London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

SpaceX moon flight to include DJ, YouTuber and K-pop rapper

A Japanese billionaire recruits an artists-only crew for a space voyage around the moon. A commercial DJ, K-pop rapper, and a space YouTuber are to go on a trip around the Moon, after they were picked by a Japanese billionaire for a private SpaceX flight.

Businessman Yusaku Maezawa revealed his crew on Friday after a global search for creative individuals last year.

American DJ Steve Aoki and Korean star TOP are the most high-profile picks.

The flight, scheduled for next year, could be the first lunar journey by humans since 1972.

The proposed fly-by would see a spacecraft circle the moon, coming within 200km (124 miles) of the surface. The trip would take eight days from launch to return.

However, US regulators are yet to give permission for the Starship rocket from Elon Musk's SpaceX company that the crew is supposed to travel on.

The ship has not even been approved for an orbital journey around the Earth and has been grounded for the past 18 months in Texas, after it completed a test launch in May 2021.

But Mr Maezawa made no mention of this delay in his video announcing the crew for the mission he's dubbed dearMoon.

The opening scene shows Mr Maezawa in a Japanese garden looking up at the moon. It then cuts to show the first crew member - DJ Aoki - at one of his shows.

"I can't miss this opportunity. My soul is begging for this," the Billboard-charting artist says in the video.

The next passenger revealed is Youtuber Tim Dodd - also known as the Everyday Astronaut- who has 1.4 million followers online for his educational videos on spaceflight and astrophysics.

In his own video released on Friday the vlogger said he couldn't believe he'd been selected. He added that SpaceX's announcement in 2017 that it would send a civilian to the moon was "ironically, or poetically... actually what got me started making videos on Youtube."

The other announced dearMoon mission members are:

  • TOP (Choi Seung hyun), a K-pop rapper and former lead of boyband Big Bang (South Korea)
  • Dancer and choreographer Yemi A.D (Czech Republic)
  • Photographer Rhiannon Adam (Ireland)
  • Wildlife photographer Karim Iliya (UK)
  • Filmmaker Brendan Hall (US)
  • Actor Dev Joshi (India)

US Olympic snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington and Japanese dancer Miyu were named as back-up dancers.

"I hope each and every one will recognise the responsibility that comes with leaving the Earth, travelling to the moon and back," Mr Maezawa said.

"They will gain a lot from this experience and I hope they will use that to contribute to the planet, to humanity."

Mr Maezawa, who made his fortune in online fashion retailer Zozo, has become prominently involved in commercial space travel. Last year he went to the International Space Station on a Russian rocket for 12 days.

In 2018, he was named as the first private passenger due to be flown around the moon by SpaceX and said he would sponsor the cost of eight other passengers on board.

The price Mr Maezawa agreed to pay for his ticket to space has not been disclosed, but according to Mr Musk it was "a lot of money".

In 2020, he also launched a documentary search for a new girlfriend to join him on his moon voyage, before cancelling due to "mixed feelings".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×