Entrepreneur Elon Musk has announced that his space exploration company is set to launch a super-rich tourist around the Moon.
The founder and boss of SpaceX used his Twitter account to break the news yesterday writing:
‘ SpaceX has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our Big Falcon rocket launch vehicle – an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of travelling to space.’
Few details were given and sceptics pointed out that in February last year SpaceX said it would send the world’s first two space tourists around the Moon by the end of this year. That project appears to have been shelved.
Musk will reveal who is flying around the Moon on Monday. But he hinted the mystery person is from Japan, tweeting a Japanese flag emoji.
The high cost of the trip, estimated at about £120million, means the amateur astronaut is also likely to be a billionaire.