The Japanese billionaire who was allowed to stay onboard the International Space Station (ISS) for 12 days, returned to Earth on Monday. This was announced by the Russian space agency Rococosmos.
Yusaku Maezawa (46), who made a fortune from online fashion, and his assistant Yozo Hirano (46) parachuted down the Kazakh steppe early Monday morning, retaliated by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Missourkin (44). “The flight with the tourist space capsule Soyuz MS-20 has ended,” Rococosmos said in a press release on its website.
Space tourism
The trip marks Russia’s return to space tourism after a 10-year hiatus. Russia mainly lost ground to American private companies in that sector, especially Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The current resurgence of interest is a potential financial windfall.
Tasks
The three men, the two tourists, and the professional cosmonaut spent 12 busy days aboard the ISS. The Japanese billionaire had set himself a list of 100 tasks that he had to complete in space. Maezawa’s assistant made several videos about everyday life in orbit, for the billionaire’s YouTube account. The man can be seen explaining to his million followers how to brush your teeth or go to the toilet in weightless condition.
“I’m very interested in what it’s like to be in space. So I plan to find out in person and share my impressions with the world on my YouTube channel,” the Japanese said about his special trip earlier this year.
Exactly how much Maezawa paid was not disclosed. But according to Space Adventures, an American company specializing in space tourism, the amount is between 44 and 53 million dollars.
To the moon with SpaceX
The Japanese billionaire will probably go back into space in 2023, especially to the moon with a private capsule of the American SpaceX.
