An Israeli tech company called SpaceIL is trying to be part of the first privately operated trip to the moon, aiming for a launch in 2017.

According to Space.com, SpaceIL partnered with SpaceX to mount its robotic lander on the latter's Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceIL now sees itself as the frontrunner to win a $20 million grant from Google by way of the tech giant's Lunar X Prize (GLXP).

"We are proud to officially confirm receipt and verification of SpaceIL's launch contract, positioning them as the first and only Google Lunar X Prize team to demonstrate this important achievement thus far," Bob Weiss, the vice chairman and president of the GLXP, said in a statement. "The magnitude of this achievement cannot be overstated, representing an unprecedented and monumental commitment for a privately funded organization, and kicks off an exciting phase of the competition in which the other 15 teams now have until the end of 2016 to produce their own verified launch contracts.

"It gives all of us at X Prize and Google the great pride to say, 'The new space race is on!'"

To win Google's top prize, SpaceIL will have to land its machine on the moon, have it trek at least 1,650 feet, and then receive high-res photos from the surface by the end of 2017, Space.com noted. There is a $5 million second-place prize in addition to $5 million in payouts for extra mission accomplishments.

"Last year, we made significant strides toward landing on the moon, both in terms of project financing and in terms of the engineering design, and now, we are thrilled to finally secure our launch agreement," SpaceIL CEO Eran Privman said in the statement. "This takes us one huge step closer to realize our vision of recreating an 'Apollo effect' in Israel: to inspire a new generation to pursue science, engineering, technology and math."