Why Israeli Children Stopped Dreaming of Space: Inside the Ramon Foundation

The name "Ramon" is etched into the Israeli DNA as a symbol of heroism, sacrifice, and unimaginable tragedy. Yet, from the ashes of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the wreckage of the F-16 piloted by the late Asaf Ramon, something entirely different has emerged: the Ramon Foundation. Established by the late Rona Ramon, the foundation does not merely focus on commemoration; rather, it uses space as a tool for profound social transformation. Gil Doron, CEO of the foundation, visited the Maariv technology podcast studio to discuss science, the new era of Elon Musk, and most importantly, the unsettling question: Why have Israeli children stopped dreaming of becoming astronauts?

The Vision Born from Tragedy

Lior Gil, the Ramon Foundation has been operating for 16 years. It all started with the vision of Rona Ramon. How did the idea of turning a family tragedy into a widespread educational enterprise actually come about?

"The story begins at the point when Rona returned to Israel from Houston after the disaster. Astronauts, friends of Ilan from NASA, arrived with her. They asked her naturally: 'Rona, do you need help registering the children for school?' Her response was astounding. She told them: 'I don't need help with my children, but go into the classrooms and tell other children about space.' That is how Israeli Space Week was born.

"The major shift came after the fall of Asaf, her eldest son, in a training accident in 2009. Rona found a line in his diary that changed everything: 'My brother and I were raised to follow our own dreams.' She realized she needed to create a broad educational movement that would make boys and girls in Israel believe in themselves. Today, we meet 22,000 children a year, from all strata of Israeli society, and use space as a platform to impart 21st-century skills."

Why space specifically? In an era where everything is accessible on YouTube and TikTok, does space still manage to ignite the imagination of a child in 2024?

"Absolutely. There is something about space that is 'age-agnostic.' It excites a three-year-old and an eighty-year-old to the exact same degree. When we enter a classroom and show a launch or a satellite, the children's eyes light up immediately. That is our gateway. The moment they are with you, it is your time as an educator to introduce values and STEM studies (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). In Israel, space is still perceived as out of reach, unlike places like Florida or Houston, which is why this fascination is particularly strong here."

Overcoming Fear and Realism

We talk a lot about STEM studies and the shortage of technological manpower. Where is the main barrier for children today? Is it a lack of interest or something deeper?

"It is definitely not laziness. It is fear. Many children harbor a fear that they won't succeed, that it's 'too big for them,' that numbers are not for them. When we take the world of space—which is only a small part of STEM—we show them that they can. Our graduates today are founding startups and succeeding in high-tech because the spark was lit right there, in the classroom, when they realized they could design an experiment that would fly to the Space Station."

Let's talk about the mental state of the younger generation. We have been through COVID-19, and we are in the midst of an ongoing war. What kind of children do you meet in the classrooms today?

"A good friend once told me a sentence that stuck with me: 'I don't know if I want to ride on bridges that today's children will design.' That sounds harsh, but when we researched it deeply at the foundation, we found a disturbing phenomenon: Israeli children feel they have no control over their present or their future.

"Five or six years of a global pandemic, endless wars, and exposure to tragic events have created a generation living in 'absolute realism.' A child tells themselves: 'Why should I aim high? After all, I'll end up in a shelter anyway, there will be another pandemic anyway.' They live in the moment because the future seems fragile to them. Our mission is to shatter this realism and return to them the 'right to dream.' In kindergarten, that still exists—that is the playground of fantasy—but at school, realism begins to nibble at dreams, and we must be there to stop it."

Promoting Diversity and Hands-On Science

One of your most fascinating projects is 'Team Air' with the Israel Air Force. It is designed to promote young women from the periphery into the flight course. Why is it so hard to bring young women there?

"Team Air (named after Asaf, Ilan, and Rona) was born from the need to solve a social problem. Every year, the IDF tries to increase the number of women in the flight course, and in the end, only two or three graduate. We go to Ofakim and Beer-Sheva, select 25 eighth-grade girls, and accompany them until the twelfth grade.

"The problem is not a lack of desire, but a lack of belief. When I asked eighth-grade girls if they believed they would be pilots, they laughed. They didn't know it was even possible for them. We bring a simulator to the city, introduce them to female pilots who talk about the difficulties. We also work with the surrounding circles—the family and the community. If a young woman returns home from the flight course and says, 'Dad, it's hard for me,' and he replies, 'So quit, go do something else, start a family'—she will not succeed. We need the environment to tell her: 'This is part of the difficulty, you will get through it.'"

You also work with NASA on the 'Ramon SpaceLab' project. Do Israeli students really send experiments into space?

"Totally. Middle school students invent a scientific experiment under microgravity conditions. Three selected experiments fly every year to the International Space Station. A NASA astronaut performs the experiment live for them. It is a two-year process that teaches them patience. In the world of space, there is no 'instant.' The children see their payload move from the school laboratory to Houston, from there to Florida, and then to launch. When they see an astronaut shaking a test tube they designed—that is a life-changing moment."

The New Era of Private Space Exploration

Let's move to the wider world. Elon Musk and SpaceX have changed the rules of the game. How does the 'privatization' of space affect the field?

"The leap is astronomical. Once, space was the domain of bureaucratic government agencies. NASA is a heavy body. Musk came in as a private player, absorbed losses and failures (we saw how many rockets exploded along the way), and succeeded in returning a rocket for vertical landing. Once it was science fiction, today it is taken for granted.

"What is wonderful about Musk is that he doesn't just see space, he sees the ecosystem. When he builds the 'Optimus' robot, he is thinking of a colony on Mars. He understands he will need working hands that don't need oxygen and can work 24/7. Today, he is building the infrastructure for life on another planet. This gave a kick to NASA, which realized it had fallen behind, and today it is privatizing a large part of its activity to companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin by Jeff Bezos."

And where is Israel in the middle of all this madness? Are we still the 'Start-up Nation' in space as well?

"Israel is a powerhouse in satellite technology, but we have an amazing physical uniqueness: due to the security situation and the neighbors in the east, we are the only country in the world that launches 'against the direction of motion.' The Earth rotates eastward, and everyone launches with the rotation to get a boost. We launch westward, over the sea, against the rotation. This requires much more power and energy, and it forces us to be much smarter and more efficient in building our rockets and satellites.

"We have amazing companies. For example, 'Acsch' (Acsis), or 'Stensat', or companies like 'StemRad', which developed a radiation protection suit currently being tested in NASA's Artemis mission on its way to the Moon. We are no longer just sending astronauts; we are sending technology without which life in space will be impossible."

What do we lack to break forward? More government budget?

"Budget is always important, but what is mainly lacking is regulation and policy. We need an Israeli 'Space Law' that will regulate the activity of startups in the field. Today, countries are buying tickets for private flights for their national astronauts—India, Brazil, Hungary. This is no longer just NASA. Israel must decide that it is investing in this infrastructure so that we don't miss the train, or in this case—the spacecraft."

In conclusion, what is your message to a boy or girl sitting right now at home in Ofakim or Metula and dreaming of the stars?

"The message is that despite the harsh realism we live in, dreams are not 'a waste of time.' They are the engine of humanity. Ilan Ramon always said that space looks limitless from above, and we want the children to understand that their abilities are also limitless. Do not stop dreaming, because in the end—as we saw with Asaf and Ilan—these dreams are what move the world forward."