Japanese billionaire became the first Lunar tourist with SpaceX

The founder of retailer Zozo is on the long list of celebrities and super-rich people booking space flights of aerospace startups.

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa , founder of online retailer Zozo, will become the first tourist to travel the moon on SpaceX's spacecraft startup spacecraft, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

Maezawa, 42, said he would invite 6 to 8 people, including artists, architects, designers and other creators, to accompany him on this week's long journey.

The billionaire Maezawa will make a round-the-moon trip on SpaceX's Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) , bringing the race to commercialize space travel to new heights.

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.

Maezawa will become the first passenger to travel the moon since American Apollo missions ended in 1972. Mr. Maezawa's identity was revealed at an event that took place on Monday night at the headquarters. SpaceX's at Hawthorne, a suburb of Los Angeles, USA.

While BFR is still in production, Musk says he wants the rocket ship ready for unmanned aircraft to Mars in 2022 and with the crew in 2024.

Maezawa said he wants his companions to be inspired after returning to Earth and "inspiring us all".

Musk revealed that the billionaire paid " lots of money" for the flight around the moon but refused to reveal the exact number. He said Maezawa was the founder of one of Japan's largest retail sites and one of the richest people in the country.

According to Forbes data, Mr. Maezawa has a wealth of 2.9 billion USD, ranking 18th among the richest people in Japan. He entered the list of world billionaires for the first time in 2015, with a net worth of that time of $ 1.3 billion.

Besides SpaceX, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic's Blue Origin company, Richard Branson is also racing to develop its own spacecraft. SpaceX's first passenger will join a long list of celebrities and super rich people who have booked flights into space on the ships built by these companies.

2 of those registered to fly with Virgin Galactic are American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Canadian pop star Justin Bieber. The flight in about 90 minutes costs $ 250,000.

According to Reuters, a short excursion into space on the New Shepard rocket ship Blue Origin costs about 200,000 to 300,000 USD.