Yusaku Maezawa is a Japanese entrepreneur and space tourist who has significantly invested in space exploration. He funded the "dearMoon" project, a canceled lunar tourism mission that aimed to send himself and a crew of artists on a free-return trajectory around the Moon aboard a SpaceX Starship. In December 2021, Maezawa spent 12 days on the International Space Station (ISS) as a space tourist, facilitated by Space Adventures and Roscosmos. Furthermore, he has invested in Astroscale, a company focused on satellite servicing and space debris removal, demonstrating his commitment to the long-term sustainability of space activities.
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SpaceX scheduled a flight for Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon using the Starship vehicle with a non-trivial down payment from Maezawa and planned to take six to eight artists as part of a project called #dearMoon.
Yusaku Maezawa plans to fly a circumlunar trip aboard Starship as soon as 2023 with a number of artists selected for the Dear Moon project.
SpaceX signed Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa as the first customer for Starship in September 2018.
Yusaku Maezawa has an estimated net worth of $2,900,000,000 according to Forbes.