NASA Found The Impact From Israel's Crashed Moon Lander

A NASA satellite managed to photograph the site where Beresheet, the Israeli lunar lander, crashed into the Moon last month. — *Image: NASA*

Found Footage

Last month, Israel’s SpaceIL very nearly became the first private company to land a spacecraft on the Moon. Unfortunately, Beresheet — that’s the lunar lander — suffered a last-minute engine failure and crashed.

Now, CNET reports that NASA managed to snap a photo of the crash site using the camera on its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and has begun to study the impact, which could potentially help the space agency track down missing equipment that Beresheet was carrying to the Moon.

Aftermath

At 56 miles above the lunar surface, the LRO was too far away to tell how deep of a crater Beresheet left, according to CNET. But it did reveal that the Israeli spacecraft left a 33-foot-long impact on the Moon’s surface when it crashed.

“From so far away, LROC could not detect whether Beresheet formed a surface crater upon impact. It’s possible the crater is just too small to show up in photos,” reads a NASA press release.

According to the release, it’s possible that Beresheet simply left a small dent in the surface of the Moon instead of carving out a crater, but NASA won’t know for sure until it takes a closer look.

More on Beresheet: After Failed Moon Landing, Israel Vows to Try Again