BENGALURU: Japanese entrepreneur, billionaire Yusaku Maezawa last weekend announced the ‘dream crew’ for the first all civilian mission to the moon - ‘dearMoon’ which includes Indian actor Dev Joshi of ‘Balveer’ fame among the eight people.
This is the first civilian mission to the moon, planned to take place sometime in the last quarter of 2023. The rocket developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX will make a week-long journey to the moon, orbit it without landing on the surface, and return to earth.
In 2018, Maezawa purchased eight seats aboard the rocket, planning to give an opportunity to as many talented individuals from across the world. Dev was one of the eight selected.
Dev is barely able to hold his excitement at being shortlisted for the dearMoon mission. “It is a landmark project and being a part of this crew makes me feel really proud and thrilled! Also, being the youngest person of the crew and only Indian on the team, this feels like a responsibility. I am glad to embrace it representing my generation and my country,” said Dev in an exclusive chat with The New Sunday Express.
Dev, while speaking on making it through the selection process — for which the organisers had received more than one million applications from 249 countries and regions — said the process was “very exciting and a journey in-itself. We had many interviews, meetings, and phases of medical assessments to clear. Also, I met Mr Yusaku Maezawa during the final phases and we had some really fun conversations.”
The actor said he applied for the dearMoon project, as it was really appealing to him. “I have always been excited about space and related updates. I was shooting on my sets of ‘Baalveer Returns,’ when I saw the announcement of this project”.
As an artist, moon mission sounded interesting to me: Dev
“Being an artist, it sounded very interesting to me and I instantly related my life to what MZ was looking for in his crew,” he said. The important eligibility criteria for the participants to be included in the dearMoon mission included that they “must demonstrate a potential for individual growth from this mission and ensure that their experience brings future value for the world, producing societal contributions that will benefit humankind for generations to come. The applicants must be able to support the fellow crew members who have the same potential and vision,” said the dearMoon organisers.
Regarding the health parameters for the lunar mission, they said it is a must for the crew to return back to earth safely. “We conducted medical checkups to make sure the crew members selected are in good shape to participate in this mission,” they added.
The screening and selection process included various steps; from pre-registration to initial screening, submission of an assignment on a movie on the theme - “What I want to do in space”, online interview, final interview and medical check-up, and finally, a face-to-face interview with Maezawa.
Regarding the itinerary and food for the lunar mission, the organisers said the crew will travel within 200 km of the lunar surface. “The crew activity during the trip and the food are to be determined,” they added.
Whether the dearMoon mission will open the moon as a coveted tourist destination for select earthlings, the team said theirs will be the first all-civilian mission to fly around the moon. “A few months ago, entrepreneur Dennis Tito and his wife bought seats on Starship, which presumably becomes the second mission to fly around the moon.