A SPACE ODYSSEY

With private operators entering the space travel arena, the rich and famous have found a new way to experience the universe

- PRANAY PRAKASH & SAKSHI BATRA

AT THE FAG end of 2021, a momentous event took place in the history of humans’ tryst with space travel. Nearly a decade after the US space agency NASA retired its space shuttle programme in 2011, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa took off from the earth on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a 12-day self-funded round trip to the International Space Station (ISS). Accompanying him were veteran Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, who led the mission, and Maezawa’s production assistant and videographer, Yozo Hirano. Before embarking on that trip, Maezawa said, “I’m so curious, ‘what’s life like in space’? So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world...” And share he did.

But that trip was just a trial run for Maezawa’s bigger ambition. His bigger dream is to travel around the moon on an upcoming mission that he calls dearMoon, for which he has already booked all the tickets. Fashion e-commerce mogul Maezawa, who also vlogs regularly on his YouTube channel, has chosen eight other people who will accompany him on that trip aboard SpaceX’s Starship that is under development.

Maezawa isn’t alone in this luxurious pursuit. Many high-flying wealthy individuals have made the trip either to the low-earth orbit or the ISS, beginning with American businessman Dennis Tito’s journey to the space station in 2001, for which he reportedly forked out a cool $20 million.