[ad_1]
was ready to take off, some of us were stuck in an endless traffic jam on the Ayalon Highway, around Tel Aviv. When Israel launched the spacecraft successfully, some of us were waiting for trains that never came because that morning, 35 business leaders had suddenly announced that they were sick. Right now, Israel is on the way to the moon, while myself, in Hadera, my mother-in-law is probably going to tell me, "Too bad you have to go back at this hour." They just said to the radio that there are serious delays because of a car accident. "
Then I ask myself, "The moon!" Why on earth is it so urgent for Israel to reach the moon when we do not even have the capacity to have a fully functioning rail system yet? "
Takeoff of the first lunar mission of Israel (Photo: Reuters)
But I would be wrong to do it. This silly claim that "a country that can not get the right buses should not launch a spacecraft on the moon" has been heard too many times in the past week. We should stick to the facts for a moment: the Beresheet project (genesis) does not belong to the Israeli government and, when it lands on the moon, the Minister of Culture, Miri Regev, will not rush for a photo-op with you, Miri, if you read this, I urge you to go into space!).
In reality, very few shekels of taxpayer money were used to fund the $ 100 million project and most of the funds were collected by private donors, the largest of them being Israeli billionaire entrepreneur born in South Africa, Morris Kahn, who invested $ 44 million. and founded in 2011 SpaceIL for the sole purpose of landing on the Moon.
I've had the opportunity to question Kahn before takeoff, and the end result is that besides the hundreds of millions of dollars that this man has quietly invested over the years in an Israeli medical study revolutionary – intended to help rehabilitate children with disabilities – the lunar mission has become a project of passion for him. He has been able to recruit additional donors around the world. When the space mission was completed and the mission was ready to go forward, it decided not to join his name to the project, which seems to be an Israeli national feat.
Morris Kahn at SpaceIL (Photo: Shaul Golan)
Meanwhile, SpaceIL has gone from a strictly technological project to an educational project, going from school to school, giving lectures on space exploration and trying to spark the Children's interest in science. The successful launch of the spacecraft and the accompanying media coverage have sparked increased interest in children, which I constantly hear about the shuttle and its trajectory.
Beyond the national pride, thanks to the project, the Israeli education system has received a scientific boost when most of the reinforcements come from the auspices of religious organizations whose approach is a little less scientific.
This claim that it is not necessary to fly in space when we have trouble reaching Nahariya is unfounded. If external donors such as Kahn were to finance the state's infrastructure, we would have a real problem, not to mention total bankruptcy, because we would be entirely at the mercy of private investors.
It would however be useful for the state to take the example of the Beresheet project, which stumbled upon countless technological, budgetary and management hurdles, but was not only successfully completed, but also revealed to be an educational opportunity. If they – we – can do it, then everything is within our reach. Even get to Nahariya at the hour.
[ad_2]
Source link