SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has finally revealed the name of the world's first civilian passenger who will visit the moon aboard the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR)
At an event held at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, Musk introduced Yusaku Maezawa – a 42-year-old Japanese billionaire and founder of Japan's largest clothing retail chain, Zozotown.
Maezawa is an avid art lover, who plans to make the trip in 2023. He wants to take artists with him to the moon, all expenses paid, which will turn the journey into a "work of art" that he calls #dearMoon.
“I would like to invite six to eight artists from around the world to join me on this mission to the Moon,” he said. Upon returning to Earth, these artists are expected to create masterpieces inspired by the Moon, which in turn will “inspire the dreamer within all of us.”
While Maezawa says he hasn't yet chosen the artists he'd like to invite on this journey, he would prefer creative minds from different fields, such as painters, musicians, directors, dancers, etc.
Elon Musk also revealed some details about the BFR spacecraft that will carry Maezawa and his team to the Moon. Originally, SpaceX had planned to use Falcon Heavy rockets for the mission, but the company decided to use the newly developed Big Falcon Rocket that is currently under construction.
The BFR is 118 meters long with a capacity of 1100 cubic meters and can easily carry 100 tons of crew and cargo. The trip to the moon and back – called the “Lunar Mission BFR” – will take about five days and take place in 2023.
