Computer Reset Cancels Orbital Burn for Israeli Lunar Lander

The Israeli lunar lander Beresheet has suffered a snag in its efforts to reach the Moon. On Monday, the lander built by Israeli startup SpaceIL missed an orbital maneuver while it was out of communication with the ground.

“During the pre-maneuver phase the spacecraft computer reset unexpectedly, causing the maneuver to be automatically cancelled,” SpaceIL representatives said in a statement. “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 are used by the spacecraft to help orient itself in space with respect to target stars.

Beresheet’s star tracker problem appears to have been caused by the instrument being blinded by the sun. The launch revealed “high sensitivity to blinding by the sun’s rays in the star trackers,” according to a separate statement released by SpaceIL.

The missed burn was intended to raise the apogee of Beresheet’s orbit to 73,000 miles from Earth. Having missed this window, the team will need to adjust its plans for the rocket. The original plan called for five burns, with a sixth engine firing to swing the probe into lunar orbit, before braking for landing. It isn’t clear yet what caused the computer to reset just before burn or whether the issue can be solved. Presumably it can.

Beresheet — which means “in the beginning” in Hebrew — is following a gradual eight-week path to the Moon and is expected to land on the Mare Serenitatis (“Sea of Serenity”) on April 11. It was originally developed as an entry into the Google Lunar X Prize, though that competition ended without a winner. Space.com reports that the lander is carrying an Israeli flag, a time capsule, a “lunar library” with the complete contents of Wikipedia, and a laser retroflector experiment for NASA. It also has a magnetometer for measuring the local magnetic field. SpaceIL is a non-profit organization that raised nearly $100M from private donors to cover the costs of the lander and launch, in the hopes of inspiring students to pursue scientific and engineering careers.

The rover is a small machine and only expected to last for ~2 days on the lunar surface. If successful, however, it would make Israel the fourth country to reach the Moon and SpaceIL the first firm to put a private lander there.

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