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The billionaire entrepreneur and founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, photographed in September 2017 below an illustration of his new computer-generated rocket, says he wants to allow "ordinary people" to travel in space.
SpaceX announced Thursday a new plan to launch a tourist around the moon using its Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), a massive launcher designed to transport people in deep space.
"SpaceX has signed the world's first private passenger to ride the moon aboard our BFR launcher – an important step to allow ordinary people who dream to travel in the space to access it", said the company on Twitter.
SpaceX did not give more details, but said more information would follow on Monday.
This is not the first time that the California-based company, led by Tesla Electric Car's Internet entrepreneur and CEO, Elon Musk, has put forward plans to send tourists around the moon.
In February 2017, SpaceX announced that it would send the world's first two tourists around the moon by the end of 2018.
This plan called them to ride on a Dragon crew vehicle, similar to cargo ships that SpaceX regularly sends loaded with supplies to the International Space Station.
They allegedly took off aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket.
However, the company has been silent on these projects in recent months.
The names and identities of these two tourists – and how much they intended to pay – have never been revealed.
SpaceX declined an AFP request for more details, but said other information would follow Monday during an event from 17:30 to 19:00 (from 00:30 to 02:00 GMT).
Footprints on the moon
Humans have not set foot on the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972, marking the era of American national pride.
American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to explore the lunar surface in 1969, a moment seen and heard all over the world when Armstrong said "a small step for man, a giant step for l & # 39; humanity. "
Only 24 people in history have already been on the moon.
US President Donald Trump has defended plans to put the boots back on the moon, while NASA is working to build a lunar bridge that would serve as a starting point for even deeper missions, such as asteroids or Mars .
SpaceX is a key NASA business partner and is working on a crew ship that will make its first flight to the International Space Station into orbit next year, restoring access to space from US soil for the first time since 2011, when the Space Shuttle program was retired after 30 years.
Boeing also works hard on his crew vehicle, with pioneer flights planned for 2019 as well.
SpaceX currently has a $ 1.6 billion contract with NASA to provide astronauts living at the ISS, via regular routes on its Dragon spacecraft, launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
The BFR is SpaceX's new rocket, a super powerful launcher with 31 engines and the capacity to carry 150 tons in space.
In a speech in Australia last year, Musk said he hoped the BFR would be able to launch and land on the last two cargo ships on Mars by 2022.
"I'm confident we can finish the ship and launch it in about five years," said Musk.
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SpaceX delays sending tourists around Moon: report
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