Dozens of Israelis contacted the country’s space agency this week in an effort to become the first sabra to life off into space.
The sudden interest in space travel was prompted by President Clinton’s announcement Monday that the United States was considering sending an Israeli astronaut on a space mission as part of a cooperative effort with Israel.
But Avi Har-Even, director of the Israel Space Agency, had disappointing news for the would-be space travelers.
“We’re more interested in the market for selling space equipment than in sending off astronauts,” he said, adding that there were no plans yet to open an Israeli space-travel training program.
Israel and the United States have already cooperated in space research, and the proposed joint effort in space would expand on that.
Israel has already won a number of contracts to build small satellites in deals with American companies, according to the Israeli daily Ma’ariv.
The American civilian satellite market was opened to Israel last year after a meeting between Clinton and the last Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Although the prospect of an Israeli in space is being played down by officials here, the name of one Israeli has already been floated as a likely candidate to participate in an eventual space mission with the Americans.
Dr. Eran Shenkar, 32, is currently studying space medicine at the NASA center in Dayton, Ohio.
The Jerusalem native is six months into a three-year program. Among other things, he is learning how to conduct research experiments in a space-shuttle environment.
Shenkar said he was surprised that his name came up.
“I was flattered,” he told Israel Radio. But he said his own goals were more earthly.
“Space medicine is the future medicine,” he said.
“When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, all these monitors were hooked up to his body. Now, 30 years later, you can find them in the emergency rooms in regular hospitals,” he said.
“A lot can be invested in humans on Earth. I would like to go back to Israel and invest the research in my country.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
