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Japanese Billionaire Returns From His $80M Space Trip, Ready for the Next One

The Japanese billionaire who recently joined the ranks of private space tourists returned to Earth safely and ready for his even greater space adventure that’s coming up in a couple of years.
Yusaku Maezawa will become the first private tourist to fly on the SpaceX moon trip 6 photos
Photo: Instagram/Yusaku Maezawa
Yusaku MaezawaYusaku MaezawaYusaku MaezawaYusaku Maezawa2021 Soyuz Flight Crew
The Russian Space Agency announced that, on the morning of December 20, the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft descent vehicle made it back to Earth, landing at a designated area in Kazakhstan. Yusaku Maezawa – one of the richest people in Japan, who built his fortune in the e-commerce sector, his assistant and producer Yozo Hirano, as well as the Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, the spacecraft commander, have come back, all in good health.

But when coming back from space, you’re not supposed to just jump right back into your normal routine. All three of them will have to go through a program of post-flight rehabilitation, which will last at least two weeks and up to 21 days.

At the Prelaunch Training and Post-Flight Rehabilitation Complex for Cosmonauts (Astronauts) in Star City, close to Moscow, the crew will work on regaining physical form under medical supervision, which means they’ll be exercising and focusing on muscle strength.

It’s been 12 days of fun for the eccentric billionaire, who kept his social media followers up to date on his apparently trivial activities in space – Maezawa showed everyone what it’s like to brush your teeth or eat snacks in space, for example. But, as superficial as it may seem, there are indeed curiosities that many people would have when it comes to living in space as a simple tourist instead of a professional cosmonaut.

The jaw-dropping $80 million space adventure was only a trial run for Maezawa, who is actually gearing up for his greatest endeavor yet – in 2023, he’s set to become the first private passenger on the highly-anticipated SpaceX trip to the moon.

He probably won’t be able to show off his initials on Elon Musk’s rocket, as he did with the Soyuz spacecraft that took him to the International Space Station (ISS), but his name will still be remembered for generations to come.

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About the author: Otilia Drăgan
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Otilia believes that if it’s eco, green, or groundbreaking, people should know about it (especially if it's got wheels or wings). Working in online media for over five years, she's gained a deeper perspective on how people everywhere can inspire each other.
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