Japanese business tycoon Yusaku Maezawa plans to transport K-pop artist TOP and DJ Steve Aoki around the moon next year on one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets.
Maezawa acquired all seats on the initial lunar flight, which has been planned since 2018 and would follow his 12-day Soyuz mission to the ISS last year.
Maezawa announced his #dearMoon Project picks on Twitter
The fashion mogul and his crew would be the first passengers on SpaceX’s lunar flyby as commercial enterprises, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, usher in a new age of space travel for wealthy clients.
The trip onboard SpaceX’s Starship is slated to take eight days from launch to return to earth, including three days around the moon. However, the flight is delayed owing to ongoing spacecraft and rocket tests.
Like fellow billionaire Musk, Maezawa has a flair for promotion and love with Twitter. He held the Guinness world record for the most retweeted message when he offered a cash prize of 1 million yen ($7300) to 100 winners for retweeting it.
He said that one million people applied to be on Maezawa’s moon crew.
TOP, formerly of the K-pop group Big Bang, and Aoki, whose father created the Benihana restaurant chain, are among the high-profile members chosen.
