Israel Headed To The Moon. Adelson Helps Them On The Way.

GOP Bankroller Adelson Gives $16M to Send Israel to Moon

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife have pledged $16.4 million to fund SpaceIL, the Israeli mission to the moon.

The donation by the Jewish couple's Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Family Foundation was reported by the Israeli news site hayadan.org.il.

"Sheldon and I are thrilled to be supporting the SpaceIL association in its effort to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon," Miriam said. "As a physician and an Israel-born scientist, I am particularly proud of the positive effect this will have on a generation of young Israelis and non-Israelis."

The SpaceIL project has 20 full-time staffers and 250 volunteers, and aims to land a spacecraft on the moon at a cost of about $37 million, Forward.com reported.

SpaceIL is the only team running its project through philanthropic contributions rather than corporate sponsorships, according to the London Jewish Chronicle.

Yariv Bash, a co-founder of SpaceIL, said that once the Israeli spacecraft lands on the lunar surface, he hopes it will carry out a number of experiments including the first attempt to grow plants outside the earth.

Adelson was a major donor to Republican campaigns during the 2012 election cycle. He and his wife spent more than $92 million helping mostly losing candidates, and in the next cycle they plan to support a GOP presidential candidate they believe will have broad electoral appeal.

But New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is not likely to be Adelson's choice. An Adelson confidant has said that he cannot support Christie in 2016 because the governor used the term "occupied territories" in discussing the West Bank at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition.