After US pledges a Mars landing, Israeli deep space venture hitches wagon to Trump’s star

Creation-Space launches accelerator to invest in young startups tailoring tech solutions toward a sustainable human presence on the Red Planet and improving life on Earth

Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.

An Israeli analog astronaut in a simulated spacesuit exits the Mars habitat in the Ramon Crater in the Negev on October 31, 2021. (Amy Spiro)
An Israeli analog astronaut in a simulated spacesuit exits the Mars habitat in the Ramon Crater in the Negev on October 31, 2021. (Amy Spiro)

During his inaugural address this month, US President Donald Trump pledged that the United States would launch astronauts to plant the “Stars and Stripes” on planet Mars. Human boots on Mars has long been a goal for tech billionaire Elon Musk, who was standing a few feet away from the newly sworn-in president.

Over the past decade, Israelis have been engaged in a number of prominent space-related projects in the fields of satellite communications, rocket propulsion, and sensors, but the endeavors go beyond visions of Musk-like space exploration. Israel also has its sights set on developing deep space technologies that would pave the way for sustainable exploration and human presence on the Moon and Mars while also benefiting life on Earth.

Creation-Space, an Israel-based global innovation hub, is launching an accelerator program called Space Venture to create next-generation deep tech startups that focus on solutions that can be used on space missions and are fit for extreme environments like the lunar surface. As part of the program, young startups will be supported with an investment of up to $250,000 each alongside technical engineering support, access to research facilities, test sites and workshops by top experts from NASA and the deep space industry.

“There is a historical opportunity with Trump announcing launching astronauts on Mars and bringing Musk to the stage,” Dr. Roy Naor, co-founder and CEO of Creation-Space told The Times of Israel. “This is the right time in history for the deep space economy to rise.”

“We are an Israeli company seeking to build companies to capture these opportunities,” Naor added.

Applications for the Space Venture program opened on January 27, and after the selection process it will commence in April with at least five young startups. The program is looking for early-stage startups in infrastructure, energy conservation, materials, habitats, underground exploration, automation, and robotics.

Dr. Roy Naor, co-founder and CEO of Creation-Space, speaks at the opening ceremony of the Expand deep space accelerator program in Mizpe Ramon, May 2024. (Courtesy)

“When we think of space tech, we think of satellites for surveillance, for example, but we don’t realize that the technologies needed to make the Musk vision a reality are the type of deep tech technologies that we Israelis are good at,” said Naor. “It’s about developing technologies to thrive in an extreme desert environment which we have showcased in the Negev desert, for example, with the invention of an irrigation system which is used around the world.”

“These are the technologies needed to establish a permanent base on the moon and beyond, to feed people, to conserve energy and bring them medicine and robotics. The lunar surface is just another extreme environment,” the planetary geologist said.

Naor specified that the accelerator program was launched to target Israeli startups that have a solution for a terrestrial problem that is also highly relevant to deep space issues.

As an example, Naor cited the interest of the world’s largest tech firms, including Microsoft and Nvidia, to establish data centers on the moon.

“If you want to mine the moon for resources or establish data centers, there are many challenges ahead ranging from the need for autonomous robotic tools to drill; for boarding tunnels; for protection from the harsh conditions on the surface,” said Naor. “Finding solutions for those challenges are our bread and butter because Israel as the startup nation is the best problem-solving engine of the world for solving deep space problems.”

“Deep space technology is needed by NASA, big corporations, and others targeting the lunar surface,” he said.

NASA’s new moon rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, November 16, 2022. This launch is the first flight test of the Artemis program. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Founded in 2023 by Naor, Gal Yoffe, and Alon Shikar, Creation-Space was established in Mitzpe Ramon, a town in southern Israel’s Negev Desert close to the Ramon Crater. During the challenging war period, the innovation hub raised $1 million last year from US investment fund CreationsVC for the space venture. Other partners and supporters of the Space Venture program are the Merage Foundation Israel, the Jewish National Fund–USA, Amazon Web Services, the DeserTech & Climate Innovation Center, Meitar Law Offices, and Or-Hof Law.

Mitzpe Ramon, chosen for its Mars-like terrain, serves as the accelerator’s base and is part of a broader effort to turn the town into a space innovation hub, creating jobs and boosting the Negev’s economy.

“Mizpe Ramon houses space-related institutes and its natural environment, especially the Ramon Crater, which looks like Mars makes it the perfect area to test technologies,” said Naor. “We are building laboratories and test sites and everything that the startups need in order to flourish.”

Naor said that goal of the program is to help Israeli early-stage startups win NASA grants and programs for exploration and colonization of the moon and Mars.

“We believe that developing technologies for sustainable human presence in deep space, inevitably leads to solutions that improve life on Earth,” said Naor. “The deep space technologies developed by our program are geared to help fight climate change, deal with climate adaptation and thrive in the climate changing world on earth.”

Elon Musk listens as US President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, January 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

During the summer last year, Creation-Space ran its flagship space-tech accelerator Expand together with startup catalyst for the Negev region Tech7. The selected startups received support and mentorship from experts at the Israel Space Agency, including consultants who lead Israel’s collaboration with NASA.

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