Elon Musk has revealed Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa as the potential first passenger to be launched to the moon by Musk's private aerospace company, SpaceX.
Ranked the 18th richest person in Japan, Mr. Maezawa is the founder of the online fashion retail website Zozotown. He is also known for having dropped $110 million on a painting by the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat last year at a Sotheby's auction. The price tag for reserving a spot on Musk's first launch was, reportedly, much more than what he paid for the Basquiat masterpiece.
The Big Falcon Rocket, which will take Maezawa to space—and which Musk says will allow his company to build a base on the moon, colonize Mars, and enable a must faster commercial travel on Earth—has not yet been built. SpaceX's other major venture thus far, the Falcon Heavy, which is a reusable heavy lift launch vehicle, took nearly twice as long to complete than expected.
That said, the tech tycoon, echoed by Musk, said he could board the BFR as early as 2023. Alongside, he also revealed plans to bring six to eight others, which he says will include painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, film directors, fashion designers, and architects.
At Tuesday's announcement, the 42-year-old specified he would like to invite artists from around the world to join his mission to the Moon, adding that "they will be asked to create something after they return to Earth."
"These masterpieces will inspire the dreamer within all of us," he opined.
Given his penchant for the absurd, and his already established relationship to Musk through collaborating on the Hyperloop, my money is on Bjarke Ingels as the winner of one of the six-to-eight free tickets to the moon. Which architect do you think will join Maezawa?
7 Comments
Wouldn't it be interesting architects go to the moon and get greeted by Philip Johnson who is already there living in his moon built glass house?
Why PJ? His is the first name came to my mind after thinking about the joke.
i would love to send peter cook, norman foster, richard rogers, and zaha hadid when they were still in their 30s.
I nominate Schumacher, H&dM, Eisenman, and Meier, but only if it's a one-way trip. Not that they are the only candidates, just the first to come to mind
But how's the coffee up there?
I recommend Schumacher and Bjarke Ingels.
So many deserving candidates ...
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