Israeli-Canadian Jewish billionaire and businessman Sylvan Adams has donated $5 million to SpaceIL and its efforts to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon.
Adams announced his contribution while touring SpaceIL's facility, located at Israel Aerospace Industries in central Israel on Monday.
Celebrating his 60th birthday with the donation, Adams said that "This contribution to strengthening the Israeli space program, and encouraging education for excellence and innovation among the younger generation in Israel, is the best gift I could have asked for."
"I believe that sending the first Israeli spacecraft to the moon will inspire Israeli school children to take up STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] studies and think about space exploration, and especially to believe that anything is possible," he added.
SpaceIL president Morris Kahn, whose Khan Foundation has donated $27 million to the project, thanked Adams "for his generous contribution to our effort."
"We are in the final stretch, and I believe that his joining will help us raise the remaining funds needed to complete our ambitious mission," said Kahn.
