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Space-crazed Brits have seized the unique opportunity to fly around the Moon after a search was launched to fill eight seats aboard a private lunar expedition.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa invited civilians to apply for a place on the trip, which will take place on SpaceX’s spacecraft no earlier than 2023.
As of Thursday morning, the entrepreneur said he had received more than 300,000 applications from 237 countries and areas, with demand from the UK at number five.
So far, the largest number of applications have come from India, followed by the US, Japan and France.
😳😳😳 https://t.co/PY4X5epXEu
– dearMoon (@dearmoonproject) March 4, 2021
Applications to become a member of the DearMoon Project crew will remain open until March 14.
I bought all the seats so it will be a private trip, ”Maezawa said in a video Wednesday.
“I want people from all kinds of backgrounds to join.”
The 45-year-old had originally sought out artists to accompany him on the trip, which was first announced in September 2018.
Sign up for the #dearMoon mission and get your own personalized card! 🚀https: //t.co/qWoGPECoOf pic.twitter.com/ru2gDB1pFe
– Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) (@yousuckMZ) March 3, 2021
However, he decided to broaden the search to a “more diverse audience”, provided they are prepared to “go the extra mile” creatively and able to support other crew members “who share similar aspirations.”
It is expected to take three days to reach the moon, turn around and three days to return to Earth, Maezawa said.
There will be between ten and 12 people on board the ship in total.
SpaceX conducted tests on its Starship SN10 rocket on Wednesday, the same model that will be used for the DearMoon Project, according to Maezawa.
Although the prototype managed to land in Texas, minutes later it exploded and burst into flames.
“RIP SN10 Honorable Discharge,” SpaceX owner Elon Musk tweeted.
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