Four years ago , Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa stood alongside SpaceX chief Elon Musk to announce plans for thefirst civilian deputation to the moon .

At the display in 2018 , Maezawa said he had overlay the costs of the seven-day deputation and wanted to invite eight other masses to join him on the lunar flyby , a ocean trip that will belike be similar to NASA’scurrent Artemis I missioninvolving the Orion spacecraft .

Last year , the Japanese businessmanlaunched an app processfor the stumble of a lifetime . Maezawa said then he was interested in hearing from people who think big , particularly when it comes to helping society in some style . He also wanted applicants to be “ willing and able-bodied to support other crewmembers who share exchangeable aspiration . ”

On Thursday , Maezawa confirmed that the hunting for his swain crewmembers has now eat up as he let on eight young creatives from around the humankind . They let in DJ Steve Aoki and K - pop star T.O.P. check out out how the pick out crew palpate aboutthe dearMoon missionin the video at the top of this varlet .

“ I go for each and every one will recognize the responsibility that get with leave the Earth , traveling to the Sun Myung Moon and back , ” Maezawa says in the video . “ They will gain a circle from this experience , and I hope they will use that to contribute to the satellite , to humanity . But more than anything , I think it ’s important that each crew feels that they are enjoying this trip the most , so I hope we can all just have merriment . ”

The dearMoon mission is currently set for next year and will use SpaceX ’s next - generation spaceship rocket . However , the spaceship has yet to finish its first orbital test flying , so do n’t be at all surprised if the launch date slips .

Here ’s the list of the eight crewmembers who will join Maezawa on the dearMoon mission , as well as the two backup crewmebers :

Steve Aoki : DJ , two - time Grammy - nominate music producer , artist , manner decorator , entrepreneur , NFT futurist , and philanthropist .

Yemi A.D. : Founder of JAD Productions , a leading Europe - based creative product company .

Rhiannon Adam : A photographer whose body of work is based on foresightful - form , social documentary film undertaking that make use of analog photographic processes and archive materials .

Karim Illiya : A photographer , film producer , and whale swimming guide based in Iceland and Hawaii .

Brendan Hall : documental filmmaker whose work focus on escapade that explore the frontier of our human spirit .

Dev Joshi : A professional actor and social medium influencer with more than 18 years of experience in the field of study of arts and entertainment .

Choi Seung - hyun , aka T.O.P.:A rapper , multihyphenate instrumentalist , award - deliver the goods picture player , and graphics collector .

Kaitlyn Farrington ( backup):Currently quest for a degree in business communicating , she also won gold in the snowboard halfpipe in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games .

Miyu ( backup):A professional social dancer , choreographer , and drift practitioner .