NASA released images of the moon on Wednesday that show the spot where Israel's Beresheet spacecraft crash-landed.
The agency said the pictures were captured by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter from some 56 miles (90 kilometers) above the moon's surface.
"The cameras captured a dark smudge, about 10 meters wide, that indicates the point of impact. The dark tone suggests a surface roughened by the hard landing, which is less reflective than a clean, smooth surface," NASA said.
"There are many clues that we're actually looking at a man-made crater instead of a meteoroid-caused one. This is an important consideration, since the moon, having no atmosphere, is constantly bombarded by space rocks that leave craters," it added.
Israel's first-ever lunar probe was launched into orbit by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries on February 22 from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Until now, only the United States, Russia and China have been able to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon.
The Beresheet mission was originally part of the Google Lunar XPrize competition and even made the final cut before the contest ended last year without a winner.
The organizers decided to press ahead on their own and the project was financed largely by philanthropists Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson together with SpaceIL President Morris Kahn at a cost of about $100 million.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS. Read more at https://www.i24news.tv/en.
Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson own the company that is the primary shareholder of Israel Hayom.
