SpaceIL is an Israeli organization, established in 2011 with the objective of landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the Moon. This organization has received a $16.4 million donation from the US-based Adelson Family Foundation.
Speaking for a related event in 2014, Miriam Adelson, the wife of the infamous dead Sheldon Adelson, said:
“Sheldon and I are very excited to be supporting SpaceIL in an effort to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the Moon. As an Israeli-born physician and scientist, I am especially proud of the positive impact the pursuit of this goal will have on the next generation of young Israelis, and frankly all young people, as it serves an important example of the role science and technology continue to play in our everyday lives and across the world”.1
The project has so-far failed, with the SpaceIL’s spacecraft crashing upon attempting to land on the moon in April 2019.
Front for Israeli Military Ambitions
While SpaceIL’s mission to land a spacecraft on the moon may yield mostly symbolic achievements, the organization is officially supported and working on behalf of the Israeli Space Agency. The Israeli Space Agency is heavily integrated with Israel’s military industries. Consequently, technologies and breakthroughs acquired by SpaceIL can certainly also be adopted for Israel’s war machine or provide Tel Aviv with technologies of strategic importance.
1.https://www.israel21c.org/adelson-family-donates-16-4m-to-spaceil/
