Beresheet (Genesis in Hebrew), Israel’s first spacecraft headed to the moon, experienced technical difficulty Feb. 25 when it failed to execute a scheduled maneuver imperative for a trajectory to the moon.
Engineers in the control center realized that the computer reset, and automatically canceled the maneuver during the pre-maneuver phase SpaceIL said in a statement Feb. 25.
“The engineering teams of SpaceIL and IAI are examining the data and analyzing the situation. At this time, the spacecraft’s systems are working well, except for the known problem in the star tracker.”
Star trackers, according to space.com are used by the spacecraft to help align itself in space with respect to target stars.
The moon lander privately built by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), launched into space Feb. 21 abroad a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. On Feb. 24, Beresheet successfully completed its first engine burn moving it farther from the Earth.
SpaceIL says the spacecraft will stay in its current orbit until the next scheduled maneuver and remains on schedule. The lunar lander is expected to land on the moon around April 11. If it successfully does so Israel will be the fourth country — along with the United States, Russia and China — to land on the moon.
