NVIDIA announced on Sunday that it will participate in Mitzpe Ramon's Space City complex.
Space City aims to become Israel’s largest civilian space investigation and development campus, funded by government and private organizations. Led by Creation Space, it will include a technology campus, a control room for space missions, laboratories simulating the Mars environment, a startup accelerator program, and an academic campus dedicated to international research.
Alongside NVIDIA, the project attracted NIS 100 million in investment from Jewish National Fund-USA, the Mirage Foundation, CreationsVC, the Growth and Investment Authority at the Economy and Industry Ministry, the Innovation Authority, and the Israel Space Agency, all of which operate under the Innovation, Science, and Technology Ministry.
“The Space City will allow us to provide entrepreneurs with a full infrastructure, from acceleration programs to technological development laboratories, which significantly shortens the path from an idea to a proven commercial product,” said Dr. Roy Noar, CEO and co-founder of Creation Space.
“This is a model that attracts investors, establishes Israel as a key player in the global space economy, and is also capable of creating quality jobs in the Negev,” he added.
What is Mitzpe Ramon’s Space City?
Created in one of Israel’s most isolated towns, the Space City will provide a wide range of tools and infrastructure to the Israeli space program, including control rooms, R&D centers, and laboratories.
The initial launch will include a platform that makes the space environment accessible to Israeli and foreign companies and enables full monitoring and control of mobile payload space missions from Israel.
Robotics and simulation laboratories that combine digital and physical environments to develop and test robotic technologies and autonomous systems adapted to operate in extreme environments in space and on Earth, in collaboration with NVIDIA.
An academic complex and an international conference center that will host scientists and students from all over the world.
It will also be launched as part of the third round of the EXPAND acceleration program, which is already taking place in Mitzpe Ramon. The program, developed by CreationsVC Foundation, grants a $3 million investment to Israeli startups.
"The inauguration of the campus is a historic and exciting moment for the Negev, which is part of a much larger puzzle that we at the Ministry of Economy and Industry are building for growth in the State of Israel and the Negev in particular,” said Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat.
“In Mitzpe Ramon, we are creating a national infrastructure for deep space exploration. Our goal is to turn the crater into an international center for analog and technological experiments, which will attract researchers and companies from all over the world,” added Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel.