Japanese Billionaire Becomes Latest Space Tourist to ISS
2021-12-09
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1Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa arrived for a 12-day stay at the International Space Station, or ISS, on Wednesday.
2The trip is the latest and the longest in a year of increasing space tourism.
3The businessman and his assistant Yozo Hirano left for the station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with Russian astronaut Alexander Misurkin.
4Hirano went along to film the trip.
5The price of the trip has not been made public, but some reports say it costs some $50 million.
6The 46-year-old Maezawa had been training at a space center outside Moscow in recent months.
7"I would like to look at the Earth from space. I would like to experience the opportunity to feel weightlessness," Maezawa said Tuesday before the flight.
8"And I also have a personal expectation: I'm curious how the space will change me, how I will change after this space flight."
9A company that organized the flight said Maezawa listed 100 things to do in space after asking the public for ideas.
10The list includes "simple things about daily life to maybe some other fun activities, to more serious questions as well,"
11Space Adventures President Tom Shelley said.
12Maezawa made his money in clothes, creating Japan's largest online fashion site, Zozotown.
13Forbes magazine estimated his worth at $2 billion.
14He has become famous in Japan through his liking of private planes and sports cars, cash giveaways to Twitter followers and famous girlfriends.
15Maezawa joins the list of billionaires who have recently paid for trips to space.
16Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson both went to space earlier this year.
17Maezawa is also planning a trip around the moon on Elon Musk's Starship.
18That trip is scheduled for a time in the next few years.
19He will be joined on that trip by eight contest winners.
20I'm Dan Novak.
1Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa arrived for a 12-day stay at the International Space Station, or ISS, on Wednesday. The trip is the latest and the longest in a year of increasing space tourism. 2The businessman and his assistant Yozo Hirano left for the station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with Russian astronaut Alexander Misurkin. Hirano went along to film the trip. 3The price of the trip has not been made public, but some reports say it costs some $50 million. The 46-year-old Maezawa had been training at a space center outside Moscow in recent months. 4"I would like to look at the Earth from space. I would like to experience the opportunity to feel weightlessness," Maezawa said Tuesday before the flight. "And I also have a personal expectation: I'm curious how the space will change me, how I will change after this space flight." 5A company that organized the flight said Maezawa listed 100 things to do in space after asking the public for ideas. The list includes "simple things about daily life to maybe some other fun activities, to more serious questions as well," Space Adventures President Tom Shelley said. 6Maezawa made his money in clothes, creating Japan's largest online fashion site, Zozotown. Forbes magazine estimated his worth at $2 billion. He has become famous in Japan through his liking of private planes and sports cars, cash giveaways to Twitter followers and famous girlfriends. 7Maezawa joins the list of billionaires who have recently paid for trips to space. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson both went to space earlier this year. 8Maezawa is also planning a trip around the moon on Elon Musk's Starship. That trip is scheduled for a time in the next few years. He will be joined on that trip by eight contest winners. 9I'm Dan Novak. 10The Associated Press and Reuters reported this story. Dan Novak adapted for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 11_______________________________________ 12Words in This Story 13tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 14curious - adj. having a desire to learn or know more about something or someone 15flight - n. the act of moving through the air or through outer space 16fashion - n. a popular way of dressing during a particular time or among a particular group of people 17contest - n. an event in which people try to win by doing something better than others