posted 09-18-2018 04:00 AM               

Japanese billionaire to invite artists to fly on SpaceX moon mission

Yusaku Maezawa has always been fascinated with the moon.

A 42-year-old Japanese billionaire entrepreneur with a passion for collecting art, Maezawa wondered what masterpieces could have been created if only his favorite artists had had the opportunity to fly to the moon. Then he realized he had the ability to find out.

Maezawa is paying an undisclosed but substantial amount of money for SpaceX to fly him and six to eight artists of his choosing on a trip around the moon and back. The unprecedented mission is planned to launch on SpaceX's yet to be built BFR (or "Big Falcon Rocket") in 2023.

posted 03-02-2021 07:15 PM               

Japanese billionaire opens crew selection for dearMoon SpaceX Starship mission

More than two years after he announced his intentions to fly a group of artists on a SpaceX mission around the moon, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has said he is expanding his choice of his crewmates to include almost everyone.

"I began to think that maybe every single person who is doing something creative could be called an artist," Maezawa said in a video statement introducing the new recruitment for his "dearMoon" mission on Tuesday (March 2). "That was the conclusion that I came to and that is why I wanted to reach out to a wider, more diverse audience, to give more people across the world the opportunity to join this journey."

posted 07-16-2021 12:32 PM               

dearMoon Project Update from Yusaku Maezawa

Since we were last in touch with updates from the dearMoon Project, over 1 million applications from all 249 countries in the world have been received for the week-long expedition to fly by the Moon on SpaceX's Starship in 2023.

In a video released today, Japanese Entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa shares that applicants are nearing the final stages of the dearMoon Project selection process. The passionate individuals featured in this video share their inspiration for applying to the dearMoon project and their plans for what they hope to accomplish in space, both personally and for the benefit of society at large.

• Steve Aoki (Worldwide DJ / USA)
  
• Tom Sachs (Contemporary Artist / USA)
  
• Riccardo Simonetti (LGBTQ Leading Youtuber Talent / Germany)
  
• Miyu Ito (Dancer with World Champion Title / Japan)
  
• Kenji Sato (Photographer on TBS "Crazy Journey" / Japan)
  
• Dev Dushyantkumar Joshi (Actor / India)
  
• Essdras M Suarez (2x Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer / Panama)
  
• Yemi Dele Akinyemi (Worldwide Choreographer / Czech Republic)

Please note that these applicants have not officially been selected for the dearMoon Project, as the process is still underway.

posted 12-08-2022 06:14 PM               

• DJ and producer Steve Aoki
  
• Youtube creator Tim Dodd
  
• Artist Yemi A.D.
  
• Photographer Karim Iliya
  
• Photographer Rhiannon Adam
  
• Filmmaker Brendan Hall
  
• Actor Dev Joshi
  
• Musician T.O.P.

It's been a year and a half since MZ first opened the dearMoon admission to the public in search of artists to join him on this lunar orbital mission.

After numerous interviews, medical checks and face-to face gatherings, we are finally ready to announce the crew members who will be joining MZ on this extraordinary trip to the moon on SpaceX’s Starship.

posted 11-09-2023 06:21 AM               

Announcement Regarding The dearMoon Project

In 2018, Yusaku Maezawa and SpaceX announced the dearMoon project, a spaceflight mission around the Moon aboard SpaceX's Starship transportation system. Throughout the week-long journey, the multinational crew of artists, content creators, and athletes who have been selected for this mission will be the first to fly around the Moon aboard Starship, travel within 200 km of the lunar surface, and safely return to Earth. Initially targeted to liftoff in late 2023, the launch will not take place this year due to the on-going development of Starship.

The vehicle's first flight test in April 2023 provided numerous lessons learned that are directly contributing to upgrades being made to improve the probability of success on future Starship flights.

The upcoming second integrated flight test will inform development and the dearMoon mission timeline, and we will share an update once we know more

posted 06-01-2024 05:30 AM               

Notice of Project Cancellation

In 2018, Yusaku Maezawa announced dearMoon, the world's first civilian circumlunar voyage aboard SpaceX's space vehicle, Starship. The plan had included artists from around the world who would participate in the project to share the invaluable experience in space with the rest of the world. Arrangements were being made with SpaceX to target the launch by the end of 2023.

Unfortunately, however, launch within 2023 became unfeasible, and without clear schedule certainty in the near-term, it is with a heavy heart that Maezawa made the unavoidable decision to cancel the project. To all who have supported this project and looked forward to this endeavor, we sincerely appreciate it and apologize for this outcome.

Although dearMoon is cancelled, Maezawa and dearMoon crew members will continue to challenge themselves in their respective fields.

We will hold deep respect for SpaceX as they continue to venture into uncharted territories, while we ourselves will move on to the next challenge.