The American company SpaceX, founded and directed by entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk and specialized in astronautics, announced in a press release on Monday February 27, 2017 that two passengers would take a trip around the Moon at the end of the year 2018. The identity of these two tourists is kept secret. Elon Musk still clarified that it “is not about anyone from Hollywood”. The price of the trip is also kept secret, but according to the company, the passengers "have already paid a significant deposit for a mission around the Moon". Elon Musk said the trip would last about a week. During this period, it would be necessary to travel between 500,000 and 650,000 kilometers in space to leave the blue planet, pass very close to the Moon without landing there, and return to Earth by parachute.
The launch will take place from the historic Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida. The journey will take place aboard the rocket called Dragon 2. The trajectory of this new journey will be similar to that of NASA's Apollo 8 mission in 1968 (launched from the Kennedy Center), which had made an impression by being the first out to the Moon by men. This trip, if successful, will be the first beyond Earth orbit since the various Apollo missions in December 1972. No one had indeed returned to the Moon's orbit since. “This is an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years. They will travel faster and farther in the solar system than ever before. The first training of future apprentice astronauts should begin this year 2017, not without having previously undergone health examinations.
Above all, this trip will be an important and decisive step “in preparation for our ultimate goal of transporting humans to Mars” advances the agency. Elon Musk plans a manned flight to the red planet in 2024. If he succeeds, SpaceX will beat NASA, which had planned a manned mission in 2030. His objective is clear:to install colonies on Mars. And to prepare for the 2024 expedition, Elon Musk has already scheduled an unmanned mission in 2018...
In any case, we wish a good trip to the two tourists who will realize their dream in 2018!
