Japanese billionaire reveals the 8 artists that will fly to the moon with him on SpaceX’s Starship dearMoon Mission in 2023

After years of waiting, SpaceX is approaching its dearMoon space flight aboard its Starship in 2023. The dearMoon Project was first unveiled in September 2018 as a space mission that will carry Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese Billionaire, and eight other passengers around the moon in 2023. On December 8, Maezawa revealed the 8 artists that will fly around the moon with him during the first-ever artist-based mission in 2023. What is the primary goal of the dearMoon project? Who are the Artists selected by Maezawa to participate in the space flight? How will the dearMoon project unlock the gateway to space tourism into deep space? Continue reading to find out.

The Primary Goal of the DearMoon Project

The dearMoon project is planned and financed as a lunar tourism mission by the Japanese Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. The billionaire intended to use a SpaceX Starship spacecraft to conduct a single circumlunar trajectory around the Moon. Maezawa has earlier contracted with SpaceX in 2017 for a lunar flyby mission using a smaller Dragon 2 Capsule which will be launched by a Falcon Heavy vehicle. The initial plan was to carry only two passengers for this mission.

However, SpaceX announced its plan to advance the development of the Starship in early 2018. Hence, in September 2018, SpaceX announced its dearMoon Project which is planned to fly in 2023 carrying Maezawa, eight civilians, and about one or two crew members. The spaceflight around the moon will last for only six days. Maezawa is looking up to sharing his new unique experience of space tourism with the entire world after the space flight.

The Japanese billionaire is also expecting passengers carried into space during this mission to widen their creativity and create something new after the mission. The art of creation which will be exhibited after the mission will also help to promote global peace and unity around the world. dearMoon is indeed a fascinating project that every lover of the Cosmos is looking up to in 2023.

Who are the Artists selected by Maezawa to participate in the dearMoon flight?

Yusaku Maezawa made numerous considerations before finalizing on his list of participants for the dearMoon flight. The Japanese billionaire who made his fortune from online fashion retail publicly announced the eight artists who would be flying to the moon with him for the dearMoon mission.

“I hope each and everyone will recognize the responsibility that comes with leaving the Earth, traveling to the moon and back,” Maezawa says in the video in Japanese, with a translation provided in-video.

Artists that made it to Maezawa’s list include the following.

Steve Aoki

Image Credit: dearMoon

Steve Aoki is a D.J., fashion designer, NFT futurist, philanthropist, 2 times GRAMMY-nominated music producer, and artist. He was born in Maimi, United States in 1977. Steve was passionate about his career that he founded his record label named Dim Mak at a young age. Over the years, Steve through his record label released influential artists such as Chainsmokers, Bloody Beetroots, and many others.

Despite his achievement, Steve was still ambitious to reach the moon someday. “Since I was a little child I was dreaming of going to the moon. It’s becoming more and more real every day. Still hard to believe but very excited and grateful for this amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To the moon!” Said Steve accepting Maezawa’s invitation to participate in the dearMoon mission.

Tim Dodd

Image Credit: dearMoon

Tim Dodd is a Youtube Creator and the founder of the Everyday Astronaut channel. He was born in Iowa, United States in 1985. After graduating from Cedar Falls High School, Dodd began to create videos and photos to fund his education. In 2008, he began as a full-time photographer and later founded a photography project called “Everyday Astronaut” in 2013. Over the years, Tim continued to increase his interest in content creation, videography, photography, and music. He has interviewed SpaceX founder, Elon Musk on several occasions. When he realized he was selected for the mission, Tim shared his amazement with the following inspiring words. “Never in a million years did I think I would get the chance to fly around the moon, but I can’t wait to bring everyone with me.”

Yemi A.D.

Image Credit: dearMoon

Yemi A.D. is a multidisciplinary talented choreographer and social innovator born in Czechoslovakia to a Czech mum and Nigerian father in 1981. Over the course of his career, Yemi has designed and choreographed shows for Google, Benz, Apple, Mercedes, and many other top organizations. He partnered with Ye to found JAD Dance company to help upcoming stars. When Yemi learned about his selection to participate in dearMoon mission, he was excited and shared his excitement with the following words.

“I’m doing this to remind all the creative kids out there: It doesn’t matter how you start your journey, but where you aim. We will prove that with imagination, there is no limit to your potential!”

Karim Iliya

Image Credit: dearMoon

Karim Iliya is a photographer and filmmaker born in the UK in 1990. As Iliya was raised in the Middle East and Asia, he developed a passion for learning more about nature. During his career as a photographer, Iliya has explored deep down the ice worlds of the Artic and captured fascinating pictures of the sea world. He has also captured volcanoes, sea beds, and other parts of the natural world. His fascinating career inspired him to learn how about whales and other sea animals. Iliya is based in Iceland and Hawaii. When he received the news about his selection to participate in the dearMoon mission, Iliya shared his excitement with these words.

“As I document this incredible journey and share this story, I hope to grow and understand how to do my part to make things better for all life on Earth.”

Rhiannon Adam

Image Credit: dearMoon

Rhiannon Adam is a photographic artist born in Cvork, Ireland, in 1985. In 1992, her parents purchased a live-aboard sailing boat after selling everything they owned. Rhiannon began to travel from one place to another mostly around South America and the Caribbean. As she grew older, she moved to London to live with her aunt to further her education. Her passion for photography began in school. Over the years, Rhiannon grew to become a professional photographic artist. When she realized that she had been selected for the dearmoon mission, Rhiannon said these words with excitement.

“Every day I pinch myself; it seems like an impossible dream coming true. I aim to create work that does justice to this transformative experience.”

Brendan Hall

Image Credit: dearMoon

Brendan Hall is a documentary filmmaker born in Connecticut, United States in 1994. He focuses his documentary in sharing stories about the natural world and beyond. Over the course of his career, Brendan’s fascinating works has taken many viewers on an adventurous trip to explore the natural world. Upon graduation from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Brendan began to work on several projects and traveled around the world to direct projects for top brands including the Nature Conservancy, Google, National Geographic, and Adobe. When Brendan realizes that he was selected for the dearMoon program, he celebrates the opportunity with these inspiring words.

“It’s an incredible honor to be a part of this team and help share an inside perspective of our mission.”

Dev Joshi

Image Credit: dearMoon

Dev Joshi is a professional actor and social media influencer born in India in 2000. Over the course of his career, Dev has acquired more than 18 years of experience in the field of Art and Entertainment. He started his acting career at the age of 3, where he participated in several television series, stage shows, regional cinema, advertisements, and music albums. He is popularly known for his acting role as Baal Veer in Sony Sab’s Baal Veer and Baalveer returns. When Dev became aware of his selection to join dearMoon crew, he celebrated the opportunity with these words.

“Always Be positive and Be passionate, because Miracles happen, and they happen anytime, which came in the form of dearMoon for me!”

TOP (Choi Seung Hyun)

Image Credit: dearMoon

TOP (Choi Seung Hyun) is a South Korean rapper, and an award-winning film actor born in South Korea in 1987. In 2007, he made his debut as the leader of the popular K-pop ground BIGBANG. Over his career, TOP has accomplished a lot both as a musician as an actor. When he received the news about his selection, TOP announced his excitement with these words.

“As a Korean artist, I want dearMoon to inspire the world, give people hope, and make anyone with a dream feel that anything is possible.”

Two backup crew members including dancer Miyu from Japan and Snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington from the United States were also selected to be part of the mission.

dearMoon Youtube Channel interviewed each of the selected crew members and shared the video on the YouTube Channel.

The Application for the dearMoon crew opened in August 2021. However, Maezawa did not state the exact qualifications that will qualify a candidate to be selected as a crew. However, the recently released list showed that Maezawa was transparent in his selection for the dearMoon crew.

How will dearMoon project unlock the gateway to space tourism into deep space?

The world has been looking forward to commencing space tourism on a large scale. Since space tourism will unlock the doors to more opportunities, crew new jobs, and help the world in moving closer to becoming multiplanetary species, billionaires like Maezawa are at the frontline of advocating for space tourism before the end of this decade.

The Japanese billionaire has already traveled to the International Space Station with his videographer, Yozo Hirano in December 2021 to experience the beauty of Space. However, the Japanese Billionaire wants to take space tourism to another level starting with dearMoon space flight around the moon. This mission which may commence by 2023 will take the crew to conduct a flyby mission around the moon and probably prove the safety of the starship to fly to deep space on a flyby mission.

The success of the dearMoon project will unlock the gateway to space tourism into the deep space, as more people will want to share similar experiences as the dearMoon crew. With the way the world is progressing, space tourism may become a real thing before the end of this decade. The billionaire has been advocating for a trip around the moon aboard the most powerful and sophisticated space vehicle of our time.

However, SpaceX starships have been grounded for over 18 months now as the aerospace company is still waiting for orbital test approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Elon Musk has previously announced that the orbital flight may be coming up by December 2022. However, if it doesn’t happen this month, then we should be expecting the orbital flight to commence in early 2023. The outcome of the orbital test flight will determine when the dearMoon mission around the moon will take off.

Conclusion

The selected dearMoon crew will surely travel around the moon and return home to share their fascinating experience throughout the journey. The six-day trip which will commence in 2023 will surely move the world closer to achieving space tourism before the end of the decade. What do you think about the dearMoon crew?

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