yehud, Israel. It used seven ground stations for Earth–lander communication. It had been compared to a washing machine, as it stood at about the height of one at 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and was similar in width to large household appliances. Its net mass was 150 kg (330 lb) when fueled at launch, its mass was 585 kg (1,290 lb). The lander was previously known as Sparrow and was officially renamed to Beresheet in December 2018. The lander's gyroscopes failed on 11 April 2019 causing the main engine to shut off, which resulted in the lander crashing on the Moon. Its aims included inspiring youth and promoting careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ( STEM), and landing its magnetometer, time capsule, and laser retroreflector on the Moon. Beresheet ( Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית, Bərēšīṯ, "In the beginning" Book of Genesis) was a demonstrator of a small robotic lunar lander and lunar probe operated by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries.