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HAWTHORNE, Calif. – When Yusaku Maezawa spoke at one of the corners of the SpaceX plant, the founder of the Japanese online clothing company Zozo explained that he did not just want to be the first citizen to do the moon's turn.
"I chose to go to the moon, with artists," said Mr. Maezawa, echoing the speech of President John F. Kennedy in 1962. He announced his intention to travel in the city. Space with an unconventional stage team with Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX.
Mr. Musk is usually the center of attention at these events. But he had reason to share the spotlight with the Japanese billionaire: Mr. Maezawa had already filed a bond for a flight aboard SpaceX's new generation rocket, the B.F.R.
"A very important deposit," said Musk.
While SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets have been significant technological achievements, its engineers have begun to focus on the BFR, a much more ambitious vehicle than Mr. Musk hopes to one day make a regular trip between Mars and his surroundings. vision of the spread of humanity through the solar system.
Mr. Musk said B.F.R. was still a small project at SpaceX – less than 5% of the work, he said – but a project that would develop in the years to come. The four- to five-day trip to Mr. Maezawa's moon would not take place until 2023 at the earliest.
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Although he did not discuss the amount that Mr. Maezawa must pay for his trip, Mr. Musk made it clear that he would contribute significantly to development costs. Mr. Musk, who has experienced considerable turmoil in recent months, has even said that Mr. Maezawa's willingness to give SpaceX so much money for a risky business has "done a lot to restore my faith in humanity" ".
Musk estimated development costs at around $ 5 billion. "I do not think it's more than 10, and I do not think it's less than two," he said.
In an interview after the press conference, Maezawa said he began thinking about a trip to the moon about five years ago. At first, he was considering a Russian offer, marketed by space tourism company Space Adventures.
Later, he contacted SpaceX, who was preparing to launch his Falcon Heavy rocket, capable of sending missions to the Moon. Last year, SpaceX announced that it was in discussion with two people for a trip around the moon that would take place by the end of 2018. On Monday, Mr. Musk said that Mr. Maezawa was the only one who was there. one of these people.
However, SpaceX decided not to undertake the expense and effort required to ensure that the Falcon Heavy was safe enough to carry humans, and the sightseeing trip was postponed.
Discussions were then conducted using B.F.R. for the journey of the moon, even if it meant waiting five years. Mr Maezawa said that he was ready to wait longer, as long as he was still the first person to visit the moon.
Maezawa, 42, may be better known in the United States for his purchase in 2017 of a 1982 table by Jean-Michel Basquiat for $ 110 million, said he did not like being alone and would invite five to eight artists and performers to accompany him, as part of a project that he called Dear Moon.
Maezawa also said that art contributes to his ultimate hope for world peace. "The art makes you smile, brings people together."
He added that he was eager to see the works of art that would be inspired by the trip and asked what Basquiat masterpieces, who died in 1988, could have created.
When asked if a trip around the moon was the most beneficial way of spending his fortune, Mr. Maezawa acknowledged the philanthropic efforts of other entrepreneurs, but said, "I want to contribute to the society of A different way. "
"So maybe in 10 years, people will laugh, I paid so much, but someone must make the first payment," he added. "Otherwise, the development of space will not evolve. That's why I think I should be the one who does it. "
Up to now, only 24 people have traveled the quarter of a million kilometers to the moon – all NASA astronauts participating in the Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s. The trajectory of Mr. Maezawa and of its guests would be similar to that taken by the Apollo 8 astronauts in 1968 as they swayed by the moon but did not land.
Take-off aboard B.F.R. is still in years, on a gigantic rocket that would offer housing much more spacious than the Apollo astronauts. At the press conference, Musk described the latest version of the design, which is expected to carry 100 people to Mars.
(The "B" means "big", the "R" is for "rocket".) In public, Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, declares his full name "Big Falcon Rocket". remained ambiguous about what the "F" stands for.)
Musk said the rocket would be tested several times in the coming years, including perhaps an unmanned flight around the moon before Mr. Maezawa and the artists boarded. "It would be wise," said Musk.
On Monday night's stage, Musk threw laudable adjectives as "braver" on Maezawa.
"It's a dangerous mission," said Musk. "Certainly dangerous."
Mr. Maezawa seemed indifferent to the potential dangers, saying during the interview that he trusted the SpaceX team. "Everyone around me, they are very supportive of my adventures," he said.
He also noted that his birthday and the assassination of President Kennedy share a day, November 22 and 12. "I feel the fate," he said.
Mr. Musk, when asked on the scene when he would go into space, was uncertain. "He suggested that I might join this trip," he said. "I do not know."
"Yeah, yes, yes," said Maezawa. "Please, please."
"Maybe we'll both be on it," said Musk.
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