SpaceX announces trip around the moon next year
Space transport services company SpaceX announced Monday that they have been approached to fly two private citizens, on a trip around the moon late next year.
Company CEO Elon Musk also announced the mission, on his verified Twitter page Monday.
According to a statement, the individuals have already paid a "significant deposit" to do a moon mission, and the company expects to conduct health and fitness tests, along with initial training later this year.
A specific date for the mission was not announced, but the statement did state that the journey will be made, using the company's Dragon spacecraft. The trip, according to the statement, will launch from the historic Pad 39A near Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The company also announced in the statement that it plans to launch a crewed mission to the International Space Station, using its Dragon spacecraft, in the second quarter of 2018. The company noted its Dragon spacecraft is designed from the beginning to carry humans.
If the trip is successful, it will be the first time a human being has traveled beyond the Earth, since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.