--- title: "Check Out How Stoked This Billionaire Is to Leave Our Dying Planet" description: "A Japanese billionaire is becoming the first space tourist to go to the International Space Station in more than 10 years, and boy does his excitement show. As The Guardian and other outlets reported, Yusaku Maezawa, the billionaire who founded Japan’s Zozotown e-commerce megalith, is taking off with cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and his assistant Yozo Hirano […]" date: "2021-12-07" modified: "2021-12-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/stoked-billionaire-space-tourist" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "billionaires" - "space tourism" - "yusaku maezawa" --- # Check Out How Stoked This Billionaire Is to Leave Our Dying Planet ![From right to left: Zozotown billionaire Yusaku Maezawa (R), Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin (C), and Maezawa's assistant Yozo Hirano (L).]() *From right to left: Zozotown billionaire Yusaku Maezawa (R), Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin (C), and Maezawa's assistant Yozo Hirano (L). \Image: Yusaku Maezawa/Twitter\* A Japanese billionaire is becoming the first space tourist to go to the International Space Station in more than 10 years, and boy does his excitement show. "I’m excited. I feel like an elementary school student about to go on \[an\] outing," Yusaku Maezawa told reporters at a pre-launch news conference. "I didn’t think I would be able to go to space. I used to like the starry sky and heavenly bodies. I feel fortunate to have this opportunity and to finally fulfill my dream." As [*The Guardian*]() and [other outlets]() reported, Maezawa, the billionaire who founded Japan's Zozotown ecommerce megalith, is taking off with his assistant Yozo Hirano and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin on a Russian Soyuz rocket for a 12-day trip that launches tomorrow. Notably, Maezawa is the first civilian in more than a decade to buy access to the ISS. And although we don't know the exact cost of his two tickets, we do know that Space Tourism, the company that the billionaire is contracted to fly with, sells bookings for [an estimated $200 million a pop](). Seriously, just look at this guy's face. He looks like he just went into the world's biggest [FAO Schwarz toy store](), except this FAO Schwarz is in freakin' *space*. https://twitter.com/yousuckMZ/status/1458741849246502918 Maezawa's maiden voyage is a trial run of sorts before he heads up to the moon on a slated SpaceX trip that made headlines earlier this year when he and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk [offered to bring eight passengers along for free](). While Maezawa and Musk's desire to bring randos up to space with them for free is laudable, [space tourism]() itself — and [billionaire space tourism]() specifically — is much more insidious when you consider that the earth is baking, climate apocalypse is nigh, and that these fat cats are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fly around the cosmos while people who can't afford to eat starve down here on Earth. But hey, at least he's happy! **READ MORE:** [Japanese fashion tycoon to blast off for ISS as Russia revives space tourism]() \[*The Guardian*\] **More on Maezawa's big trip:** [*Billionaire Says He'll Play Badminton on Upcoming Space Station Trip*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()