SpaceX Announces First Passenger to the Moon

Find out how you could be a part of space travel!

Have you ever dreamed about traveling to space?

“Shoot for the Moon,” people say. “Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!”

Now, you can – literally – shoot for the Moon.

The First Passenger

SpaceX, the spacecraft company owned by billionaire engineer Elon Musk, stated last week that they have their first passenger to take to the moon.

This passenger is Japanese billionaire Yuasku Maezawa, who plans to be a part of the first trip aboard the Big Falcon Rocket in 2023. Maezawa is known for starting Zozo, a Japanese fashion retailer, and has also been known for being a big spender. Musk stated that Maezawa gave a generous, undisclosed amount to be able to ride on the Big Falcon Rocket and that these proceeds have gone towards funding the trip itself.

The Space Transportation Industry

SpaceX isn’t the only company gearing towards space travel. Companies such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origins and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Sub-Orbital are looking to beat out Musk and SpaceX in the industry.

Unfortunately, to fly on one of these innovative spaceships will cost a pretty penny. To ride Virgin Galactic, one must pay $250,000, in comparison to Blue Origins, which is somewhere around $200,000 to $300,000.

The New Space Race

This may all seem like far-fetched science fiction, but the demand for space travel has  dramatically increased over the years, with SpaceX emerging as the leader.

Since its foundation in 2002, SpaceX has completed over 50 successful missions with Falcon 9 space shuttles, and they are not showing signs of slowing down. With billions of dollars of contracts from the United States government, Musk and SpaceX look to move from trips to the moon to missions in accordance of colonizing Mars.

In Conclusion

Trips to outer space are on the rise. If you want to get in on the action, then you better start a savings fund.

Technology is rapidly increasing every day, and companies such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origins may someday be as common as American Airlines or Delta. Yuasku Maezawa may be the first passenger to take a leisurely trip to outer space, but he certainly will not be the last.

With trips to the moon looking to take flight within the next five years, how long will it take for space trips to Mars?