(Photo : Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)
The eight-person crew that will go with Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on a SpaceX journey around the Moon was chosen and confirmed on Thursday.
Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese fashion billionaire, has selected eight people to accompany him on a voyage around the moon aboard SpaceX's Starship, a spaceship that has yet to be launched.
Among Maezawa's co-passengers are notable personalities such as American DJ Steve Aoki, and Tim Dodd, widely known on YouTube as the Everyday Astronaut, according to CNN.
The SpaceX Moon trip was initially presented in 2018. In a video last year, Maezawa stated he would accept individuals from all backgrounds as long as they considered themselves artists for a six-day tour around the moon. But later on, he modified his definition of an "artist."
Artists including the Czech multi-talented Yemi AD, the Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, the photographer Karim Iliya, the Indian actor Dev Joshi, the documentary filmmaker Brendan Hall, and the South Korean rapper Choi Seung Hyun, better known as TOP, will be joining Maezawa, Aoki, and Dodd in the SpaceX Moon Mission.
TOP Feels Honored to Join The SpaceX Moon Mission
TOP remarked that being included in the Dear Moon Project team gives him an incredible honor and is a dream come true. "Ever since I was little, I always fantasized about space and the moon. I'm looking forward to my own personal growth through this project, and I want to feel new types of thrills and enlightenment," the record producer said as reported by Soompi.
The South Korean rapper and member of the boy band Big Bang noted that the thought of becoming the first individual from his country to participate in a SpaceX Moon trip is a tremendous source of pride and responsibility for him.
TOP also noted that he is not terrified of the SpaceX Moon Mission, and he aims to inspire others to believe that dreams do come true, as the Dear Moon Project has the potential to encourage and uplift individuals throughout the globe.
Dear Moon claims its mission will launch in 2023, although SpaceX has yet to complete an orbital test flight of their new rocket and spaceship system, Starship.
According to the mission's website, Maezawa's fellow passengers in the SpaceX Moon trip were chosen based on two key criteria: the desire to "push the edge" in one's profession by flying to space "to benefit other individuals and wider society in some manner," and the willingness to support other crew members throughout the voyage.
Read Also: China: Anti-Zero COVID Protesters Fear Communist Party Crackdown Amid Easing of Restrictions
Maezawa Paid a Lot For The Space X Moon Trip
In 2018, Maezawa announced that he will be the first private passenger on SpaceX's lunar orbital flight, and he also offered to pay for the tickets of eight other passengers. Elon Musk claims that Mr. Maezawa agreed to pay a huge sum of money for his SpaceX Moon trip, but that amount has not been made public, according to BBC.
The enormous Starship rocket is still being developed at SpaceX's test sites in South Texas. However, the corporation has not yet tested Super Heavy, a massive, 230-foot (69-meter) rocket booster that will be required to launch the 164-foot (50-meter) Starship into Earth's orbit or beyond.
A few early prototypes have undergone short "hop tests," some of which have flown a few miles above Earth. Although the SpaceX is still awaiting a launch permit from federal authorities, CEO Elon Musk has been certain that it would be ready to undertake the test momentarily for the SpaceX Moon Mission.
Related Article: Meta Threatens To Eliminate News Content From Facebook If US Congress Approves Proposal That Will Help Struggling Media Industry
