Israeli team is first to advance in Google's global contest to send spacecraft to moon
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The organizers of an international competition sponsored by Google to send a privately funded spacecraft to the moon say a team of Israeli engineers is the first to advance.
The Israeli nonprofit group SpaceIL has signed a contract with American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX to launch an unmanned spacecraft into lunar orbit — the first step a team must take toward landing on the moon and winning the $20 million grand prize.
Google's contest is meant to encourage private industry to create new technologies to reach the moon at lower costs than what governments have spent in the past.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chanda Gonzales, senior director of the Google Lunar XPRIZE contest, says the Israeli group is the first of 16 teams to finalize a contract with a launch provider.