SpaceIL will receive a donation of $16.4 million from the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Family Foundation

In this way, the Adelson family joins Morris Kahn, the Shusterman family and other organizations and donors who support the Israeli journey to the moon. SpaceIL says that this significant donation enables significant progress in the construction of the spacecraft and brings SpaceIL closer to launching the spacecraft to the moon as part of the Google LunarX Prize competition

A push on the way to the moon
The SpaceIL association, working to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon as part of the Google Lunar X Prize international competition, announced today the receipt of a $16.4 million donation from the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon C. Family Foundation. Adelson. This donation joins the broad public support the association receives and funding from other major donors, such as: Maurice Kahn, and the Shusterman Family Foundation, along with ongoing support from the Israel Aerospace Industries, the Israel Space Agency, Bezeq, Tel Aviv University, the Weizmann Institute and many others. The considerable amount of the donation allows the SpaceIL team a significant push forward in completing the construction of their innovative spacecraft and brings them closer to the long-awaited moment of the actual launch to the moon.

The funds will be used to promote the educational vision and to support SpaceIL's core mission: to create an Israeli "Apollo effect" and to inspire the next generation to choose science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. As part of this vision, the association's team of volunteers meets students in schools all over the country and tells them the story of the first Israeli spacecraft. So far, about 55,000 children in Israel have been exposed to the educational activities of the association. Recently, the team even started giving lectures to children and members of the Jewish communities in the US, in order to inspire them and show them another side of Israel.

Leveraging Israeli expertise in micro- and nano-satellite technologies, SpaceIL is building the smallest and smartest spacecraft ever to land on the moon. SpaceIL applies the Israeli knowledge in the field of satellites gained for security purposes to a new goal: space exploration.

The total budget of the project is estimated at about 36 million dollars. So far, only world powers with multi-billion dollar space programs have landed on the moon. SpaceIL intends to prove to the world that the same achievement can be achieved even with a small budget
Relatively, any private group, university or small country can also be involved in space exploration. Also, the space industry in Israel has the potential to become an engine of economic growth for the country and SpaceIL aims to contribute to this in practice.

SpaceIL recently purchased the spacecraft's propulsion system, which includes the engine and fuel tanks. These constitute
About 80 percent of the mass of the entire spacecraft. After this engineering milestone was achieved, teams at two factories of the aerospace industry recently joined the project, as part of the transition to full-scale development.

"Sheldon and I are very happy to support the SpaceIL association in its effort to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon. As a doctor and scientist born in Israel, I am especially proud of the positive impact this will have on the next generation of young people in Israel, and to be honest - on all young people wherever they are, since SpaceIL serves as an important example of the role that science and technology play in our daily lives in Israel and around the world," said Dr. Miriam Adelson.

As an entrepreneur, nothing excites me as much as supporting a group of people who have already been told they won't be able to realize their dreams. For a group of scientists and engineers in one of the smallest countries in the world, it is amazing to achieve such an achievement. We are proud to support Israel and SpaceIL, which proves that dreams do come true and that hard work, vision and dedication are rewarded. We stand with SpaceIL proudly in this extraordinary effort", said Sheldon Adelson.

Yanki Margalit, chairman of the public board of SpaceIL: "The wall-to-wall support that SpaceIL receives in the race to the moon is amazing: from students in schools, through leading academics to philanthropists with a vision. Already today, our mission succeeds in touching the hearts of many in Israel and abroad. Now, thanks to the grant from the Adelson family, we are closer to realizing the dream. This allows us to significantly expand our educational activities and, of course, to create a blue-and-white, historic and extraordinary moment in about two years. The challenge is enormous and our responsibility is clear. Space exploration is the fast track to the future."

"Adelson's generous donation is a tremendous step forward, which will enable the realization of the project. At the same time, there is still much to do: we intend to expand the activity in the educational field, in accordance with the association's vision. Also, we can invest more resources to test the components of the spacecraft, to increase the chances of success in our mission. We only have one chance to succeed", says Dr. Eran Pribman, CEO of SpaceIL.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Space, Yaakov Perry, said about the project: "SpaceIL" is an extraordinary example of Israeli innovation. The founders and the entire team of this daring project are our ambassadors in the fields of science, technology and space and are a true role model for the next generation."

The news is based on a SpaceIL press release