Chennai, India

A seat on a rocket that would fly from Earth to the Moon's orbit, an opportunity to reach the furthest that earthly humans ever have and to return to the planet that we call home. All for Free! Would you sign up? If all goes well, Dev Joshi, a 22-year-old from India will be accomplishing all of the above well before he turns 24. 

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Indian Astronaut Rakesh Sharma has been the only Indian citizen to travel to space. He accomplished the feat way back in 1984, as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme.

Dev aspires to be the second Indian to match Sharma's feat as India's own national astronaut mission 'Gaganyaan' is expected to kick off, only by the end of 2024 or later.

WION spoke to Dev Joshi to understand his thoughts on the immense calculated risk he has chosen to take and what he hopes to gain from this out-of-the-world experience.

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An established actor in the Indian television space, Dev Joshi was in the midst of a shoot when he came across the 'dearMoon Project'.

Announced in 2018 and entirely funded by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, the project would take eight individuals along with Maezawa on a week-long trip to the moon on board a SpaceX Starship and Superheavy rocket. The initiative is aimed at promoting art and global peace.

Read more: ISRO to carry out two test missions, two uncrewed missions before ‘Gaganyaan’ astronaut flight 

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"It was my interest about space that motivated me to try and apply, sometime in 2021 when the applications were invited...Then on, there were assignments, Zoom meetings and finally an in-person meeting with Yusaku Maezawa in 2021 (at a location that I'm not permitted to disclose)," Joshi recalls. 

The youngster says he cherished his interactions with the 47-year-old Japanese billionaire as both shared their aspirations and outlook.

"He didn't have the airs of a big billionaire, we enjoyed a game of table tennis and listened to music together."

Several rigorous and expensive medical tests and interviews later, Dev knew that he had made it to the "dear Moon CREW". However, it was only in December 2022 that the formal announcement was made.

Dev sees it as a huge opportunity for his generation and his home country India, as this is a first-of-its-kind project and the most ambitious space tourism venture.

His co-passengers on this mission are artists from across domains, hailing from South Korea, USA, UK, Japan, Czech Republic, and Ireland.

"Even today only astronauts and scientists are going to space and beyond...I believe that a team of diverse artists heading to Lunar orbit will give rise to artistic perspectives about the experience and will inspire the next generation... We are even having a discussion on what we can carry to space - musical instruments, cameras,costumes etc.," Joshi says. 

Read more: Indian start-up partners with ISRO to develop satellite-based QKD secure communication

While there is cheer and excitement about this journey, there are immense risks involved because it's an all-new rocket and spacecraft and the crew onboard is a team without a scientific background.

Following the first orbital test of the new rocket, sometime in 2023, the crew is expected to undergo rigorous training to undertake the journey.

Dev's businessman father Dushyant and homemaker mother Devangna are equally excited about what lies ahead for their son. Dev held discussions and sought his parents' mentorship at every stage of the process. 

"Not much fear...of course it is risky...we are excited...the feeling cannot be expressed in words..." the parents say.

Usually, those in their early 20s would be bidding goodbye to their parents, while heading abroad for higher studies. In this case, it's a trip to the lunar orbit, the greatest adventure and risk in human history.

While the actual flight is scheduled to happen in 2023, a lot of questions remain unanswered - the mission readiness and safety record of the SpaceX Starship and Superheavy rocket, whether an uncrewed flight would first be carried out to lunar orbit, whether the crew is adequately prepared for such a daunting task.

It must be remembered, despite their experience of the Apollo lunar landing missions in the 60s and 70s, even NASA is taking a safe approach by performing unmanned flights to the moon, before the actual manned mission as part of the ongoing Artemis programme.

"I trust Elon Musk and SpaceX," says Dev, confident about the historic journey. 

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