NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine: ‘We look forward’ to being part of ‘Beresheet 2’

“This administration has been a very strong supporter of Israel, and they’ve been supportive of our efforts to collaborate with Israel off-space exploration, so it’s been a productive relationship.”

BY JACKSON RICHMAN

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 12, 2018. Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO.

(May 7, 2019 / JNS) Israel nearly became the fourth country to successfully land a craft on the moon as “Beresheet,” save for a last-minute issue with its main engine just before touchdown in mid-April that caused it to crash into the lunar surface.

With Beresheet, Israel becomes 7th country to achieve lunar orbit

Moon’s gravity successfully captures Israeli spacecraft during tricky maneuver on April 4, putting spacecraft on schedule for landing in six days.

Beresheet engineers released this photo on April 1 of the Arabian peninsula at a height of 16,000 kilometers, photographed from the spacecraft's external cameras. (courtesy Beresheet)

Engineers confirmed early Friday morning that the Beresheet spacecraft was successfully captured by lunar gravity during a tricky maneuver the night before, making Israel the seventh country in the world to successfully send objects into orbit around the moon.