Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has made the difficult decision to cancel his much-anticipated “dearMoon” mission, which would have been the first private flight around the moon. The announcement was made by the mission team on Saturday, citing uncertainty over the project’s development as the reason for the cancellation.
Originally, the team had aimed to make the circumlunar flight with celebrities on board by the end of last year. However, as the project faced delays and setbacks, it became clear that the timeline was no longer feasible. In a statement on the mission’s website, Maezawa expressed his regret over the decision, acknowledging the disappointment of those who had supported and looked forward to the endeavor.
Maezawa explained that he had signed the contract for the project back in 2018 with the assumption that the launch would take place by the end of 2023. However, due to ongoing uncertainties surrounding the development of SpaceX’s Starship, the timeline remained unclear. This lack of clarity ultimately led to Maezawa’s decision to cancel the project at this point in time.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX had named Maezawa as its first private passenger in 2018, and three years later, he became the first private passenger to visit the International Space Station in over a decade. The dearMoon mission was set to include K-pop star TOP and DJ Steve Aoki among the eight crew members planned to accompany Maezawa on the journey.
Despite the setback, Maezawa remains optimistic about the future and expressed his gratitude to all those who had supported the project. While the cancellation is undoubtedly disappointing, it underscores the challenges and uncertainties inherent in ambitious space exploration endeavors.