DearMoon project explained

dearMoon project
Mission Type:Crewed lunar flyby (cancelled)
Operator:SpaceX
Mission Duration:6 days (planned)
Spacecraft Type:Starship[1]
Crew Size:9
Crew Members:Yusaku Maezawa
Steve Aoki
Choi Seung Hyun
Yemi A.D.
Rhiannon Adam
Tim Dodd
Karim Iliya
Brendan Hall
Dev Joshi
Manufacturer:SpaceX
Launch Rocket:SpaceX Starship[2]
Declared:June 2024
Insignia:DearMoon Project insignia.svg
Insignia Size:120
Insignia Caption:dearMoon project insignia

The dearMoon project was a planned lunar tourism mission and art project conceived and financed by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. It would have seen Maezawa and eight civilian artists fly a circumlunar trajectory around the Moon aboard a SpaceX Starship spacecraft.

Maezawa said he expected the experience of space tourism to inspire the accompanying passengers in the creation of something new. If successful, the art would have been exhibited after returning to Earth, with the goal of promoting peace around the world.

The project was unveiled in September 2018 and initially scheduled to launch in 2023.[3] Due to delays in the development of Starship, it was delayed, then cancelled entirely in June 2024.[4]

History

On February 27, 2017, SpaceX announced that they were planning to fly two space tourists on a free-return trajectory around the Moon, now known to be billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, and one friend.[5] This mission, which would have launched in late 2018, was planned to use the Crew Dragon capsule already developed under contract for NASA's Commercial Crew Program and launched via a Falcon Heavy rocket.[6] As well as being a source of income for the company, any mission would serve as technology development for SpaceX's further plans to colonize Mars.[7]

At the time of the 2017 announcement, Crew Dragon was still under development and the Falcon Heavy had yet to fly. Industry analysts noted that the schedule proposed by SpaceX might be too ambitious, as the capsule was expected to need modifications to handle differences in flight profile between the proposed lunar flight and its main use for crew transfer to space stations orbiting Earth.[8]

In February 2018, SpaceX announced it no longer had plans to certify the Falcon Heavy for human spaceflight and that lunar missions would be flown on Starship (then called BFR).[2] [9] Starship is expected to have a pressurized volume of, large common areas, central storage, a galley, and a solar storm shelter.[10] Then, on 14 September 2018, SpaceX announced that the previously contracted passenger would be launched aboard Starship to fly by the Moon in 2023.[11] [12]

The project was unilaterally cancelled by Maezawa in May 2024. Starship development had fallen significantly behind the original SpaceX aspirational date for the flight in 2023—with the lunar flight likely delayed to the 2030s—and Maezawa's net worth had also halved since the time when the DearMoon venture was announced in 2018.[13]

Crew

The project was announced in 2018 with the original intent to bring a crew of artists to the Moon. In this latest release, Maezawa calls for applicants to make up a crew of eight individuals from around the world for the week-long lunar trip.

On February 7, 2019, the dearMoon YouTube channel posted a video in which Maezawa discusses the movie First Man with director Damien Chazelle and lead actor Ryan Gosling. In the video, Maezawa officially invites Chazelle to come with him on his dearMoon project, making Chazelle the first person to be publicly invited to go. However, Chazelle answered that he had to think about it and discuss it with his wife.[14] On March 3, 2021, Yusaku Maezawa announced that eight members of the public will be selected to fly on dearMoon.[15] [16] On July 16, 2021, Yuzaku Maezawa uploaded a video that reveals 1 million people have joined, but there was still no information on who won the 8 seats.[17]

On December 8, 2022, the crew of the mission was announced, along with two backup crew members.[18] [19]

Primary crew
  • Backup crew

    • Objective

    The dearMoon project passengers would have been Yusaku Maezawa and eight accomplished artists that Maezawa had invited to travel with him for free.[20] [5] Maezawa expected this flight to inspire the artists in their creation of new art, which will be presented some time after their return to Earth. He had hoped this project will help promote peace around the world.[21] [22] [5]

    Mission profile

    Initially proposed to launch in 2023, the circumlunar mission was expected to have taken 6 days to complete, following a free-return trajectory similar to that of Apollo 13. NASA is expected to launch Artemis 2 on a similar trajectory in September 2025, with a crew of four.[23]

    Cancellation

    The mission was cancelled on 1 June 2024, due to Starship's developmental delays.[13] [24]

    The cancellation was announced on the project website[25] and on X.[26] The cancellation notice[27] stated "Arrangements were being made with SpaceX to target the launch by the end of 2023. Unfortunately, however, launch within 2023 became unfeasible, and without clear schedule certainty in the near-term, it is with a heavy heart that Maezawa made the unavoidable decision to cancel the project".

    See also

    Notes and References

    1. http://www.catchnews.com/science-news/spacex-signs-its-first-passenger-to-fly-aboard-the-big-falcon-rocket-moon-mission-132574.html SpaceX signs its first passenger to fly aboard the Big Falcon Rocket Moon mission
    2. Web site: Foust . Jeff . SpaceX no longer planning crewed missions on Falcon Heavy . 6 February 2018 . Spacenews . 6 February 2018.
    3. Web site: Meet the dearMoon Crew! . 2023-09-06 . Meet the dearMoon Crew! . en.
    4. Web site: 2024-06-06 . Notice of Project Cancellation . dearmoon (dearmoon.earth).
    5. https://www.space.com/41856-how-spacex-bfr-moon-passenger-flight-works.html How SpaceX's 1st Passenger Flight Around the Moon with Yusaku Maezawa Will Work
    6. Web site: SpaceX to Send Privately Crewed Dragon Spacecraft Beyond the Moon Next Year . 27 February 2017 . SpaceX . SpaceX . 12 March 2017 . 1 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170301013629/http://www.spacex.com/news/2017/02/27/spacex-send-privately-crewed-dragon-spacecraft-beyond-moon-next-year . live .
    7. News: SpaceX Announces 2018 Moonshot Mission . David Dickinson . 1 March 2017 . Sky and Telescope . 9 October 2017 . 18 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191218225715/https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/spacex-announces-moonshot-mission-2018/ . live .
    8. News: Could SpaceX Get People to the Moon in 2018? . Mike Wall . 4 March 2017 . . 9 October 2017 . 23 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181123114845/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-spacex-get-people-to-the-moon-in-2018/ . live .
    9. News: Pasztor. Andy. Elon Musk Says SpaceX's New Falcon Heavy Rocket Unlikely to Carry Astronauts. WSJ . Wall Street Journal. 6 February 2018. 6 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180206172108/https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-says-spacexs-new-falcon-heavy-rocket-unlikely-to-carry-astronauts-1517876582?mod=rss_Technology. live.
    10. Web site: Making Life Multiplanetary: Abridged transcript of Elon Musk's presentation to the 68th International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia . SpaceX . September 2017 . 2018-06-08 . 2018-08-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180808022709/http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/making_life_multiplanetary_transcript_2017.pdf . live .
    11. News: Eric Ralph . SpaceX has signed a private passenger for the first BFR launch around the Moon . 14 September 2018 . 14 September 2018 . 14 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180914132048/https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-private-passenger-bfr-moon-mission/ . live .
    12. Web site: Grush . Loren . SpaceX says it will send someone around the Moon on its future monster rocket . 14 September 2018 . The Verge . 15 September 2018 . 14 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180914032806/https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/13/17857872/spacex-moon-trip-passenger-announcement-bfr . live .
    13. News: Here's why a Japanese billionaire just canceled his lunar flight on Starship . Berger. Eric . ArsTechnica . 1 June 2024 . 5 June 2024.
    14. 7 February 2019 . Movie "FIRST MAN" Special talk -Yusaku Maezawa × Damien Chazelle × Ryan Gosling- . . . 13 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221208223816/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjoZUPVEtcQ . 8 December 2022 . live.
    15. Web site: Sheetz . Michael . Japanese billionaire to fly eight members of the public on SpaceX moon flight . CNBC . 3 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210303135147/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/02/yusaku-maezawa-opens-up-public-seats-on-spacex-starship-moon-flight.html . 3 March 2021 . en . 2 March 2021 . live.
    16. Maezawa . Yusaku . Yusaku_Maezawa . yousuckMZ . 1366872714628132864 . Get your FREE TICKET to the MOON!! . 3 March 2021 . 3 March 2021 . no . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210303004215/https://twitter.com/yousuckMZ/status/1366872714628132864 . 3 March 2021.
    17. 16 July 2021 . 【全世界から100万人が応募】dearMoon 最終選考間近、エントリー映像公開！【1M ENTRIES WORLDWIDE】dearMoon Applicants Sneak Peek! . Yusaku Maezawa【MZ】 . . 13 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221107212743/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE5vdpFlamI . 7 November 2022 . live.
    18. Sheetz . Michael . Michael Sheetz . thesheetztweetz . 1600954401602125824 . 8 December 2022 . Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced the dearMoon crew: DJ & producer Steve Aoki Youtube creator Tim Dodd Artist Yemi A.D. Photographer Karim Iliya Photographer Rhiannon Adam Filmmaker Brendan Hall Actor Dev Joshi Musician T.O.P. https://t.co/8QRphzGKef . en . 13 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221209210551/https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1600954401602125824 . 9 December 2022 . live.
    19. 8 December 2022 . dearMoon Crew Announcement! 月周回プロジェクトdearMoon クルー発表 . Yusaku Maezawa【MZ】 . . 13 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221210101359/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-XXSdcsBLU . 10 December 2022 . live.
    20. 前澤友作@MZDAO . yousuck2020 . 1042331987841703936 . 19 September 2018 . After a press conference, we talked a lot at Elon's home. He said that it would be reliable if 1-2 astronauts will be on board. #dearMoon ＠elonmusk . en . 13 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220930072251/https://twitter.com/yousuck2020/status/1042331987841703936 . 30 September 2022 . live.
    21. 18 September 2018 . First Private Passenger on Lunar Starship Mission . . . 13 December 2022.
    22. https://dearmoon.earth/ Dear Moon
    23. Web site: Foust . Jeff . NASA delays Artemis 2 and 3 missions . . 9 January 2024 . 11 January 2024.
    24. Web site: Japanese billionaire cancels private flight around the moon on SpaceX's giant Starship . .
    25. Web site: dearMoon Project . June 1, 2024.
    26. Web site: x.com . 2024-06-01 . X (formerly Twitter).
    27. Web site: June 1, 2024 . Notice of Project Cancellation . June 1, 2024 . dearMoon Project.

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