...Weizmann Institute of Science in support of SpaceIL, an Israel-based non-profit that is mounting a submission for Google's $30 million Lunar X Prize contest. This project was selected by Broadcom Foundation for its use of the competition as a platform to promote excitement for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) among Israeli youth. As the only non-profit team in the contest, SpaceIL has pledged to donate all winning proceeds to STEM education for middle school children.
SpaceIL's challenge is to become the first team to successfully land a robot on the moon, have it travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send videos, images and data to Earth. Throughout this competition, SpaceIL is engaged in educational outreach initiatives, such as its programs to teach aerospace engineering to youths and graduate students. Broadcom Foundation's gift is part of its ongoing goal of inspiring and enabling middle school students around the world to enter careers in STEM. In addition to Broadcom Foundation's donation, the Wallis Foundation is making a matching grant to Tel Aviv University that will benefit SpaceIL. Broadcom Foundation is a long-time supporter of universities in Israel.