Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is flying to the Moon this year, and T.O.P, a member of the boy group Big Bang, is joining him. Last year, Maezawa selected eight crew members to join his lunar tour, titled the dearMoon project. According to the project’s homepage, the crew will come back after a six-day orbit around the Moon. This is not Maezawa’s first trip to space, though. Going to space has been a buzz among billionaires as this lucrative achievement may lead to scientific discoveries or provide opportunities to make more money. Yet, despite the benefits of privatized space exploration, the billionaire space race has been subject to controversy.
In the early 2000s, three billionaires entered the space industry, with Elon Musk establishing Space X, Jeff Bezos starting Blue Origin, and Richard Branson creating Virgin Galactic. Since then, these billionaires have invested heavily in their companies to advance technology and eventually succeeded in sending more individuals to space. Public interest in space travel has been increasing after Bezos and Branson’s journey to space in 2021, leading people to term the new era of space exploration as “the billionaire space race."
Though the outcome of privatized space tourism is still unclear, the desire to leave a mark on history entices billionaires to continue venturing into space. Traveling to space could be a part of a childhood dream, a backup plan to escape Earth, or even a new industry to invest in. Whatever the reason is, the urge to be first and grab glory in the space industry could lead to new scientific discoveries and lower costs regarding space travel, just as the competition between the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union led to incredible scientific discoveries in space. Nevertheless, the space race might be just about the egoism of the world’s wealthiest men.
The biggest problem is that billionaires are overlooking their responsibilities to help humanity. According to the Guardian, Bezos spent about 5.5 billion U.S. dollars (USD), and Maezawa spent more than 88 million dollars to be in space. Although everyone is free to do whatever they please with their money, it is important to acknowledge that there are more imperative crises on Earth, such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, climate change, and world hunger. What may be an insignificant amount to billionaires might just bring about meaningful change if used for humanity, yet, unfortunately, billionaires still seem to use it for individual pleasures.
Moreover, billionaires overlook the unforeseeable perils of civilian space travel. During a test flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo in 2014, the vessel suddenly disintegrated in the air, killing the co-pilot, and scattering debris in the forests of California. Likewise, countless flights in the future may result in danger, not only for the billionaires themselves but also for their passengers. In addition, billionaires should also be concerned about the environmental impacts space travel would bring. Although the effects space travel has on global emissions are yet indefinite, experts suggest that air pollutants, chemicals, and exhaust from rockets will deplete Earth’s ozone layer, having a significant impact on our society in the long term.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has allowed individuals and their private organizations to take over the production of rockets, as they are more efficient and affordable compared to previous eras. However, billionaires do not seem to comprehend that a launch into space is not like a walk in the park. After several successful flights, they are showing even more greed, taking the lead in the discussion on space. It is time for the public to be included in the discussion of space technology development.