Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa loves all things space. He purchased the first trip around the moon aboard SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle that is currently under development at Boca Chica, Texas. The circumlunar voyage is scheduled until 2023, Maezawa just couldn’t wait to finally see Earth from outer space so he booked a spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) with U.S.-based space tourism agency ‘Space Adventures’.
Maezawa lifted off aboard a Roscosmos Soyuz rocket on December 8 at 2:38 a.m. EST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russia. Maezawa invited video producer Yozo Hirano along for the ride, who filmed his adventure. “I am excited to share every aspect of my journey with everyone on Earth,” Maezawa stated before the launch. They were accompanied aboard the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft by professional Roscosmos Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. They arrived to the Space Station after a 6-hour-long trip. Maezawa shared multiple videos of his twelve-day adventure at the Space Station this week. He returned from the orbiting laboratory on Sunday, December 19. The Soyuz MS-20 capsule landed on terra firma under snowy conditions and sub-zero temperatures at the landing site about 150-kilometers South East of the town of Zhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan.
Maezawa shared a collection of fun videos showing how astronauts life at the Space Station is like, including how they sleep at the Space Station and even how they go to the restroom! All the videos can be found on his official YouTube channel, the most interesting videos are linked below. Maezawa also shared a beautiful view of Earth out a window from one of the Russian modules. “I’m actually right beside this window that shows Earth very clearly,” Maezawa says. “There’s a lot of backlight, but can you see? I think a lot of people ask, ‘Is it actually that blue?’ or ‘Is it really round?’ but as you can see, it really is round and it really is blue. Truly beautiful.”