Maezawa's moon journey: Japanese billionaire plans space journey with artist group

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Yusaku Maezawa about to launch his flight to the International Space Station in 2021

Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is taking eight artists on board for his planned space trip around the moon.

The 47-year-old entrepreneur, who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) as a space tourist last year, has now announced the names of his crew members.

The crew of the "dearMoon" mission includes US DJ and producer Steve Aoki, YouTuber Tim Dodd, Czech artist Yemi AD, Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, British photographer Karim Iliya, and US filmmaker Brendan Hall, Indian actor Dev Joshi and South Korean K-pop musician TOP.

"They will benefit greatly from this experience and I hope they will use this to contribute to the planet and humanity," Maezawa said in a video posted on YouTube.

Maezawa announced his project in 2018, in which he wants to fly around the moon for a week in 2023 on board a spacecraft from Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company SpaceX.

A landing on the moon is not planned.

A test flight of the rocket in Earth orbit, which SpaceX founder Elon Musk has repeatedly promised by the end of 2022, is still pending.

Since March last year, the Japanese billionaire has been looking for people who "see themselves as artists" to accompany him on his space journey.

Those who apply for the crew must have the feeling that space travel will push the boundaries of their creative activities and ultimately lead to "helping other people and society".

The eight members of his crew were selected from around a million applicants.

Maezawa foots the bill for the entire week-long round trip to the moon.

Maezawa has made his fortune as the founder of Japan's largest online fashion retailer and has already completed a flight into space.

He reportedly paid nearly €79 million for his visit to the International Space Station last year.

isb/dpa