Yonatan Winetraub, a biophysics graduate student at Stanford University and a co-founder of SpaceIL, stood on the launch site at Cape Canaveral as the organization he co-founded was about to send an Israeli spacecraft to the moon. Winetraub’s team worked with Israeli Aerospace Industries to prepare their lander Beresheet, the Hebrew word for “genesis” or “in the beginning.” While the lander unfortunately crashed, Winetraub said, “It was an amazing experience. The skies went bright yellow-orange, and the moon was just coming up as the rocket flew over the horizon.” He also hopes to influence future generations: “We can do a lot more than land on the moon. We can help inspire kids to be interested in science and engineering. We need their hearts and minds in science, and a moon lander excites them. They know that if they study now, they can build their own rocket one day.” (Photo: NASA Ames Research Center)