Israel’s private spacecraft Beresheet crashed into the Moon on Thursday after being hit with problems during descent, denying the Jewish state a place in the elite club of nations that mastered a lunar landing.
“Small country, big dreams,” the engraving on the spacecraft’s body read, but those dreams weren’t destined to come true.
Beresheet’s engine stopped working around 10 kilometers from the surface, with the vehicle crashing into the Moon at a speed of over 130 meters per second.
However, the space explorers didn’t seem shaken by the setback as they all chanted a solemn song to show that getting so close to the goal was an achievement in itself.
Netanyahu has already promised that an Israeli spacecraft will be back to the Moon in the next two or three years.