Now that’s world travel… and beyond. Dennis Tito is an American billionaire. In 2001 he became the first space tourist by flying to the International Space Station (ISS). He has another travel plan for himself and his wife, Akiko. And that is that the first space tourist is going to the Moon this time.
It is the second SpaceX flight around our natural satellite. There is no date yet, but it is not expected in the near future. The pair will depart aboard a Starship spacecraft for a week-long trip. They will get quite close to the lunar surface.

Near the Moon
They signed the contract with SpaceX in the summer of 2021. The idea of flying to the Moon tempted him and his wife agreed.
The couple will join ten other passengers, not yet signed up, on a one-week mission. They will arrive within 200 km of the lunar surface. Starship is an impressive rocket and spacecraft system still under development.
Tito was an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). He paid $20 million in 2001 to the private company Space Adventures to be the first space tourist. He was launched along with two astronauts in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Two days later he docked with the ISS, where he spent five days with his crew members. In total, almost eight days in space, which he euphorically described as “the best moment” of his life.

Age record
At 60, he was already one of the oldest people to fly in space. At 82, he would set a record as the oldest person to launch into orbit and fly to the Moon. He is already older than the current record holder: the late astronaut John Glenn. She flew on NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery at the age of 77. Akiko would become one of the first women to fly around our satellite.
“We will be the first married couple to fly around the Moon. And I hope it will inspire other couples to do the same,” said Tito. The first space tourist goes to the Moon… and best of all, he’s in good company.