SpaceX is flying two tourists around the moon next year

(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

last updated 28 February 2017

Two tourists are planning to take a trip to the moon in 2018. SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced Monday that two private citizens have paid the company a "significant deposit" to be flown around the moon. The space exploration company did not name the travelers or specify how much they'd paid.

The trip is expected to be about a week long, and the mission will likely life off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the same launch pad used for the Apollo program. The space travelers would not actually land on the moon; they'd just circle it and then head back to Earth.

But first, the hopeful travelers will have to prepare for their out-of-this-world trip. "We expect to conduct health and fitness tests, as well as begin initial training later this year," SpaceX said in a statement. "Other flight teams have also expressed strong interest and we expect more to follow."