Miloch
May 16th 19, 02:57 AM
https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-pictures-israel-beresheet-moon-lander-crash-site-2019-5
On April 11, the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL tried to land a small robot on the
surface of the moon. But an errant software command apparently caused the
lander's main engine to shut off.
SpaceIL rebooted the spacecraft, called Beresheet, and revived the engine, but
it was too late. The spacecraft slammed into the moon, never to be heard from
again.
Now, scientists at NASA say they've found the roughly 1,300-pound spacecraft's
impact site and photographed it with the agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,
which constantly captures images of the moon's surface.
New before-and-after pictures taken around April 22 and released on Wednesday
reveal the results of Beresheet's high-speed crash. The images from LRO's camera
system, called LROC, are shown in the animation below.
"While the spacecraft did land, it first touched the surface about 1,000 meters
per second [2,200 mph] faster than intended," Mark Robinson, a lunar researcher
at NASA, said in a blog post about the images.
That speed is roughly twice as fast as a bullet shot from a gun. Robinson added
that Beresheet came down at a sharp angle, and disintegrated upon impact,
leaving a sizable scar on the moon.
According to Robinson, the speed of Beresheet's impact liked gouged the lunar
surface instead of leaving a crater. This spread soil about 328 feet (100
meters) and left a "dark smudge" about 33 feet (10 meters) wide.
Below are two images of the impact site. The photo on the left is unaltered,
while the image on the right is enhanced to boost the contrast and highlight
patterns of soil thrown across the lunar surface.
Robinson finished his blog post about the event on an uplifting note, however.
"Despite the mishap, it is important to remember that Beresheet was the first
spacecraft developed and flown by a non-profit entity to orbit the moon," he
said. "And SpaceIL has announced they will be trying again, with Beresheet 2!"
*
On April 11, the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL tried to land a small robot on the
surface of the moon. But an errant software command apparently caused the
lander's main engine to shut off.
SpaceIL rebooted the spacecraft, called Beresheet, and revived the engine, but
it was too late. The spacecraft slammed into the moon, never to be heard from
again.
Now, scientists at NASA say they've found the roughly 1,300-pound spacecraft's
impact site and photographed it with the agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,
which constantly captures images of the moon's surface.
New before-and-after pictures taken around April 22 and released on Wednesday
reveal the results of Beresheet's high-speed crash. The images from LRO's camera
system, called LROC, are shown in the animation below.
"While the spacecraft did land, it first touched the surface about 1,000 meters
per second [2,200 mph] faster than intended," Mark Robinson, a lunar researcher
at NASA, said in a blog post about the images.
That speed is roughly twice as fast as a bullet shot from a gun. Robinson added
that Beresheet came down at a sharp angle, and disintegrated upon impact,
leaving a sizable scar on the moon.
According to Robinson, the speed of Beresheet's impact liked gouged the lunar
surface instead of leaving a crater. This spread soil about 328 feet (100
meters) and left a "dark smudge" about 33 feet (10 meters) wide.
Below are two images of the impact site. The photo on the left is unaltered,
while the image on the right is enhanced to boost the contrast and highlight
patterns of soil thrown across the lunar surface.
Robinson finished his blog post about the event on an uplifting note, however.
"Despite the mishap, it is important to remember that Beresheet was the first
spacecraft developed and flown by a non-profit entity to orbit the moon," he
said. "And SpaceIL has announced they will be trying again, with Beresheet 2!"
*