Eight civilians on a week-long flight around the Moon. The mission, called “dearMoon” (“dear moon”, in French), has been announced since 2018, but could materialize in 2023. In any case, this was stated by the Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, at the origin of the project, which he wants to carry I bring eight people to our satellite, among them artists.
“We would like to provide more opportunities for multi-talented people to go into space,” he wrote in July 2021.
“It is a project that we have been waiting for a long time, since the Japanese company announced it. [Yusaku Maezawa] Y [le directeur de Space X] Elon Musk in person four years ago”, explains astronaut Jean-François Clervoy on BFMTV. During this week-long space journey, it is not about landing on the Moon but about turning around before returning to Earth.
“Artists, athletes, who will be able to communicate something about their experience”
The Japanese billionaire had launched an online call for applications to find eight passengers to accompany him on this space journey. In all, one million people from “249 countries and regions have raised their voices to express their interest in this project,” he said in July 2021.
“More than a year ago, this Japanese man launched a selection that consisted of choosing artists, athletes, people who can communicate something about their experience”, explains Jean-François Clervoy, “the first mission is to make people dream”.
At the beginning of December he announced his selection. The lucky winners are: American DJ and producer Steve Aoki, American YouTuber Tim Dodd, Czech artist Yemi AD, Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, British photographer Karim Iliya, American documentarian Brendan Hall, Indian actor Dev Joshi and the South Korean singer TOP.
He also named two replacements: American snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington and Japanese dancer Miyu.
“I hope everyone realizes the responsibility that comes with leaving Earth, traveling to the Moon and back,” said Yusaku Maezawa. “They will benefit a lot from this experience and I hope they use it to bring the planet, humanity.”
A SpaceX rocket still in test
The SpaceX rocket to be used for this mission, Starship, will be the most powerful ever built. Although it has already made successful atmospheric flights and then managed to land, it has not yet made a test orbital flight. His boss, Elon Musk, has repeatedly promised that this will be the case before the end of 2022.
“This rocket is completely innovative, it is the first time that a rocket is completely reusable, both in the first and in the second stage,” explains Jean-François Clervoy. “What gives confidence is that NASA has chosen this formula for the future landing system for professional astronauts on the Moon in 2026/2027. But it has never flown.
“The shuttle that will go to the top of the big launcher has already flown, but it hasn’t flown faster than 200 km/h and 12 km altitude, so there it has yet to demonstrate the ability to go into orbit with this monstrosity. big machine, to return from orbit, then to reuse it…”, Stefan Barensky, editor-in-chief of Aerospatium magazine, details on our antenna.
“And then once everything works, you’re going to have to qualify it for human flight, and that’s not going to happen for a few months.”
Jean-François Clervoy stresses that these private trips, this space tourism, remain, except in certain cases of financing, accessible only to the richest. “And then they have to be daring because the risk of a space flight is always 1% of losing your life,” he recalls.
Source: BFM TV
