Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has just arrived in his home country after spending 12 days in space last month. The founder of the online shop Zozo admits that flying into space is not something scary.
Maezawa became the first space tourist to visit the International Space Station (ISS) in more than a decade. The 46-year-old is also preparing to fly around the Moon with SpaceX in 2023.
To reporters, Maezawa admitted that flying into space is not so scary when compared to riding a rollercoaster. He also said he became more obsessed with Earth after his journey.
"When you go into space, you become obsessed with Earth. You are grateful to have wind, to have smells, to have seasons," Maezawa said, as quoted by Reuters on Sunday (9/1/2022).
While in space, Maezawa shares his daily experiences through social media. Starting from showing how to urinate on the space station, showing how to make tea, to talking about running out of underwear.
Maezawa flew and returned to Earth on a Russian-made Soyuz rocket and capsule. During the journey to orbit, he said he never felt afraid.
"At launch I was able to enjoy the experience. I felt as if it was the start of the Shinkansen train from the station, it was very smooth. I only felt (launch) when I looked out the window," he said.
Maezawa became a billionaire after selling his online fashion business Zozo to Softbank in 2019. He will be the first private passenger to fly to the Moon on SpaceX's Starship rocket.
The trip, entitled Dear Moon, is scheduled to fly in 2023. As an art lover, Maezawa will invite eight artists to accompany him on the trip.
Even though he had planned to go to the Moon, Maezawa admitted that he was very surprised to see Earth from orbit which he thought was 100 times more beautiful than the one in the photo. When looking at Earth from space, Maezawa also has a strange idea.
"You start thinking about world leaders gathering in space. Of course, I'm not influential enough to make that happen. But if it works, the world might be a better place to live in," he concluded.
