The Israeli start-up behind last week’s failed lunar landing says human error may have caused the spacecraft to crash into the moon.
SpaceIL, the non-profit that undertook the botched lunar mission, said that its engineers collectively decided to restart the inertial measurement unit, a critical part of the spacecraft’s guidance system, following its malfunction in the lander’s final descent.
SpaceIL says it will continue to analyse the fatal glitch and publish a formal assessment in the coming weeks.
Had the mission succeeded, it would have marked a first for Israel and for privately-funded lunar voyages.
