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'If at first you don’t succeed, try again' - Israel vows not to give up after Beresheet crashes on Moon landing attempt

Hopes to be the fourth country to land on Earth's satellite dashed

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Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed Israel will try to land on the Moon again after the Beresheet probe crashed as it tried to land, dashing the country's dreams of being the fourth country in the world to land on Earth's satellite.

Around 95,000 people were watching the livestream on Thursday evening when the probe lost power to its main engine around 14 miles above the surface.

It reignited above the surface but lost contact with the control centre.

"If at first you don’t succeed, try again,” Mr Netanyahu said from SpaceIL’s control room in Yehud.

“We don’t have to be disappointed. We should congratulate ourselves on what we have achieved,” President’s Reuven Rivlin said at his residence in Jerusalem, where around 200 children and parents.

"Sure we didn’t land exactly like we wanted, but we landed. We are on the moon."

In the control room and at President Rivilin's residence, people sang the Israeli national anthem after the crash.

Morris Kahn, one of SpaceIL's major funders, said: "Well, we didn’t make it, but we definitely tried. I think the achievement of the attempt is really tremendous.”

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