Here's the crew list of SpaceX's privately-funded 'Dear Moon' mission
Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese billionaire, has chosen eight members to accompany him on a free trip around the Moon, called 'Dear Moon,' which was first announced in 2018. The artistic crew includes Indian actor Dev Joshi, South Korean K-pop artist TOP, and American filmmaker Brendan Hall. This mission will be powered by SpaceX's Starship rocket and will take off in 2023.
Why does this story matter?
The 'Dear Moon' mission is the "first civilian mission to take place in 2023." According to the official website, there were over one million applicants from nearly 249 countries. Maezawa's team will be the first group of private citizens to journey beyond low-Earth orbit. The billionaire purchased all the tickets for the rocket in 2018 and will be taking the passengers free of cost.
Meet the crew members of the 'Dear Moon' mission
The eight-membered crew, along with Maezawa, includes American YouTuber Tim Todd (or Everyday Astronaut), American DJ and producer Steve Aoki, Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, British photographer Karim Iliyal, and Czech artist Yemi AD, apart from Hall, Joshi, and TOP. US Olympic snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington and Japanese dancer Miyu have also been selected as backup crew members.
There were two major criteria for the selection
The applicants were selected on the basis of two major criteria. They should be willing to "push the envelope" in their stream of work by going to space and "help other people and greater society in some way."
Maezawa made his first journey to space in December 2021
"I'm very thrilled to have these amazing people join me on my journey to the moon and excited to see what inspiring creations they come up with in space," said Maezawa. He made his first journey to space, to the ISS, in December 2021.
The lunar mission is scheduled to take off in 2023
The 'Dear Moon' would be a week-long mission. It is expected to take three days to reach the target destination, after which the spacecraft will perform a flyby around the Moon before it makes its way to Earth. Although the launch is expected to happen in 2023, the Starship rocket is yet to perform its first orbital test flight.
