Elon Musk Announces Space X Plans to Fly Two Private Citizens Around the Moon by Late 2018

February 28, 2017 5:00 am
dragon_v2_in_orbit
(Space X)

 

If Elon Musk’s plans for Mars were considered a moonshot, then his latest gambit is a literal one.

Space X announced Monday that it will take two tourists, not astronauts, on a flight around the Moon by the end of next year.

The week-long flight would circle the moon, travel out into deep space, and then return to Earth. Depending on the distance and speed traveled past the moon, the mission could turn out to be  the farthest and fastest to travel in space with humans. A statement from the private space company said that the two private citizens that approached Space X were “very serious about the mission” and had already paid “a significant deposit.”

“Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration, Space X claimed in a press release. “We expect to conduct health and fitness tests, as well as begin initial training later this year. ”

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