Monday, April 15, 2019
Too Soon
Israelis made the mistake of celebrating a moon landing too soon. The spacecraft, Beresheet, crashed onto its surface while the world watched. The vehicle carried the hopes and dreams of the nation, but it was not to be. There was probably little that could have been done to tamp down expectations. The best that can be done in situations like this is to emphasize the difficulty of the achievement beforehand. That way, no one is surprised if it doesn't come to pass. That has been the history of landing on Mars. There have been so many failures to settle safely on the red planet that mission control is wired with tension in the final minutes of a descent. The moon is considered easier to do, but to date, only a few countries have achieved it. Israelis will get another chance, but the next time, they will be more cautious.
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