Israel's SpaceIL secures funds for new lunar mission

The nonprofit Israeli initiative whose spacecraft crashed on the moon two years ago says it has secured $70 million in funding to make a second attempt at a lunar landing

JERUSALEM -- SpaceIL, the nonprofit Israeli initiative whose spacecraft crashed on the moon two years ago, said Sunday that it has secured $70 million in funding to make a second attempt at a lunar landing. SpaceIL said the new pledges means that it has raised almost all of the $100 million it estimates is needed for the mission to meet its 2024 launch target. SpaceIL said the funding would come from South African-Israeli billionaire Morris Kahn, who bankrolled much of the first mission, French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi and South African philanthropist Martin Moshal, co-founder of venture capital firm Entree Capital. The first “Beresheet,” or “Genesis” spacecraft, built by SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, crashed into the moon moments before touchdown in April 2019, falling short in its attempt to become the first privately funded lunar landing.