With it being exactly 384,400 km from earth, and taking around three days and a lot of money and pre-preparation to get there, it stands to reason that only 12 people have ever successfully stepped foot on the moon, with all crewed lunar landings having taken place between July 1969 and December 1972 as part of the Apollo programme.
The mission – which has been called dearMoon – is scheduled to fly in 2023, and will be the first lunar journey by humans since 1972.
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Taking to Twitter to let the public know they could be in for the trip of a lifetime, Mr Maezawa said that he will be paying for the entire journey, so those who come onboard will fly for free because he wants “people from all kinds of backgrounds to join”.
“I have bought all the seats, so it will be a private ride,” he said.
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Watch this video to learn more about the selection process. It also contains a special message from @elonmusk#dearMoon
In 2018, Yusaku Maezawa – a fashion mogul and art collector – was named as the first private passenger due to be flown around the moon by SpaceX, and although the price Mr Maezawa agreed to pay for his ticket to space has not been disclosed, Elon Musk has said that it was “a lot of money”.
Mr Maezawa has previously said that he planned to invite “artists” for the voyage, but has now adjusted the project to “give people from around the globe the chance to join this journey”.
“If you see yourself as an artist, then you are an artist,” he added.
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It’s not the first time Mr Maezawa has publicly appealed for company on the flight since being confirmed as the first private passenger, as in a somewhat questionable move, he last year also launched a documentary search for a new girlfriend to join him on the trip.
He then decided to cancel this offer due to “mixed feelings”, but it seems that that cancellation has now opened up more opportunities to the general public.
In order for applicants to be successful for the flight, they need to meet two criteria.
Mr Maezawa has said that applicants should firstly advance “whatever activity” they are in to “help other people and greater society in some way”, and are “willing to support other crew members who share similar aspirations”.
Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Akon speaks on his connection to Manchester after run of Co-op Live gigs
Danny Jones
Music veteran Akon has recently discussed his connection to our city following his run of live shows here in Manchester.
In fact, he went so far as to say he feels much more affinity here than he does with ‘The Big Smoke’.
The seasoned Senegalese-American rapper, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and humanitarian, teamed up with fellow chart-topper Ne-Yo for not just one, not even two, but three whole nights at Co-op Live this May as part of their co-headline tour across the UK and Ireland.
Chatting with Simone Riley on BBC Radio Manchester before the third and final gig of the trio, Akon admitted that there’s “something about Manchester” that he loves way more than London.
As you can see, while he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly is about it in the North compared to the capital, he said simply that “it’s crazy here”, and he loves it.
Same, mate. Same.
Admitting that he feels “more attached to Manchester than London” and labelling the energy from the crowds as “stupid” up here (he meant it in a good way, we promise), Simone couldn’t help but confess her joy over his comments.
He’s not the only global superstar to have recently shouted out their affection for 0161, either, as Billie Eilish also said something similar.
Speaking to the mainline BBC at the premiere of her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), she said that while the dates lining up were certainly a key factor, there were other reasons why she chose Manchester to film her new movie.
Our Audio North team were also lucky enough to chat with Akon’s touring partner Ne-Yo recently, too, who also had nothing but good things to say about us as a place to play.
As for Akon, the 53-year-old has obviously played here plenty of times over the decades, with last year’s tour being his first return in a decade.
That being said, given how glowingly he’s spoken about us and how popular these joint performances were, we reckon it won’t be that long before he comes back.
Last but not least, we obviously couldn’t resist going along to at least one of the nights for ourselves; listen to what we had to say about the tour in our full review down below.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd March 2021 
