Japanese Billionaire Seeking 8 People to Join Him on SpaceX Mission to The Moon

Everyone on the Planet can apply to participate in the mission.

A Japanese billionaire is recruiting a team of 8 people to fly to the moon aboard the SpaceX Spacecraft. Everyone on the planet can apply to take part in the adventurous mission.

Yusaku Maezawa is set to be the first space tourist, and another group of people will share his journey. The billionaire promises to bear all the costs of his companions, Insider reported.

Maezawa – a fashion entrepreneur and art collector – was named as the first person to buy a ticket for the mission back in 2018. He has since snapped up all the available seats and now seeks to fill them with worthy candidates from around the world.

Japanese Billionaire Seeking 8 People to Join Him on SpaceX Mission to The Moon
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa poses with his T-shirt bearing an image of Earth during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo, March 3, 2021. Credit: Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters

In 2019, Maezawa announced that he wanted to take eight artists along on the trip, but says that the plan has now evolved as the term “artist” is too ambiguous. “I began to think that maybe every single person who is doing something creative could be called an artist,” he says.

He has therefore expanded the project to allow anyone to apply, as long as they meet two key criteria.

Firstly, Maezawa says that “whatever activity you are into, by going to space, I hope that you can push its envelope, to help other people and greater society in some way.” In other words, visiting the moon must help you raise your game and bring benefits to others.

 And second – to be “willing and able to support other crew members who share similar aspirations.”

Pre-registration is open until March 14. Name, country, email address and profile photo required. The initial screening process will begin on March 21, followed by interviews and medical examinations in late May.

The flight to the moon is planned for 2023. This will be the first civilian lunar mission of the Starship spacecraft, developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.

“I have bought all the seats, so it will be a private ride,” he explains in a video about the voyage. Dubbed dearMoon, the mission will see a total of 10 to 12 people travel further than any human in history, by looping around the Moon and catching a rare glimpse of its dark side.

The dearMoon mission is expected to last just under a week, with Starship taking three days to reach the Moon before completing a loop around it. It will then take a further three days to return to Earth. 

The eight crew members will be selected at the end of June, and their training will begin shortly thereafter. Preparations for the mission will continue until the take-off scheduled for the first half of 2023.


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