A Japanese billionaire and online fashion tycoon, Yusaku Maezawa, will be the first man to fly on a monster SpaceX rocket around the Moon as early as 2023. He plans to bring six to eight artists along. Maezawa is a 42-year-old entrepreneur who paid an unspecified amount of money for the privilege. He will be the first lunar traveller since the last US Apollo mission in 1972. "Ever since I was a kid, I have loved the Moon," Maezawa said at SpaceX headquarters. "This is my lifelong dream," he added.

Who is Yusaku Maezawa

• Maezawa is chief executive of Japan's largest online fashion mall, and is the 18th richest person in Japan with a fortune of USD 3 billion, according to the business magazine Forbes.

• His other hobby is amassing valuable works of modern art and last year, he announced the acquisition of a Jean-Michel Basquiat masterpiece worth $110.5 million.

• His love of art led him to decide to invite artists to come along for the trip. "I would like to invite six to eight artists from around the world to join me on this mission to the Moon," Maezawa said.

• SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described Maezawa as the "bravest" and "best adventurer."



Musk said that the organisation was honored that Maezawa chose them. He further said that he would not reveal the price Maezawa paid for the Moon trip but said it would be "free for the artists." "This is dangerous, to be clear. This is no walk in the park," Musk cautioned. The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American businessman who in 2001 paid some $20 million to fly on a Russian spaceship to the International Space Station.

(With inputs from PTI)