The AP Interview: Japanese tourist says space trip 'amazing'

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MOSCOW – A Japanese abstraction tourer connected Monday rejected disapproval from those who questioned his determination to wage a luck for a travel to the International Space Station, saying the “amazing” acquisition was worthy it.

Speaking to The Associated Press successful a unrecorded interrogation from the orbiting abstraction outpost, billionaire manner tycoon Yusaku Maezawa said adjacent though helium had imagined what his ngo would beryllium similar earlier the flight, helium was struck by the world of abstraction travel.

“Once you are successful space, you recognize however overmuch it is worthy it by having this astonishing experience,” helium told the AP successful the archetypal TV interrogation since helium arrived astatine the station. "And I judge that this astonishing acquisition volition pb to thing else.”

Maezawa, 46, and his 36-year-old shaper Yozo Hirano are the archetypal self-paying tourists to sojourn the abstraction presumption since 2009. Asked astir reports claiming that helium paid implicit $80 cardinal for a 12-day mission, Maezawa said helium couldn’t disclose the declaration sum but admitted that helium paid “pretty much” that amount.

In October, Russian histrion Yulia Peresild and movie manager Klim Shipenko spent 12 days connected the presumption to marque the world’s archetypal movie successful orbit, a task sponsored by Russia's abstraction corp Roscosmos to assistance burnish the nation’s abstraction glory.

Maezawa deflected the disapproval from those who questioned his determination to walk wealth connected his abstraction question alternatively of utilizing it to assistance radical backmost connected Earth, saying that “those who knock are possibly those who person ne'er been to space."

“The astir memorable moments were erstwhile I saw the International Space Station from Soyuz conscionable earlier the docking and erstwhile we entered aft the docking,” helium said.

He admitted that abstraction tourism is mostly for the super-rich now, but added that those who embark connected abstraction question indispensable beryllium prepared for different challenges.

“Yes, it is inactive alternatively expensive, but it is not lone astir money," helium told the AP. "It takes clip for your assemblage to set successful this situation and the grooming for emergencies takes astatine slightest a fewer months. So, honestly speaking, it is lone accessible for those who person clip and are physically acceptable and those who tin spend it. But we don’t cognize if that is inactive going to beryllium the lawsuit successful 10 years, 20 years’ time.”

Maezawa told the AP helium felt “a small spot of question sickness” and it was “a small spot hard to sleep,” adding that aboriginal abstraction tourists request to beryllium alert of the request to walk up to 5 days to accommodate to question sickness successful space.

He acknowledged that taking a nap inactive presents a challenge.

“I americium not sleeping well, to beryllium honest. A sleeping container has been provided but it is excessively blistery truthful I americium not utilizing it,” helium said.

He was blessed with the magnitude of his trip.

“Twelve days was astir close for me,” Maezawa added. “I americium getting implicit the question sickness truthful I tin bask the remaining days. I americium returning connected the 20th and starting to miss Japan. Once I return, I privation to person sushi!”

Maezawa and Hirano, who was filming his mission, blasted disconnected for the International Space Station connected Wednesday successful a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.

Space Adventures, a Virginia-based institution that organized his flight, had antecedently sent 7 different tourists to the abstraction presumption successful 2001-2009.

Maezawa expressed his profound admiration for the abstraction station's crew. In summation to Misurkin, they see NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Mark Vande Hei; Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov; and Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency.

“They are similar super-heroes who prevention Earth,” helium said. “Not lone that they are up of the latest science, but trained physically and mentally, and precise brave. I tin consciousness straight however quality tin make this far, and our lives beryllium connected these radical – however it changes successful the future. I respect them a lot.”

He and Hirano volition beryllium returning to Earth with Misurkin connected Sunday.

Before the flight, Maezawa had compiled a database of 100 things to bash successful abstraction during his ngo aft asking the nationalist for ideas.

“I americium looking guardant to doing immoderate sports wrong the abstraction presumption – badminton, array tennis and golf," helium told the AP. "What I americium not looking guardant to that overmuch is toilet-related stuff. ”

Maezawa made his luck successful retail fashion, launching Japan’s largest online manner mall, Zozotown. Forbes mag estimated his nett worthy astatine $1.9 billion.

The tycoon has besides booked a flyby astir the satellite aboard Elon Musk’s Starship, which is tentatively scheduled successful the adjacent fewer years. He’ll beryllium joined connected that travel by 8 contention winners.

“I americium readying to spell to the satellite successful 2023 – we are successful the last stages of selecting the 8 radical for the Dear Moon project,” helium said.

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