Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s newly re-elected prime minister, vowed to try again. After transmitting a “selfie” as it approached the surface, the spacecraft is reported to have lost engine power. Once power returned, communication was lost. At 3:30 p.m. ET, it was reported that the landing failed. President Reuven Rivlin told those gathered at his home to watch the landing that despite the failure, it was still “an important night for the State of Israel.” (Times of Israel)

Talking point: If Beresheet had touched down successfully, Israel would have been the fourth country to land on the moon, following the Soviet Union, China and the U.S. Israel spent US$100 million on the mission, significantly less than other countries have. Part of that was through advances in technology lowering costs. Israel isn’t alone in looking at budget alternatives. Google’s Lunar X Prize offered US$20 million for the first private spacecraft to land on the moon. The competition concluded without a winner in 2018, but a number of companies are still trying to get to the Earth’s satellite.