New York—SpaceIL, a nonprofit organiza­tion aiming to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon and a leading contestant in the prestigious Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) com­petition, made its New Jersey debut at the Frisch School in Paramus on Thursday. They presented their mission and overall objec­tives as part of several presentations through­out the day to various grade school-level stu­dents and in the evening at the school’s First Annual Frisch Science Research & Engineer­ing Symposium, a science fair featuring re­search and engineering projects from the school’s students. A highlight of the SpaceIL presentations included the prototype of the spacecraft on display for all to see.

Through its mission, SpaceIL aspires to create a new “Apollo effect” by landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the Moon, hoping to inspire the next generation to think differ­ently about science, technology, engineering, and math. SpaceIL’s vision is to inspire Israeli children to be scientists and engineers and to engage Jewish children around the world to connect with Israel in new and exciting ways.

“By creating real-time, exciting examples of science innovation, we look to inspire kids to see themselves as part of science in the fu­ture, and thus pursue educations in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM),” said Kfir Damari, co-founder of SpaceIL. “For SpaceIL, we are looking to educate students all across the globe about our mission, which is why we are eager to make our New Jersey debut at the Frisch School and its symposi­um.”

SpaceIL (www.spaceil.com) is an Israe­li nonprofit founded at the end of 2010, when three young engineers with the dream of landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the Moon entered the Google Lunar X Prize (GLPX) competition. In just three years, the or­ganization has scaled into a national move­ment comprising nearly 20 full-time staff, over 250 volunteers, and a network of hun­dreds of renowned academics, business lead­ers, and industry experts. Aside from land­ing on the moon, SpaceIL’s collective vision is to create a new Israeli “Apollo Effect,” to ex­cite and inspire the next generation about sci­ence, engineering, technology, and math and help fill the country’s urgent need for more scientists and engineers.

For more information: www.spaceil.com A full report will follow in our next issue.