Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa had big plans to take eight artists on a flight around the Moon aboard SpaceX’s Starship. However, due to the indefinite delay in the development of Starship, Maezawa has decided to cancel the trip. The project, known as dearMoon, was announced to be canceled on Friday. Maezawa expressed his disappointment in the situation by mentioning that he signed up for the flight in 2018 with expectations of flying in 2023, but with the uncertain timeline for Starship’s launch, he cannot plan his future.
Among the crew members selected for the Moon trip were DJ Steve Aoki, filmmaker Brendan Hall, musician Choi Seung Hyunm, and YouTuber Tim Dodd. Maezawa expressed his regret for making the crew members wait longer, as the project faced delays even before the second flight test of Starship, which ended in an explosion shortly after launch.
SpaceX is currently preparing for the fourth test of Starship on June 5th. However, the road ahead is marked by challenging technical obstacles. Ars Technica points out that the project’s cancellation may be attributed to SpaceX’s focus on government contracts and Maezawa’s reduced net worth, which is now half of what it was in 2018, although still exceeding $1 billion. Despite Maezawa’s previous experience of traveling to space on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station in 2021, the Moon trip aboard SpaceX’s Starship seems to be put on hold indefinitely.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa’s ambitious plan to take artists on a trip around the Moon has been canceled due to the uncertain development timeline of SpaceX’s Starship. The decision highlights the challenges of space exploration and the complexities involved in planning such high-profile missions.
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