We want to replicate the Apollo effect: encouraging science and engineering studies

So said Maurice Kahn, chairman of SpaceIL. At the press conference on the occasion of the announcement of the date of the landing of the Israeli spacecraft on the moon

Mr. Morris Kahn, president of the SpaceIL association: "After eight challenging years, I am full of pride that the first Israeli spacecraft is in the final stages of construction and testing and will soon make its way to the moon. I have experienced many challenges in my life, but this challenge surpassed them all. This is a huge achievement for us - SpaceIL and for our partner - the aerospace industry who has been with us since day one. The launch of the first Israeli spacecraft will fill the country with pride in its 70th year, a national achievement that will put us on the global space map."

"In 2010, I attended a lecture by a NASA expert at Tel Aviv University and three people came to me at the conference and told me that they wanted to participate in the moon landing competition organized by Google." Kahn describes the moment of the first meeting with the entrepreneurs Yariv Bash, Kafir Demari and Jonathan Weintraub. "I asked them if you have any money. It turns out they didn't think about the financial aspect. I gave them $100 and told them to get started. I asked what the budget for the $8 million project was, I said it was something I could do."
"It turns out that as of now, the cost of the project has reached 95 million dollars." Kahn said and added: "We have the money, the project will not be stopped and will not have any problems because of money."
We had a meeting, they recruited volunteers, we came to the aviation industry for a start. We had a meeting here with Shimon Peres, and he said if Maurice Kahan is here, you will have the money. I didn't think how much it would cost, but when it works, there's no stopping it.
"We are lucky to have additional supporters including Sheldon Adelson, Sami Segol". Sheldon is a difficult but successful person and I know he will be with us until the end." I would like to thank the director general of the aerospace industry Yossi Weiss, the director of the Mabat Halal plant Ofer Doron, who managed the project without him it would not have been possible, as well as the director of the MLM plant Yaakov Glifat." The credit goes to the engineers and managers of the aviation industry. They were with us all the time and without them we would not have succeeded. We needed them as partners and they helped us a lot. The one who did not help is the government that promised 10% of the budget and did not give it. The state must recognize that space is very important to Israel. Today, Israeli satellites are in orbit at an altitude of 36 km, but not in deep space. The knowledge acquired by the aviation industry during the project is also our contribution."
Ofer Doron addressed this later in the press tour and said that today the relationship between SpaceIL and the aerospace industry is that of a subcontractor and a customer.

He also thanked the chairman of the Space Agency Prof. Yitzhak Ben Israel who helped the project in the government's intricacies, as well as the director of the agency Avi Blasberger.

"People have asked me why you are involved in such a project, landing a spacecraft on the moon is a strange idea. The truth is that this is really a strange idea but we have to remember that only three countries have landed spacecraft on the moon - the USA, Russia and China and each of the countries - have the industrial infrastructure to do so. Thousands of engineers, endless money, and they did it. In Israel, being there with the three powers is a huge achievement. If we succeed we will all be proud."

I'm involved with a group of people who deal with space and the ocean, one of them is Buzz Aldrin. When Buzz is asked why he was the second on the moon, he says it was because Armstrong was at the door. This is not true, because Armstrong was the commander.
"We are trying to replicate the Apollo effect in the US. People who lived then remember where they were when they landed on the moon. People understand the importance. We use it to encourage young people to study science, maths and engineering. These students are the people who will lead if we want to be a startup country in the next generation as well. We need a lot of engineers and we need to start it today. SpaceIL has about 400 volunteers who give lessons to thousands of students. This is a contribution that Israel will always remember."

Kahn briefly mentioned the Google Lunar Xprize competition in which SpaceIL was established. Most of its competitors were private companies from all over the world. Some of them had a built-in advantage, for example the Indians could use their own launcher, and were not required to launch on a commercial spacecraft (SpaceX in the case of SpaceIL). "Out of 23 contestants all over the world, only we remained. It is a complex project, and those who are not in the space business do not understand how complex it is. The fact that we were the last ones left, and we achieved what we wanted to achieve proved this.",\

Later, Kahn explained that the Israeli flag will be installed on the spaceship, and a sign with a message of peace and prosperity to the entire world and the Middle East in particular.

Kahn surprised with his openness when he spoke about a crisis that caused him to retire when "at a certain point things didn't work out", and he returned when Ido Antavi was appointed CEO.

"It is an important event for the citizens of Israel when the spacecraft reaches its orbit. We will all remember where we were when the Israeli spacecraft landed on the moon." Said Kahn and concluded: "It's very exciting, expensive but exciting."

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• The Israeli spacecraft to the moon will land on February 13, 2019 (10 / 7 / 2018)
• SpaceIL: "Continuing the construction of the spacecraft to the moon and planning for a routine in 2018" (2016)
• SpaceIL signed with SpaceX to launch the spacecraft to the moon in about two years (news from 2015)
• Revealing initial details about the journey to the moon and SpaceIL's unique technologies (news from 2013)