A Japanese tourist says that training on the moon should not be too difficult

TOKYO: The Japanese billionaire tycoon and future space tourist, Yusaku Maezawa, should not be too badly trained to go on the moon, he joked Tuesday.

Maezawa, aged 42, paid an undisclosed sum to buy a ticket for the SpaceX rocket around the moon of the magnate Elon Musk as early as 2023 and the passionate art collector is also planning to bring in a half-dozen d & # 39; Artists with him.

"It's not yet decided which training I should follow but Elon Musk said it should not be too difficult," joked Maezawa, adding in Japanese, "I believe that English will be indispensable ".

When asked how he could adapt the astronaut training to his already busy schedule, he adhered to his own company's policy of working six hours a day and spending the rest of his time on personal projects. .

"I do not go to work from morning till night, I'm there three or four times a week and I try to get home after six hours," Maezawa said at a conference. animated press in Tokyo.

Maezawa will board Musk's Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), which SpaceX has acknowledged may not have been ready for human flight for at least five years.

Announced for the first time in 2016 and estimated at $ 5 billion, the BFR has been touted as the most powerful rocket in history, even more powerful than the lunar rocket Saturn V that launched the Apollo Missions five decades ago .

Maezawa stated that he received "security guarantees" allowing him to invite the artists during the trip, although he confirmed that he had not yet begun negotiations with potential journeypersons. trip.

He said that he was very eager to see the entire Earth from space.
"I can not wait to get closer to the moon, I would like to see the Earth before her eyes … To see it with my own eyes, just thinking about it now makes me cry to eyes, "he said.

According to the economic magazine Forbes, Maezawa is the 13th richest inhabitant of Japan, with a fortune estimated at 2.8 billion dollars.

He did not deny that there were commercial interests behind his decision to pay a ticket for the moon because the show had tremendously improved his profile.

"I was previously known as" Maezawa the fashion guy "and now it has been updated to" Maezawa, who's going on the moon, "" he said.

France Media Agency