Elon Musk unveils first tourist for SpaceX 'Moon loop'

Elon Musk's company SpaceX has unveiled the first private passenger it plans to fly around the Moon.

Japanese billionaire and online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa, 42, announced: "I choose to go to the Moon."

He is expected to lift off on the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), a launch system that was unveiled by Mr Musk in 2016.

The mission, which is currently planned for 2023, will mark the first visit to the Moon by humans since Nasa's Apollo 17 landing in 1972.

The announcement was made at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on Tuesday.

The company said the flight represented "an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of travelling to space".

Earlier on Twitter, Mr Musk had already hinted that the passenger would be from Japan.

Mr Maezawa made headlines last year after paying $110.5m (£85.4m) for a painting by the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat at an auction in New York.

The art enthusiast said on Monday he would invite six to eight artists from around the world to join him on the trip.

"They will be asked to create something after they return to Earth. These masterpieces will inspire the dreamer within all of us," he told reporters.
Only 24 humans have visited the Moon - all of them Americans; although, not all of these individuals landed. Some Apollo astronauts had roles that meant they remained above the surface. Mr Maezawa will not land, either. He will travel on what is called a "free return trajectory", which will bring his BFR ship back to Earth after it has gone around the far side of the satellite.

However, this launch will rely on a rocket that has not been built yet, and Mr Musk has said: "It's not 100% certain we can bring this to flight."