The President of the State today launched the project to place the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon - Space IL

President Peres: "The time has come for an Israeli flag to fly on the moon"

The President of the country, Shimon Peres, today launched the project of placing the first Israeli spacecraft to be landed on the moon by the Space IL group of young scientists. The Space IL group is the only Israeli representative participating in the Google Lunar X-Prize international competition, in a race to land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon in which total prizes reach 30 million dollars.
The President met at the Israel Aerospace Industries facility in Yehud with the project's initiators and young Israeli scientists participating in the global competition and received a comprehensive overview of the spacecraft construction process and the progress of the project. All this, with the aim of meeting the enormous challenge and making Israel the 3rd country to land and plant its flag on the moon. The president, together with Rona Ramon and the three scientists heading the project, removed the lot from the spacecraft model and attached to the spacecraft a piece of parchment on which was quoted the verse "And I had lights in the firmament of the sky to shine on the earth" (Genesis XNUMX:XNUMX) which will accompany the spacecraft on its way to the moon. And in return he even received a plane ticket to the moon from them.

In a speech he gave to the entrepreneurs, scientists and volunteers who were involved in putting Israel on the global space map, the president said "More than Israel is a leader in technology, technology may lead Israel and it is the strongest, smartest and boldest thing we have. Technology is the key to the economy, the treasury is created in laboratories, in the inventions of the scientists and these are translated into money. I am so proud of the young people who founded the project to put the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon and they are also able to get there while basing themselves on new technologies, strategic thinking and creativity.

If they win the prize, they will give Israel the deepest appreciation in the world and I have full faith in them." The president stressed "We are facing a revolution in the field of Israeli space, the secret of science lies in the boldness and audacity of the scientists, and Israel has plenty of them. This event in my view is important for the State of Israel - space requires advanced, miniaturized, daring, smart and cheap technology and it gives Israel wings. The time has come for an Israeli flag to fly on the moon. We are advanced and good enough to become the third country to place its flag on the moon."

The weight of the spacecraft is expected to be about 90 kilos and its size will be about 80x80 centimeters (at launch). Before landing, special springy legs are expected to open and then her height will be about 1.60 meters.

The spacecraft will be assembled in the satellite integration hall by engineers and experts in a variety of fields and under special and sterile conditions of a clean room in order to prevent "staining" of the spacecraft with organic tissue. This is essential in order to maintain the spacecraft itself and its delicate components and for protection against dust and impurities found in space. The spacecraft will be built taking into account international labels designed to ensure that there will be no harm to life on the moon if there is any. In this framework, the final tests will also be performed before takeoff, including: vibration tests that test the spacecraft's durability and thermal vacuum tests that will simulate the harsh conditions of space to make sure that the spacecraft does not freeze.

Dov Beharev, Chairman of IAI, stated: "The Space IL project is an extraordinary example of entrepreneurship, innovation and original dealing with extraordinary challenges. IAI, as the leading body in the Israeli space industry, is proud to take part in the project and promote the local space industry with its help. Beyond that, there is tremendous importance in strengthening technological education and setting it as a national goal. I hope that the project can inspire children and young people to choose technological studies and become the leading inventors and technologists of tomorrow"

Rona Ramon, who currently works as part of the Ramon Foundation, said: "Ilan was our pioneer in front of the world. The project continues on its way and poses another significant challenge to Israeli society. There is an expression here not only of a great legacy and mission, but also of the quality group to which Ilan belonged"

SpaceIL was founded about a year ago by three young engineers: Yariv Bash, Kafir Demari and Yonathan Weintraub and operates as a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote technological education in Israel. The group is the only Israeli representative participating in the Google Lunar X-Prize international competition, a race to land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon in which total prizes reach 30 million dollars. The team is committed to donating the winning money to the promotion of technological and scientific education in Israel and aims to stimulate curiosity and a renewed interest in the field of science among young people with the help of the project. About 100 volunteers between the ages of 13-18 are already active within the project, including about 15 teenagers from the President's program that promotes young scientists, and in addition many educational activities are conducted.

At the same time as the technological progress and the educational projects, the group continues to raise funds for the project, the cost of which is estimated at approximately 15 million dollars (money and money's worth). So far, about 3.5 million dollars have already been raised.
Following the meeting that took place this week between Dov Beharev, chairman of IAI, Yitzhak Nissan, the CEO, Linky Margalit, chairman of Space IL, and the heads of the group, it was decided that IAI will take a significant part in the construction of the spacecraft and for this purpose will set up a special part of the space plant. Beharev will even join the board of directors of Space IL.

The project is based on a technological core team that will work on the project full time and many professional consultants and volunteers in various fields. Among the many bodies assisting the project: the Weizmann Institute, the Technion, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University, Aeronautics, Raphael and Gilat. The extraordinary collaboration is in fact the first time that representatives from all the entities related to the Israeli space industry have joined together: government companies, businesses and academia.