It’s been only a day since SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the plan to send Yusaku Maezawa and roughly half a dozen artists around the moon, but folks are already nominating themselves (and others) for a free trip.
Maezawa is paying an undisclosed but reportedly substantial amount for the journey on SpaceX’s yet-to-be-built BFR spaceship, and there are scads of details to be worked out before the launch date, which is currently set for 2023.
In a series of tweets today, Musk promised that the mission would be live-streamed in high-definition virtual reality, with the broadcast potentially facilitated by SpaceX’s yet-to-be-deployed Starlink satellite internet constellation. There could also be an onboard watering hole called the “Space Bar,” and the artists on the flight would be permitted (but not obliged) to perform in zero-G.
Musk promised to take questions during a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” chat that’s yet to be scheduled. “Love Reddit,” he said in a tweet.
One of the more interesting questions has to do with who will be selected for Maezawa’s Willy Wonka-style golden tickets. Seattle cartoonist Matthew Inman, creator of “The Oatmeal” comic franchise and co-creator of the Exploding Kittens card game, put in a bid and got a smiley face from Musk:
Yusaku will be bringing 8 (brave) artists & cultural figures with him on the journey around the moon! https://t.co/PCU23HYTa9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2018
*raises hand* I’m an artist. Sort of.
When I’m not making poop jokes.
— Matthew Inman (@Oatmeal) September 18, 2018
I will take that as an enthusiastic “yes!” pic.twitter.com/fcIoNTIfk6
— Matthew Inman (@Oatmeal) September 18, 2018
?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2018
Musk also liked the idea of putting Roger Waters, the lyricist behind Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” concept album, on the passenger list.
Among other folks raising their hands are Abby Garrett, who specializes in SpaceX artwork; Justine Walker, who styles herself as “the Dancing Physicist,” and Pascal Lee, who’s best-known as the director of the Haughton-Mars Project in the Canadian Arctic but also happens to be a visual artist.
.@dearmoonproject Congratulations! I love the #dearmoon idea. I’m a pro space artist and STEM Communicator and would love to go to the moon or at least support your mission! Perhaps design your mission patch? ? Best of luck! pic.twitter.com/NB9EuF6L6F
— Abby Garrett (@abbygarrettX) September 18, 2018
If ever an opportunity called to my soul, it was this one. I could discover and create so much more on this trip. #ReadMyThesis #DancingOurWayToTheCosmos #TheDancingPhysicist #TDPForTheMoon
— Justine Walker (@femininephysics) September 18, 2018
I humbly announce my candidacy to be a guest of Mr Yusaku Maesawa @yousuck2020 on his amazing journey w/ Artists to the Moon. I am hoping it will not be held against an artist if he/she also serves as mission scientist… Thank you @elonmusk @SpaceX for making #dearMoon possible. pic.twitter.com/TjMmI02Ouy
— Pascal Lee (@pascalleetweets) September 18, 2018
Violinist/dancer Lindsey Stirling took special note of a SpaceX illustration showing a violinist/dancer performing in zero-G:
Is this an invitation? @elonmusk https://t.co/qK8OTOqDwi
— Lindsey Stirling (@LindseyStirling) September 18, 2018
I’m available for performances in outer space.
— Lindsey Stirling (@LindseyStirling) September 18, 2018
Maezawa said he’s aiming to invite artists at the level of Pablo Picasso, John Lennon and Michael Jackson, so it’ll be interesting to see what sorts of celebrities make their pitch to get on the list, and how publicly they do it.
The timeline for the #dearMoon mission is up in the air, so to speak, but the diagram laid out on Maezawa’s website suggests that the selection process will get underway this year, with finalization of the crew sometime in 2020 or 2021.
That’s assuming that the roughly five-day trip around the moon and back (without landing on the lunar surface) takes place in 2023 as advertised. Musk said he’s “definitely not sure” about that launch date, because it assumes that everything will go absolutely right in the development of the BFR (“Big Falcon Rocket”). And we all know how likely that is.
Although the artists would be free to do performances during the trip, their real job begins when the ride ends. Maezawa’s timeline indicates that they’ll create moon-inspired artworks after their return to Earth. Those works will be publicized, and then folded into a #dearMoon exhibition on Earth sometime in the 2020s.
And who knows? If the BFR works out the way Musk hopes, there could be paying passengers following in the artists’ footsteps by then:
Would be cool if they held a contest for not famous people that create any form of art & the winner could earn a seat for the moon mission. ??
Or if they held a raffle where pple pay to participate, and help fund future missions.
— Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo (@JaneidyEve) September 18, 2018
Long-term, there will be thousands and eventually, hopefully, millions of missions & anyone will be able to go
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2018