--- title: "Billionaire Promised Crew Free Flights Around Moon, Then Dashed Their Dreams" description: "After promising they'd get free space flights, the billionaire behind the dearMoon space tour has completely let down his crew." date: "2024-06-08" modified: "2024-06-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/billionaire-dearmoon-cancellation-crew" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "space tourism" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" - "yusaku maezawa" --- # Billionaire Promised Crew Free Flights Around Moon, Then Dashed Their Dreams ![After promising they'd get free space flights, the billionaire behind the dearMoon space tour has completely let down his crew.]() *\Image: Alessandro Di Ciommo / NurPhoto via Getty / Futurism\* ## Dearly Departed After promising eight artists and musicians that they'd get free flights around the Moon on a SpaceX Starship, the Japanese billionaire behind the dearMoon space tour has completely let down his would-be crew. Last week, e-commerce billionaire [Yusaku Maezawa announced on X-formerly-Twitter]() that he was canceling the dearMoon tour [due to SpaceX missing deadlines](), a move that's left his crew — including famed DJ Steve Aoki — blindsided. "I can’t plan my future in this situation, and I feel terrible making the crew members wait longer, hence the difficult decision to cancel at this point in time," Maezawa, the CEO of Japan's Zozotown e-commerce platform, [wrote in his tweet thread](). "I apologize to those who were excited for this project to happen." As [*Space.com* reports](), crew reactions to the surprise decision have ranged from understanding to criticism — with much more verbosity in the latter category. "I’m sorry, but as a crew member this doesn’t wash," Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, one of the members of the erstwhile dearMoon crew, responded on X. "You didn’t ask us if we minded waiting or give us an option or discuss that you were thinking of \[canceling\] until you’d already made the decision." "I can only speak for myself," she continued, "but I’d have waited till it was ready." ## Feeling Frenzy Brendan Hall, a 29-year-old filmmaker who was also slated to travel aboard the SpaceX rocket around the Moon, posted his own [lengthy statement]() condemning the seemingly-abrupt decision. "Our crew, from the many conversations we've had together, were ready to wait as long as it took for this flight to happen," the youthful documentarian wrote. "As many of us know, shifting timelines are the inherent nature of spaceflight. Every day the space industry is achieving a milestone that at one time was thought to be impossible." "Through these years, our crew has stayed well informed of Starship's development through publicly available information and discourse, and were well aware that we would potentially be investing many years into this mission," he continued. "The cancellation of this mission was sudden, brief, and unexpected." Multi-disciplinary artist Yemi A.D., meanwhile, [tweeted]() that although news about the dearMoon cancellation was "unfortunate," his "commitment to space-exploration projects and supporting young, disadvantaged individuals in achieving their own Moonshots remains unwavering." It's certainly a sad ending to an otherwise inspirational story — but given that Maezawa essentially said "[let them eat cake]()" during his last spaceflight at the end of 2021, it's not all that surprising, either. **More on failed space tourism:** [*NASA Slaps Down Billionaire's Plan to Fly Up and Fix Hubble Space Telescope*]() ## 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]()