Yusaku Maezawa had best make his mind up. The Japanese billionaire initially wanted to bring a potential romantic partner on his SpaceX Starship trip, then it was a batch of artists who might have been eligible to go around the Moon. Now, it could be you.
Maezawa made the announcement in a YouTube video, where he calls for eight passengers to come along with him on a journey around the Moon. There will be ten to twelve people on the trip, in one of SpaceX’s Starship vehicles, but eight of them will be civilians from around the world. This isn’t the first time this sort of offer has been made but here, there’s no fundraising requirement. We think.
Lost in SpaceX
The mission will supposedly kick off from 2023, barring any delays in SpaceX’s Starship (which has a tendency to blow up on landing still). But you’re not going to be too concerned about that, you’re mostly going to be concerned with what leaving Earth in the next two years will cost. In this case, it’d be nothing. Maezama said “I will pay for the entire journey. I have bought all the seats, so it will be a private ride.”
If you’re really, really interested in leaving this rock (temporarily but possibly also permanently) then you can sign up here to be part of Maezama’s mission around the moon. There’s little detail on the mechanics of entry or how you’ll be trained ahead of the (possibly) 2023 launch. But, if you’re selected and all goes well, you’ll spend six days being launched around the Moon before landing back on Earth.
