World's 1st space tourist planning to fly around moon
Dennis Tito became the first space tourist over two decades ago, and he now has his sights set on the stars once again — with a trip around the moon.
The 82-year-old is working with Elon Musk's SpaceX to plan a weeklong trip to the moon for himself and his wife, Akiko. In an interview with CBS News, Tito said that he hopes to blast off with his wife and 10 other daring participants for a journey that The Associated Press reports will bring them within 125 miles of the far side of the moon.
Tito first made headlines in 2001 when he paid Russia $20 million to let him ride on a trip to the International Space Station. Tito journeyed to the station aboard Soyuz TM-32, making him the first self-funded tourist in space.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I've been thinking about flying to the moon for the last 20 years, since my space flight," Tito told CBS News. "And here we were at SpaceX and they were interested in talking about a space flight. And I brought it up. And within a few minutes, we both were on board."
However, Tito said this next trip is still a ways away, though he hopes it will occur in the next five years.
"I know this rocket is going to be tested backwards and forwards; there'll be hundreds of flights before we're flying," Tito told Bloomberg in a separate interview. "We're not going to fly next year. It's going to be a wait."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The hunt for Planet Nine
Under The Radar Researchers seeking the elusive Earth-like planet beyond Neptune are narrowing down their search
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Winchcombe meteorite: space rock may reveal how water came to Earth
The Explainer New analysis of its violent journey confirms scientific theories on the origin of our planet's H2O
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why the Moon is getting a new time zone
The Explainer The creation of 'coordinated lunar time' is part of Nasa's mission to establish a long-term presence on Earth's only natural satellite
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Blind people will listen to next week's total eclipse
Speed Read While they can't see the event, they can hear it with a device that translates the sky's brightness into music
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why the Y chromosome is vanishing and what this means for the future
The Explainer A new sex gene could be on the evolution pipeline
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
An amphibian that produces milk?
speed read Caecilians, worm-like amphibians that live underground, produce a milk-like substance for their hatchlings
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
We're in the golden age of space exploration
In depth To infinity and beyond!
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published