Japanese billionaire buys a ticket to the moon
Elon Musk, fresh from being sued by Vernon Unsworth for his slanderous comments during the Tham Luang cave rescue mission, has now announced that he is sending Japanese tourists up with his company Space X’s first moon mission.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will be Earth’s first moon tourist. It is not known how much he paid for the return trip with SpaceX as the private space company grapples with the development of manned Moon flights, then Mars.
The 42 year old fellow-tech tycoon has revealed that he has chartered a flight aboard Space X’s Big Falcon Rocket – still being developed – for a trip around the moon as soon as 2023. The flight won’t be landing on the moon, just ‘sling-shooting’ around earth’s satellite and heading back to earth.
Maezawa says he’s planning to take up to eight artists with him, and he won’t be charging them for the ride. Maezawa became a billionaire with e-commerce, but his first love was music — an industry in which he made the transition from artist to entrepreneur.
But he’ll also have another tourist tagging along, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is going on the trip as well.
Maezawa is said to be a rarity in Japan, shunning suits and traditional formalities and encourages his employees to have fun. In an interview with the Observer, Maezawa said that while he’d always had a deep interest in art and fashion, he didn’t start collecting until about 10 years ago.
Forbes Magazine estimates Maezawa is worth $2.9 billion, so he’s got deep pockets to bankroll his art addiction and space ambitions.
