On Thursday, finally, I too started getting excited. We had overcome so many hurdles; the launch, circling the earth, the survival in space, trapping the moon's orbit; every step so incredibly euphoric.

If only the sensors would indicate zero altitude, if only the spacecraft would continue communicating, if only we could download video footage of the lunar landing; every "if" marks such a monumental achievement. It is incompressible that China, a global power with vast amounts of government funding, just a few years ago accomplished what we did within the framework of our private mission, with a team of 50 people, and a far smaller budget.

Israel Aerospace Industries was with us from the first step and we never could have started without it. Its experience, knowledge and help all lifted the project off the ground.

When we began, help was rather hard to come by. Only a few people understood the significance of the project and pitched in, wholeheartedly, most notably Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson and of course, Morris Kahn.

The project is more than the spacecraft. It encompasses the immense interest created by our journey to the moon.

Our hope for Israel is that this is just the first in a long line of missions into deep space and efforts to tackle other challenges. If we can do tremendous things, like reaching a specific point on the moon, following a lunar voyage of 6.5 million kilometers (4 million miles), we can achieve even more impossible dreams.

The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom. Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom.

The writer is one of the three founders of SpaceIL's mission to the moon.

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Although it seems we've already achieved our goal, we are only just beginning the journey to landing on the moon. These will be eight weeks of bated breath, suspense ahead of every new stage of progress, and crossed fingers that our spacecraft fares well. We will wake up every morning and hope the spacecraft is communicating and functioning properly as it travels to the moon – similar to waking up and listening to the breaths of a newborn, just to be sure that everything is okay.

Going to the moon has been a lifelong dream, and although time has flown, the months turning to years, we can say after 70 years that we're in the home stretch and can almost touch the finish line.

When we began, with typical Israeli chutzpah, we didn't fully appreciate the complexity of the mission - the need to delve into the tiniest of details so we could build a spacecraft capable of withstanding the arduous flight; thoroughly inspect and test every last component to create a dependable communications system; and ensure we had enough fuel to perform the necessary landing maneuvers.

When we hatched the idea, we didn't think it would become the baby of an entire nation, a source of immense pride and inspiration. It's hard to believe that a group as small as we were, with our private dream, could rally the support of an entire country for this dream in the form of donations, volunteering or any other help. Even NASA lent a hand. Everyone who pitched in is part of this dream and its realization.

The scope of the project goes well beyond the $100 million invested in designing and building the spacecraft, plotting its course and running the tests. It's impossible to quantify the amount of energy poured into "Genesis."

Had it not been for the general show of support and everyone's willingness to help, we wouldn't be here now at the moment of truth, ready to etch another chapter into the annals of our young country's history. The Israeli flag will be the fourth to be raised on the moon. Being so small, this fills us with pride and humility that is still difficult to process. This achievement is already bigger than any one of us, and yet we all have a part in it, and we should see the mission's success as a first step to a better future for us all.

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