In case you were wondering:
A command intended to correct a malfunction in one of the Beresheet spacecraft’s inertial measurement unit led to a chain of events that turned off its main engine during landing, according to a preliminary investigation conducted by SpaceIL.
While a full investigation will be completed in the coming weeks, SpaceIL CEO Dr. Ido Anteby said Wednesday that the inertial measurement unit (IMU) malfunction during the landing maneuver was its first failure during the seven-week mission to the moon.
A chain of events caused by a command sent from the SpaceIL control room turned off the spacecraft’s main engine and prevented proper engine activation, Anteby said, making a crash landing on the moon inevitable.
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“There was no incident like this since the mission began,” Anteby told reporters. “After it occurred, an activation command was sent to [the IMU], causing a chain of events in which the main engine stopped and was unable to return to continuous operation.”
While the spacecraft attempted to restart its engine several times, the attempts proved unsuccessful.
Yup, that’s what I guess happened.
Well, it was never going to be this:
