How much does a Japanese billionaire spend to become the first tourist to the Moon?
- Tram Ho
SpaceX founder and billionaire Elon Musk did not say how much a seat on the Moon mission would cost, but said it was “not a trivial amount”, and that Maezawa had put down a huge amount of money.
How much does a space flight cost?
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa
In 2001, American millionaire Denis Tito became the first space tourist (from Earth) when he spent more than seven days in space orbiting the Earth 128 times. Tito had to spend 20 million USD (equivalent to 500 billion VND) for this trip.
Since then, a number of companies have announced plans and sold tickets for different versions of spaceflight, although none have taken off yet. Virgin Galactic is promising a 2.5-hour trip to the edge of the Earth for $250,000. Passengers will be able to enjoy several minutes of weightlessness at an altitude of more than 150 kilometers before returning to Earth. More than 600 people from all over the world, from teenagers to pop stars, purchased tickets. The first flight was scheduled to take place in 2015 but was delayed.
SpaceX’s trip to the Moon will be much longer. The journey to lunar orbit and back will be more than 40,000 kilometers in seven days. A source said that the cost of travel will be equivalent to the cost of sending an astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS), about $ 70 million (VND 1,750 billion), but with Maezawa it will probably have to go up. up to 175 million USD/person.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa decided to package 8 artists with him on a 6-day trip to the moon.
As expected, the group will have a 6-day flight along the same orbit as the famous Apollo 13 mission: to the Moon, orbiting and back, no need to land nor travel. into orbit.
Who is Yusaku Maezawa?
Elon Musk (left) announced the name Yusaka Maezawa as the first customer of Space X to go to the Moon.
Yusaku Maezawa is the founder of Zozotown, an electronic fashion house, valued at $3 billion and among the 20 richest people in Japan. The 47-year-old businessman chose to drop out of college in favor of ‘experience life. He moved to America with his girlfriend, where he amassed a huge collection of CDs and records.
Maezawa returned to Japan and founded Start Today, a mail-order music business.
Maezawa has developed a reputation as “the rock star of the art world”, with a string of high-value purchases. He spent $110.5 million to buy a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, titled “Untitled”.
A year ago, Maezawa bought another Basquiat painting for $57 million, adding to his list of at least half a dozen multi-million dollar works. Maezawa is the founder of the Japan Contemporary Art Foundation, which organizes art exhibitions and workshops.
With $175 million, what can you buy?
Train to the Moon
If you intend to give up the Garden of Earthly Pleasure to take on a trip into space, you should consider your options first.
For $175 million to fly 768,800km to the Moon and back in six days, you can:
– Sailed 3,500 times around the world and spent 1352 years at sea on a round-the-world cruise on a 5-star Sun Viking yacht.
– Can fly business class 43,585 times from Auckland to Doha round-trip with Qatar Airways.
– Being able to live in the most luxurious apartment of the most expensive hotel in the world – Geneva’s Hotel President Wilson – for 6 years 278 days. A week at the Royal Penthouse Suite costs $83,200 a night.
Source: Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes, DW
Source : Genk