Japanese Billionaire Cancels Planned Moon Trip: What’s Behind the Decision and SpaceX’s Future in Space Exploration

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has canceled his planned trip to the moon aboard SpaceX’s rocket, Starship. The voyage was originally scheduled for 2023 but due to delays, Maezawa found the timeline unfeasible. This decision prompted him to scrap the project altogether.

Maezawa, the founder of online retailer Zozotown, first announced the project in 2018 and described it as “the world’s first civilian circumlunar voyage aboard SpaceX’s space vehicle, Starship.” Unfortunately, launch within 2023 became unfeasible, prompting Maezawa to cancel the project. He expressed his regret in a statement saying, “I can’t plan my future in this situation, and I feel terrible making the crew members wait longer, hence the difficult decision to cancel at this point in time.” The cancellation was confirmed by a dearMoon representative. Representatives for SpaceX did not comment on the cancellation.

Maezawa previously traveled to space in December 2021 during a 12-day trip to the International Space Station. The billionaire spent an estimated $80 million to ride aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. In a YouTube video released in December 2022, Maezawa announced the eight people who would fly aboard the space vehicle, including American DJ Steve Aoki, K-Pop star T.O.P., and Indian actor Dev Joshi.

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, has been answering questions regarding its space exploration efforts. Musk mentioned that almost no AI is used in the field of space exploration but added that he is not against integrating AI in the future if a use for it is discovered