Prof. Dan Bloomberg, chairman of the Israel Space Agency: "We faced a crisis of students in the STEM fields - which resulted from changes in Israeli society. A project like 'Genesis' motivates students to become interested and end up studying engineering at the academy"
Engineering model of the Genesis 2 lander. Courtesy of SPACEIL
The Committee for Public Enterprises discussed last week the issue of aid to the Beresheet 2 spacecraft project on the moon at the request of MK Eli Dellal. Since December 2020, with the end of the Genesis 1 project, it was decided to continue the "Genesis Effect", and to start with the Genesis 2 project, but in the last year, among other things, against the background of the "Iron Swords" war, the project ran into difficulties due to the reduction of funding.
The mission of "Genesis 2" is a historic opportunity for a technological, scientific and educational breakthrough and it is a national journey that will position Israel, precisely these days, at the forefront of science and space exploration while promoting international collaborations. The Israeli-led mission is expected to have an impact on students and students in the partner countries will gain access to deep space, investigate the information coming from the orbiting spacecraft and promote research and experiments in space.
As part of the mission, a spacecraft will be launched to the moon consisting of an array of 3 spacecraft - an orbiter and two landers. The landings are expected to land on two different sites of the moon in order to carry out various scientific experiments. At the same time, the Mikapet is designed to circle the moon for several years, perform scientific experiments and serve as an educational platform for students in Israel and around the world.
The chairman of the committee, MK Ohad Tal, said at the beginning of the discussion that many of the country's citizens watched the project 'Beresheit 1' several years ago and drew a great deal of inspiration from it in many aspects including: education, science and technology and national pride. "The purpose of the discussion is to find assistance options for the 'Bereshit 2' project that has run into financial difficulties."
MK Eli Dellal, the initiator of the debate, said that the state should be a part of this "it is a marginal amount compared to the benefits." With the help of promoting the project, we will see breakthrough technologies in other subjects. This is a vision that is worth every penny and a decision must be made and the budgets achieved."
Brigadier General Uri Oron, director of the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science and Technology: "Bereshit 2 is a national project with a huge impact. We at the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology see the project as an extraordinary opportunity for the significant advancement of the civilian space industry in Israel and of Israeli space research, for the expansion of international collaborations and the development of science and space professions for children and youth in Israel." Oren added, "Today there are 20 projects in the world whose goal is to reach the moon. The day Israel does this, they will look at it differently in addition to technological entrepreneurship."
Prof. Dan Bloomberg, Vice President of Ben Gurion University and Chairman of the Israel Space Agency, added that space is a challenging environment and we must come up with creative solutions because this is what drives Israeli industry. "We faced a crisis of students in the STEM fields - which resulted from changes in Israeli society. A project like 'Genesis' motivates students to become interested and end up studying engineering at the academy."
According to Aviv Kanelbaum from the Aerospace Industry, many teenagers went to study engineering and got the twinkle in their eyes because of the Genesis project. "Everyone who comes to us recently talks about this project and it brings us good people."
According to Shimon Sharid, CEO of the SpaceIL association: "The Genesis 2 mission is very important in creating inspiration for engineers, scientists and dreamers of the next generation in the State of Israel. This task is challenging at the technological and innovation level. The space market in the world is growing at a rapid pace and it is important that the State of Israel continues to stand on the global front line. This project has the potential for significant multinational collaborations. Stopping the project prematurely will not have a revival in the foreseeable future."
This is a national Zionist project of the first degree. It is precisely in these days of war that Iran threatens and takes us hostage
Using its missiles, this project should be prioritized. Netanyahu pledged that the government would help. that he transfer a budget for traveling abroad, a budget for an annual ultra-orthodox yeshiva for the national project.
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This is a national Zionist project of the first degree. It is precisely in these days of war that Iran threatens and takes us hostage
Using its missiles, this project should be prioritized. Netanyahu pledged that the government would help. that he transfer a budget for traveling abroad, a budget for an annual ultra-orthodox yeshiva for the national project.