In the first ever-private trip to the moon, 42-year-old billionaire from Japan, Yusaku Maezawa will be setting his foot on the moon in the year 2023. The voyage is executed by Space X. Yusaku has a 2.5 billion euro fortune, which he made through his online fashion business Zozo.
He is also planning to take along 8 artists representing the Earth on this week long, 384,400 km trip.
Yusaku Maezawa Speaks
Mr. Maezawa said: “I hope that this project will inspire the dreamer within each of us.”Together with Earth’s top artists, I will be heading to the moon… just a little earlier than everyone else.”
As described the SpaceX, he would be traveling on the Big Falcon Rocket, the next generation reusable launch vehicle, a supersized rocket, and spacecraft that is designed for transportation of people and cargo to Moon, Mars and beyond
However, the rocket design is yet to be completed – with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk trying on meeting the deadlines for this trip. If everything goes as planned, this would be the first manned flight to the moon since 1972.
Inputs from Space X
Speaking at the announcement of the mission, Mr. Musk explained: “We need to seek every possible means of funding.
“We’ve been transporting cargo to and from the space station for several years now… next year we’ll start transporting astronauts to and from the space station.
“Private customers – or any customers for BFR – are incredibly helpful in developing funding of the rocket.” Musk estimated that it’ll ultimately cost about $5 billion to get the BFR up and running. And he thanked Maezawa for providing a key piece of funding toward that end.
Other Players
With Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic also working to offer trips to those able to pay the high costs associated, Space X is not the only firm working toward space tourism.
The first space tourist was American billionaire Dennis Tito.
He paid to spend eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1 – a visiting mission to the International Space Station, in 2001
So have you started saving from the trip to the moon?
