Vancouver artist a finalist for 1st civilian mission to the moon – CTV News Vancouver

VANCOUVER -- A Vancouver artist is one of 20 finalists hoping for a spot on the first civilian mission to the moon.

The first mission to the moon is expected to take place in 2023 with a rocket developed by SpaceX. The trip will take a week and travel to the moon and back.

In 2018, Japenese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa bought all the seats on the rocket and wants to give spots to eight people from around the world.

In a video, Maezawa said he received applications from more than one million people around the world. Applicants were asked to send in videos explaining what they want to accomplish in space.

Vancouver-based Boris Moshenkov is a finalist in the Dear Moon project, which is narrowing down candidates for the trip.

Moshenkov says as a painter, he's dreamt of going to space ever since he was a kid.

"Somehow it just feels like I've manifested all this from painting space all these years," Moshenkov said. "Of course the space travel portion is going to be amazing, but what will we create after come back? How will this inspire us?"

As a finalist, Moshenkov will receive space training. It's unclear when the final team will be selected.

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Vancouver artist a finalist for 1st civilian mission to the moon - CTV News Vancouver