the art enthusiast said he would invite six to eight artists to join him in space travel to new heights .
hawthorne , calif. tokyo ( reuters ) - spacex , elon musk ’s space transportation company , on monday named its first private passenger on a voyage around the moon as japanese billionaire yusaku maezawa , the founder and chief executive of online fashion retailer zozo .
maezawa ’s identity was revealed at an event on monday evening at the company ’s headquarters and rocket factory in the los angeles suburb of hawthorne .
most famous outside japan for his record - breaking $ 110 million purchase of an untitled 1982 jean - michel basquiat painting , maezawa said he would invite six to eight artists to join him on the lunar flyby .
the mission is planned for 2023 , and would be the first lunar journey by humans since 1972 .
the billionaire chief executive of electric car maker tesla inc , musk said the big falcon rocket , or bfr , the super heavy - lift launch vehicle that he promises will shuttle passengers to the moon and eventually fly humans and cargo to mars , could be conducting its first orbital flights in two to three years .
the company said the flight on board the big falcon rocket ( bfr ) - a launch system that was unveiled by mr musk had already hinted that the passenger would be from japan .
“ he ’s a very brave person to do this , ” musk said of the japanese entrepreneur .
musk has previously said he wants the rocket to be ready for an unpiloted trip to mars in 2022 , with a crewed flight in 2024 , though his ambitious production targets have been image copyright spacex image caption artwork : the bfr spaceship will be able to carry humans on a trip around the moon elon musk 's company spacex has unveiled the first private passenger it plans to fly around the moon .