A Victoria man’s out-of-this-world dream has a chance of coming true.
Brett Andersen says anyone who has met him before knows becoming an astronaut and making it into space are his greatest ambitions. Now, a Japanese billionaire and fashion designer is offering him a chance.
Watch this video to learn more about the selection process. It also contains a special message from @elonmusk #dearMoon
|Check the full versionhttps://t.co/i3ucR6BB44 pic.twitter.com/B3d8g0JvvP
— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) (@yousuckMZ) March 2, 2021
On Tuesday, Yusaku Maewa announced his search for eight people to join him on a voyage around the moon, all expenses paid. The Dear Moon mission, expected to launch in 2023, will be the first-ever civilian spaceflight that goes beyond earth’s orbit and will take place on the SpaceX rocket known as Starship.
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Maewa said there are just two criteria he will use to choose his fellow passengers. One: “whatever activity you are into, by going into space, I hope that you can push its envelope to help other people and greater society in some way.” And two: “you have to be willing and able to support other crew members who share similar aspirations.”
Andersen said he meets both of them.
“For over 10 years now I’ve been hauling my camera gear deep into nature to document my adventures and bring the audience along with me,” he said in his Instagram video. He hopes to help document the Dear Moon mission too.
Andersen added that his over 15-year experience in the hospitality industry makes him the ideal fellow crew member. “Helping people is my passion,” he said.
Back in 2015, Andersen actually had a different opportunity to go to space when he won a Land Rover competition, earning him a spot aboard a Virgin Galactic flight to orbit. But when one of the test shuttles he was meant to fly in crashed, he was offered a different prize.
“Now,” he said, “I have a second chance.”
Speaking with Black Press Media, Andersen said the mission seems “almost like a cheat code to enlightenment.”
We don’t know what comes after death, he said, but we do know that we have this one existence. Living it to its fullest has always been Andersen’s goal.
“I’m super passionate about adventure and going deep into nature and experiencing everything the world has to offer,” he said. He asks that people tag Maewa in his video to help him get there.
For any other aspiring astronauts, more information about the tickets to the moon can be found at dearmoon.earth.
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