JAPANESE billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has said that he plans to blast off on the first-ever private commercial trip around the moon and will invite six to eight artists, architects, designers and other creative people on the week-long journey.
The SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket is scheduled to make the trip in 2023, company founder Elon Musk announced at an event Monday at its headquarters near Los Angeles.
Maezawa, 42, said he wants his guests “to see the moon up close, and the Earth in full view, and create work to reflect their experience”.
Musk said the entrepreneur, will pay “a lot of money” for the trip, but declined to disclose the exact amount.
Maezawa came to SpaceX with the idea for the group flight, Musk said.
“I did not want to have such a fantastic experience by myself,” said Maezawa, wearing a blue sports jacket over a white T-shirt with printed with a work by the late painter Jean-Michel Basquiat.
He said he often mused about what artists like Basquiat or Andy Warhol might have come up with if they had travelled into space.
“I wish to create amazing works of art for humankind,” Maezawa said.
Maezawa did not immediately say who will be on his guest list for the spaceflight, but in response to a question from a reporter he said he would consider inviting Musk, but not definitely.
“Maybe we’ll both be on it,” Musk said with a smile.
He said the rocket is still in development and will make several unmanned test launches before it takes on passengers.
The average distance from Earth to the moon is about 237,685 miles.
Astronauts last visited the moon during Nasa’s Apollo programme. 24 men flew to the moon from 1968 through 1972 and half of them made it to the lunar surface. Nasa is planning its own lunar flyby with a crew around 2023. The space agency also aims to build a staffed gateway near the moon during the 2020s.
Musk’s original trip would have used a Falcon Heavy rocket – the most powerful rocket today – and a capsule similar to the one astronauts will use to fly to the International Space Station next year.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel