The Japanese billionaire, who bought a trip around the moon in 2023 aboard the SpaceX spacecraft, has paid for a separate flight to the International Space Station this coming December.
Yusaku Maezawa, 45, an online fashion mogul, made headlines in 2019 when he launched a search for a female companion to accompany him during the lunar mission, but the request was not met and he is now looking to bring eight friends instead.
Before Maezawa travels around the moon, he will head to the NASA Orbital Laboratory for 12 days with plans to share this experience on YouTube.
The Japanese billionaire and his assistant, Yuzu Hirano, will depart on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 8th, which was organized by Space Adventures.
The cost of the flight has not yet been revealed, but according to reports, the former space tourists paid between $ 20 million and $ 40 million for travel to the International Space Station.
The mission will be led by astronaut Alexander Mysorkin, who will transport Maezawa and his crew to the space station.
Maezawa will begin space flight training next month at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
Japanese billionaire pays up to $40 MILLION for ticket to the International Space Station https://t.co/5QKbviDB5c
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 18, 2021
Maezawa said in a statement published by “Space Adventures”: “I am very curious, do you see what life in space looks like? … Therefore, I plan to find out about it on my own and share it with the world on my YouTube channel.”
“Space Adventures” has cooperated with “Roscosmos” since the world’s first space tourism flight in 2001.
Yusaku Maezawa purchased two seats on the #Soyuz spacecraft from Space Adventures. He and his assistant, Yozo Hirano, will begin spaceflight training in Russia next month after passing the required medical examinations. @yousuckMZ @Roscosmos #spaceflight https://t.co/C5HYbw87wc
— Space Adventures (@SpaceAdventures) May 13, 2021
In total, seven self-funded individuals have visited the space station and Maezawa plans to be the eighth in the world and the first from Japan.
Eric Anderson, Chairman and CEO of Space Adventures, said in the same statement: “We are excited about Mizawa, and we are honored to give him this opportunity to travel to space. Welcome to space, Yusaku!”
It is noteworthy that Maezawa initially planned to travel with a female companion on the “SpaceX” mission to the moon, and has received more than 300,000 requests since the opportunity was announced in 2019.
Maezawa confirmed on Twitter that India had the highest number of requests for six days, followed by the United States, Japan and France.
A final interview and medical examination are scheduled for this month, before the eight people on the Japanese billionaire’s crew are selected.
Maezawa originally sought artists to accompany him on the trip, which was first announced in September 2018.
However, he decided to broaden the scope of the research to include a “more diverse audience,” provided they are creatively prepared and able to support other crew members “who share similar aspirations.”
Source: Daily Mail