SpaceX says billionaire Maezawa to be 1st passenger on rocket trip around moon

The most expensive and wasteful thing i did in my life was to paid a $400 during my vacation to go fishing on a yacht only to return empty handed after 4 hours at sea. I still regret it till this day.

Rich people sure knows how to waste money. I rather see the moon from my phone. There isn't even a lunar landing. Just sitting in the capsule and see it from the widow.

That's awesome. If I had the money, I'd drop it in an instant for the opportunity. Money is nothing, it comes it goes. But going around the moon - that's something very few of us alive will ever get to do.

I wonder what kind of snacks they are going to have on the menu. . .

2023?

Trust me. Nobody is going anywhere in 2023. certainly not around the moon.

When you consider that probably around 20 to 30 Billion Humans have had the luck to enjoy this amazing Earth that we live on..... and only a few, up until now can say they've been around the moon but this man, paying for it, paves the way for more to come. Whats it gonna be.... Earth as our final resting place, or the expanse beyond. This isn't some sort of benevolent world... it takes investment to push from Earth's gravity. By paying for this voyage it paves the way for more and more.

Good to know that some Japanese still have money......

Scooby snacks, are what makes space travel. Would not mind a Scooby snack and travel to the moon, much easier than saving billions of yen. Did I miss the end of the war on drugs? Because it would seem that if you are rich enough anything goes.

The most expensive and wasteful thing i did in my life was to paid a $400 during my vacation to go fishing on a yacht only to return empty handed after 4 hours at sea. I still regret it till this day.

Well, maybe next you will know better and go on a fishing boat instead!

Don't have regrets, you at least had 4 hours at sea on a yacht!

Musk's successes have recently been overshadowed by his behavior and the struggles of his Tesla electric car company to deliver.

took a hit off an apparent marijuana-tobacco joint during a podcast interview,

Ohhh booo hooo. That this is even mentioned is ridiculous. It was legal where he smoked it. What about the glass whisky he drank? Is that also bad behavior?

I admire Maezawa's spirit to take the plunge. I love space but it scares the hell out of me.

Beyond awesome. Go Maezawa! Inspire the young generation to achieve!!!

He should have spent his money on women, women, women, and wine.  Not on a one way ticket around the moon.

Musk and his predictions around A.I are a worry and its something we should be taking far more seriously.

The diver is way off, the entire reason Musk said what he said was because the British diver told him to shove his submarine up his ... The media loves to report half the facts.

What was it thepersoniamnow was saying about how Japanese do not always want to do something first and pay obscene amounts of money just for the title?

Anyway, best of luck to this man and his passengers -- I hope it is a safe trip that ushers in a new era in travel.

He should have spent his money on women, women, women, and wine. Not on a one way ticket around the moon.

As a billionaire I am pretty sure he can do both!

As a billionaire the sky is the limit, obviously. Sadly if I was in his shoes I'd be off my face and remember nothing...what did I do yesterday? Last week? Have no idea. Space did I go? Seem to remember something about weightless, but I was smashed. Saw a blue thing and aliens, but I was so toasted. Is that my shoe? He should be the PM. Who was that?

Tired of travelling the whole world and now the Moon?

Tired of having hundreds of bikini beauties on deserted Island and now getting rid of them?

Richard Branson should be his best friend.

Who are we without dreams?

Haters gonna hate and potatoes gonna potate.

that will be one hell of insurance bill. but its elon musk so who knows it will happen or not, guy is desperate for PR

Putting his hand up and paying heaps to see what’ hiding in store for him to see on the dark side of the moon. I think he’ll be a little surprised!

Rather I am only interested know who this person is and how he became so rich than his rocket trip.

He should have spent his money on women, women, women, and wine. Not on a one way ticket around the moon.

The guy is so rich how do you know he's not planning to become the first ever in the thousand mile high club? He hasn't disclosed his companions right? A pretty hot date offer that could not be refused..

I loved the whole Tesla rocket stunt... it was brilliant, and gave us a dummy in a spacesuit as a hero... but Musk the man is a git. His mini sub (too big for the cave system) is waved away and he starts making slanderous remarks about one of the divers? Is Musk a friend of Trump?

As for the moon trip... I'd love to think it will happen, but we've had these stories before. There will be delays and in the end it won't happen... same as the Virgin project.

@Thunderbird2: Read up, the "head" British diver wanted to be the hero and write a book about it. He told Musk to shove it where the sun don't shine (quote) rather than kindly saying "thanks for your help, I don't think your idea will work"....

I will never be an astronaut nor do I want to be one but man, can you imagine looking at the Earth from space? I would cry! I think it's amazing people who aren't astronauts can now experience that. Maybe. If the project really goes forward I sure hope it's safe!

Does this guy stand for us “Japanese” paying ridiculous amounts of money to do something for the title?

You know...when you have money, you can do things that others flip out about because compared to you, they are broke.

Now if your broke, and you look at someone who has a lot more and think its wasteful...well from another point of view, you should earn more.

Going to space and exploring the next frontier for mankind is not necessarily a waste and meaningless.

If this is successful, it will pave the road for more space trips. Which will hopefully turn into better technology advances and maybe one day we could actually explore whatever is out there. But if we leave it all to NASA and governments... Well, when was the last time we landed on the moon?

Going to space and exploring the next frontier for mankind is not necessarily a waste and meaningless.

Assuming you are talking about Maezawa, Maezawa is not exploring the next frontier, he will just be a rich first passenger.

Are these SpaceX rockets environmentally friendly?

It would really suck if it were the case that celebrities were paying up loads of money for the privilege of spewing more than their fair share of CO2 into the Earth's atmosphere.

He told Musk to shove it where the sun don't shine (quote) rather than kindly saying "thanks for your help, I don't think your idea will work".

Maybe he realized Musk was just being an attention whore. Whatever he said I do not think the pedo comments were deserved.

@DaveAllTogether: seriously? Read up, Musk stayed out of it after repeatedly being asked to help. He only stepped in when one diver died and was continuously encouraged to help all the way up to walking into the cave. I don't understand why it is cool to bash on someone that was trying to help saved lives. This isn't about ego it was about helping kids.

I don't understand why it is cool to bash on someone that was trying to help saved lives. 

I agree, which is why Musk shouldn't have libelled the spelunker.

"trip around the moon"

He's not gonna land on it and take a walk? This was accomplished by U.S. astronauts 49 years ago. With all the staggering technological advances since then Musk can't land this guy on the moon? Just fly around it? Sheesh...

Seriously though, this is a step foward in commercial space travel. And even in 2023 this will be risky, so Maekawa has guts to be just the 24th human to actually leave Earth orbit.

"He should have spent his money on women, women, women, and wine. Not on a one way ticket around the moon."

Hey, there's a good chance he'll return to Earth and spend more loads on women, women, women and wine and maybe even For Relaxing Times Make It Suntory Times, lol.

Great for him, but I doubt it will happen. Just look at Branson's Virgin Galactic. Not yet.

HiroToday  12:23 pm JST

The most expensive and wasteful thing i did in my life was to paid a $400 during my vacation to go fishing on a yacht only to return empty handed after 4 hours at sea. I still regret it till this day.

I'm sure he knows that feeling, especially in Tokyo with women who just want your money.

Must be cool to be born to rich parents.

Cool.

gogogo, whilst I do not disagree that there was some professional jealousy between the diver and Musk, and a competition between who was first in the queue for the rescue, it does not excuse calling someone a paedo. That is a serious allegation to make and it is going to cost Musk. And the diver's partner is like 40 or something. Musk is an idiot.

I’m an artist and actually free that week, so if he needs someone to tag along...for free...

Trust me. Nobody is going anywhere in 2023. certainly not around the moon.

Why do you say that? There's no longer anything scientifically challenging about plotting an orbit that whips you around the moon and then has you fall back towards earth. We already did much more back in the 1960s using technology more primitive than the phone in your pocket. The technology already exists, the physics are relatively simple, but it's always been a matter of having enough money to build a rocket massive enough to launch you into such a high orbit. So far, only governments have been able to put up that kind of cash, but it seems like SpaceX has brought the cost down significantly with the Falcon Heavy.

It is legal where he smoked it. Legality is not the issue. He has contracts with the US Air Force that require security clearance. For security clearances MJ would be grounds to revoke that clearance.

I wish him well. To be able to travel to or around another planet or moon is so cool!

If Maezawa-san truly can do this risky challenge, then he is a Japanese hero. I envy him and wish him success in the unprecedented challenge. I hope I too can be a challenger to fly to the moon and back in future.

Amazing! It's too risky. I wish him to become success in this challenge and be a role model for others.

Never going to happen.

@maybeperhapsyes

One of my favorite videos is of Buzz Aldrin punching the guy in the jaw who was accusing him of faking going to the moon. That's pretty much sums up how I feel about the fake moon landing conspiracies too.

As far as this rich guy goes, if I had the money, I'd be all over stuff like this too. I hope it happens!

“You can’t get a suntan on the moon, but I wouldnt mind a holiday there, “ Love and Rockets ‘Holiday on the Moon’ from their album Express 1986

If Maezawa-san truly can do this risky challenge, then he is a Japanese hero. I envy him and wish him success in the unprecedented challenge. I hope I too can be a challenger to fly to the moon and back in future.

Paying money for basically taking a cruise, albeit around the moon, makes someone a hero? It's a sad world we live in when people are called hero's for doing nothing other than have money and be willing to spend it on a vacation. Granted the views will be spectacular, and one's that few have had the opportunity to see, but really now, "hero" status? Japan is in a hell of a lot more trouble if folks like this are propped up as hero's, along with the people who put them there!

The challenge is not his, the challenge is Musk's and his people to get it done! Maezawa is just going along for the ride!

If Maezawa-san truly can do this risky challenge, then he is a Japanese hero.

Pretty low threshold for hero.

wow!!! this is really a risky challange but also good thing..