"dearMoon Project" Launch postponed (PDF)

See what it would be like to become
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Learn more about the spacesuit and
fully reusable next generation rocket
developed by SpaceX.

Here are the schedule and flight plans for
the first civilian lunar orbital mission,
the dearMoon project.

Here are some videos and interviews
about the dearMoon project.

Articles about the dearMoon project
can be found here.

Japan

Yusaku Maezawa

ENTREPRENEUR

“I'm very thrilled to have these amazing people join me on my journey to the moon and excited to see what inspiring creations they come up with in space. ”

Official Website: https://www.yusakumaezawa.com/

Biography

Born in Chiba prefecture, Japan in 1975 (age 47), he founded the company, Start Today Ltd. (currently, ZOZO, Inc.) in 1998 and launched the online fashion mall ZOZOTOWN in 2004. The company was listed on the TSE Mothers in December 2007 (3092) and on the TSE First Section in February 2012, and its market capitalization exceeded 1 trillion yen in August 2017. In September 2019, Maezawa stepped down as CEO at the same time as the company released its capital and business alliance with Yahoo Japan Corporation. Immediately after, he established Start Today Inc., and in 2021, he started thirteen of his own businesses, including his own company's business. In December 2021, he became the first Japanese civilian to visit the ISS, spending about 12 days on board.

USA

Steve Aoki

DJ / PRODUCER

“Since I was a little child I was dreaming of going to the moon. It's becoming more and more real every day. Still hard to believe but very excited and grateful for this amazing
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To the moon!”

Biography

Steve Aoki was born in Miami, United States in 1977.
Steve is a 2 times GRAMMY-nominated music producer, artist, fashion designer, entrepreneur, NFT futurist and philanthropist.
At a very young age, Steve founded his record label Dim Mak which released influential acts like The Chainsmokers and Bloody Beetroots. Steve collaborated also with an extensive list of varied artists, including BTS, Maluma, Snoop Dogg, Linkin Park and more. He was awarded with the Guinness World Record as the “Most Travelled Musician in a Single Calendar Year” in 2012, playing over 250 shows per year with performances at every top festival around the world including Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival and Coachella. Steve is also a pioneer in the NFT world creating his own membership community A0K1VERSE, as well as a well known collector co-founding MetaZoo, a wildly successful trading card game that launched in March 2021.

South Korea

TOP (Choi Seung Hyun)

MUSICIAN

“As a Korean artist, I want dearMoon to inspire the world, give people hope, and make anyone with a dream feel that anything is possible.”

Biography

TOP (Choi Seung Hyun) was born in South Korea in 1987.
TOP is a South Korean rapper, multi-hyphenate musician, award-winning film actor, and avid art collector.
He made his debut in 2007 as the lead rapper of the legendary K-pop group BIGBANG. As an accomplished solo artist, TOP has demonstrated his unique artistic capabilities with numerous groundbreaking music videos including <DOOM DADA> and <Turn It Up>. After BIGBANG’s new single <Still Life> in 2022, TOP is currently preparing his first ever full solo album.
As an actor, TOP has starred in successful films including ‘Into the Fire’ and ‘Tazza: The Hidden Card’, as well as K-dramas including ‘I Am Sam’ and ‘Iris’, in which he played leading roles and won various accolades domestically and internationally. TOP has devoted his life to collecting art since the age of 19. In 2016, he became the first artist ever to curate an art auction in Hong Kong when he collaborated with world-renowned art auction house Sotheby’s, and was selected as one of the ‘top 50 collectors to watch’ by ARTnews.
Most recently, TOP has expanded his entrepreneurial ventures with the launch of his wine brand named T’SPOT.

Czech Republic

Yemi A.D.

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CREATIVE

“I’m doing this to remind all the creative kids out there: It
doesn’t matter how you start your journey, but where you aim. We will prove that with imagination, there is no limit to your potential!”

Biography

Yemi A.D. was born in Czechoslovakia to a Czech mum and Nigerian father in 1981.
Yemi is a multidisciplinary creative force, social innovator and choreographer who teaches people & organizations how to move into their creativity.
He designed, choreographed and directed shows and campaigns for Apple, Google, Mercedes Benz, the VMA’s, SNL and CBS.
In 2010, he founded JAD Productions, one of the leading creative production companies in Europe which has garnered multiple honors and global awards. Yemi has been dedicated to creating opportunities for disadvantaged children in Indonesia, India and Nigeria and was appointed as Czech Goodwill Ambassador by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2019. In 2020 he founded Moonshot Platform Inc., a U.S. based non-profit organization, whose mission is to seek and accelerate young emerging leaders and their endeavours around the world, seeking solutions to 21st Century Grand Challenges and Sustainable Development Goals focused innovations.

Ireland

Rhiannon Adam

PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST

“Every day I pinch myself; it seems like an impossible dream coming true. I aim to create work that does justice to this transformative experience.”

Official Website: https://www.rhiannonadam.com/

Biography

Rhiannon Adam was born in Cvork, Ireland, in 1985.
Rhiannon is a photographic artist and currently lives and works between London and the US.
In 1992, her parents sold everything they owned and bought a live-aboard sailing boat, Jannes. From that point, her childhood became nomadic, moving from place to place, mainly around South America and the Caribbean. She eventually moved to London as a teenager to live her with aunt, enabling her to begin mainstream education. She later studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and at the University of Cambridge.
Rhiannon's work is centered on research-based, long-form, social documentary projects that make use of analogue photographic processes and archive materials. Her early life experiences have had a lasting influence on her work, with a focus on remote communities, the concept of utopia, and the fine line between fact and fiction.
She has been shortlisted for and won numerous awards, including the Meitar Award for Excellence in Photography and was named as one of The Photographers’ Gallery’s New Talents in 2019. Her work has been published widely in the press, including Le Monde, The Telegraph, the BBC, The British Journal of Photography, Stern, Huffington Post, and the New York Times.
She is the author of three books - Big Fence / Pitcairn Island (Blow Up Press, 2021), Dreamlands / Wastelands (Jane & Jeremy, 2014), and her exhaustive resource on instant photography, Polaroid: The Missing Manual (Thames & Hudson, 2017, reprinted 2022).

USA

Tim Dodd

YOUTUBER

“Never in a million years did I think I would get the chance to fly around the moon, but I can’t wait to bring everyone with me.”

Official Website: https://everydayastronaut.com/

Biography

Tim Dodd was born in Iowa, United States in 1985.
Tim is a content creator, photographer, videographer, and musician.
After graduating Cedar Falls High School, he began producing videos and photos to help pay for his education. He pursued photography full time in 2008.
In 2013, Tim began a photography project called “Everyday Astronaut,” featuring himself in a Russian high altitude flight suit as a whimsical wanderlusting astronaut.
In 2017, he took Everyday Astronaut to YouTube where it quickly grew into a leading source for aerospace information, livestreams, and interviews. Tim’s mission is to “Bring space down to Earth for everyday people”; he specializes in digesting complex aerospace topics and making them more understandable for the average person through deeply researched and highly visual videos.

United Kingdom

Karim Iliya

PHOTOGRAPHER

“As I document this incredible journey and share this story, I hope to grow and understand how to do my part to make things better for all life on Earth.”

Official Website: https://karimiliya.com/

Biography

Karim Iliya was born in the UK in 1990.
Karim is a photographer, filmmaker, whale swimming guide based in Iceland and Hawaii.
He grew up in the Middle East and Asia and developed a curiosity for the natural world. This has brought him alongside battling whales, amidst exploding volcanoes, deep within the ice worlds of the Arctic, and into many of the fascinating places that humans and animals make their home.
Karim uses photography and video to show a unique perspective and uncover new underwater worlds that few have the opportunity to see. His focus is on documenting whales, birds, and other threatened species in an effort to advocate for the protection of delicate ecosystems on Earth for generations to come.
Karim has worked in over 45 countries, won multiple awards, been published in National Geographic Magazine and BBC Earth, and co-founded Kogia, a non-profit media library and film team dedicated to ocean conservation.
Throughout his life he has been fascinated by the hidden mysteries in our universe, from the smallest creatures and the deepest seas, to the great vastness of space.

USA

Brendan Hall

FILMMAKER

“It’s an incredible honor to be a part of this team and help share an inside perspective of our mission.”

Official Website: http://www.brendanhall.com/

Biography

Brendan Hall was born in Connecticut, United States in 1994.
Brendan is a documentary filmmaker telling stories in the natural world and beyond.
His projects have brought viewers on adventures that explore the frontiers of our human spirit, from following a remote medical expedition through the Amazon rainforest to scientists unearthing wooly mammoth bones in Siberia.
After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, he began his career assisting with development at the National Geographic Channel. He has since traveled the world directing projects for global non-profits and brands including National Geographic, Google, Adobe and The Nature Conservancy.
He has also contributed cinematography to documentaries on Netflix and PBS including BILL NYE: SCIENCE GUY and RED HEAVEN. In his work, Brendan is committed to sharing the wonders of our planet in hopes that we may be inspired to care for it. It’s a spirit he brings to his upcoming first feature-length documentary, a tapestry of personal stories captured across 10,000 miles of the U.S. national parks.

India

Dev D. Joshi

ACTOR

“Always Be positive and Be passionate, because Miracles happen, and they happen anytime, which came in the form of dearMoon for me!”

Official Website: https://www.devjoshi.in/

Biography

Dev D. Joshi was born in India in 2000.
Dev is a professional actor and social media influencer with an experience
of more than 18 years in the field of Art & Entertainment.
From the young age of 3, he has been part of several television series, regional cinema, music albums, stage shows and advertisements.
Known for his portrayal of an Indian superhero, "Baalveer," Dev has positively influenced the masses across the world through his character, spreading the message of truth and goodness in society.
Dev was honoured by the President of India with the "Bal Shakti Puraskar" (2019), the highest civilian honour in India under the age of 18. In 2020, during the pandemic, Dev established "D3 Caring Social Club," an NGO in India, for the service of poor and underprivileged people. Dev is currently working on Season 3 of his superhero franchise, "Baalveer Returns."
Academically, he is currently pursuing a Master's in International Affairs and Diplomacy from the United Nations Institute of Training and Research.

USA

Kaitlyn Farrington

SNOWBOARDER

“I can’t believe I’m a part of this amazing opportunity!
Never in a million years did I think I would have the chance to fly around the moon!”

Biography

Kaitlyn Farrington was born in Hailey, Idaho in 1989.
Kaitlyn grew up on a ranch in Idaho. At a young age, she fell in love with winter sports.
In high school, Kaitlyn started to compete in snowboard competitions around the United States. When she was 17, she was invited to join the U.S. Snowboard Team. She won an Olympic Gold Medal at the age of 24 in snowboard halfpipe in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Eight months after her victory, she was diagnosed with congenital cervical stenosis and had to retire from competitive snowboard.
Kaitlyn made a deal with her doctor to become a “grounded snowboarder”. For Kaitlyn, this was a hard reality having to give up something she loved too much and redefine herself in the snowboard community. She now spends most of her time backcountry snowboarding; which she likes to call adventure snowboarding.
Kaitlyn is currently taking online classes pursuing a degree in business communication.

Japan

Miyu

DANCER

“So excited to grasp this enormous dream of mine.
On behalf of the young generation, I will do my best to inspire people through my dance.”

Official Website: https://miyudance.tokyo/

Biography

Miyu was born in Japan in 1997.
Miyu is a professional dancer, choreographer, and movement practitioner.
She started dancing as a child and saw success early on, winning consecutive titles, competitions and battles. When she was 19 years old, she won titles throughout Japan and Asia including Juste Debout in Paris.
Miyu has spent the past decade educating, inspiring, and connecting people through dance and movement all over the world.
Alongside her community efforts, Miyu is recognized as an entrepreneur who works as a model, brand ambassador, choreographer, dancer, and performer in music videos.
Miyu has performed globally, but is most proud of her show at Cotton Club in Tokyo, Japan, which was sold out for several nights and was amongst one of her best performances.
Miyu’s motto is “Make the Impossible Possible”.
Miyu proves time and time again that as an artist, anything is possible when kindness, grace, and humility are your driving force.

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