Announcement of dearMoon crew

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa picked his crewmates for the first private mission to the Moon. Originally announced in 2018, the mission was supposed to launch the Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon Heavy rocket for a six-day trip around the Moon. SpaceX later announced that Falcon Heavy won’t be certified for human spaceflight and that the Starship rocket will launch the artist-centered crew. Maezawa is paying an undisclosed sum for the trip and his passengers will fly free of charge.

The targeted 2023 launch date will be probably delayed as Starship still has to reach many milestones, one of which is the orbital test flight hopefully in the near future.

dearMoon crew:

• Yusaku Maezawa: founder of a custom-fit apparel brand ZOZO, Soyuz MS-20 crewmember
• Steve Aoki: producer and electronic dance music artist
• Tim Dodd: YouTube creator and owner of the channel Everyday Astronaut
• Yemi A.D.: artist and choreographer
• Karim Iliya: photographer and filmmaker
• Rhiannon Adam: London based photographer
• Brendan Hall: filmmaker
• Dev Joshi: Indian television actor
• T.O.P.: South Korean rapper
• Miyu, Kaitlyn Farrington: two backup members