$1 million prize awaits Israeli team if moon landing works

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – An Israeli team aiming to land a spacecraft on the moon in two weeks can now expect more than glory if it works. How about a cool $1 million?

The XPrize Foundation announced Thursday it’s offering a $1 million award for a successful lunar landing.

Israel’s privately financed spacecraft Beresheet — Hebrew for “In the Beginning” — launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, last month. It’s on track to land on the moon April 11, which would make Israel only the fourth country to successfully pull off a lunar landing.

SpaceIL, the Israeli non-profit behind Beresheet, made the final cut in the $20 million Google Lunar XPrize competition, which ended last year without a winner. The new award was inspired by SpaceIL’s perseverance.