Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has cancelled his ambitious “dearMoon” mission, which aimed to be the first private flight around the moon, the mission announced on Saturday.
The project had originally planned to make the circumlunar flight with celebrities on board by the end of last year but ultimately became “unfeasible” due to uncertainty over the launch schedule.
Uncertainty Over SpaceX Launch Schedule Led to Cancellation
Kabul 24: The mission team cited the lack of clear schedule certainty in the near-term as the reason for the cancellation. In a statement on the mission website, Maezawa expressed his regret over the decision, stating that he had signed the contract in 2018 based on the assumption that the launch would occur by the end of 2023.
However, the project development remained uncertain, making it difficult for him to plan his future and for the crew members to wait longer.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Named Maezawa as First Private Passenger in 2018
Maezawa, the founder of Japanese online fashion store Zozo Inc, was named by Elon Musk’s SpaceX as its first private passenger in 2018. He later became the first private passenger to visit the International Space Station in more than a decade, launching on a Soyuz rocket in 2021.
Celebrities Set to Join the Mission
In 2022, Maezawa announced that K-pop star TOP and DJ Steve Aoki would be among the eight crew members he planned to take on the dearMoon mission. The mission was initially scheduled to take place last year but was delayed until this year or later, according to Maezawa’s statement in November.
Impact of Cancellation
The cancellation of the dearMoon mission is likely to have significant implications for the project’s crew members, who had been waiting for the opportunity to join the historic flight.
The mission’s cancellation also highlights the challenges and uncertainties involved in private space exploration projects, particularly those relying on the development of new technologies like SpaceX’s Starship
