Elon Musk’s company SpaceX has announced the identity of the first private passenger it plans to fly around the Moon. Japanese billionaire and online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa, 42, announced: ‘I choose to go to the Moon.’
He is expected to lift off on the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), a launch system that was unveiled by Musk in 2016.
Yusaku will be bringing 8 (brave) artists & cultural figures with him on the journey around the moon! https://t.co/PCU23HYTa9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2018
The mission, which is currently planned for 2023, will mark the first visit to the Moon by humans since Nasa’s Apollo 17 landing in 1972.
The announcement was made at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on Tuesday.
Hanging out with @yousuck2020 before the @SpaceX moon mission announcement pic.twitter.com/RTOwutzMtG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2018
Maezawa made headlines last year after paying $110.5m (£85.4m) for a painting by the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat at an auction in New York. The art enthusiast said on Monday he would invite six to eight artists from around the world to join him on the trip.
“They will be asked to create something after they return to Earth. These masterpieces will inspire the dreamer within all of us,” he told reporters.
Only 24 humans have visited the Moon – all of them Americans; although, not all of these individuals landed. Some Apollo astronauts had roles that meant they remained above the surface. Maezawa will not land, either. He will travel on what is called a “free return trajectory”, which will bring his BFR ship back to Earth after it has gone around the far side of the satellite.
The mission relies on a rocket that has not been built yet, and Musk cautioned: “It’s not 100% certain we can bring this to flight.”
The flight represented ‘an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of travelling to space.’
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