World's First Space Tourist Books Flight Around The Moon On SpaceX Ship

Twenty-one years ago, Dennis Tito made history by becoming the first civilian to travel to outer space when he paid Russia $20 million for the privilege of leaving Earth for just ten minutes.

Now, at 82 years old, Tito plans to return to space for a much longer journey. Tito, along with his wife, Akiko, and up to ten others, are planning a weeklong trip to the moon and back.

They won't get to land on the moon during the trip. Instead, they will fly within 125 miles of the moon before returning to Earth.

Tito signed on with SpaceX and will fly to the moon within the next five years on the yet-to-be-completed Starship.

"We have to keep healthy for as many years as it's going to take for SpaceX to complete this vehicle," Tito told the Associated Press. "I might be sitting in a rocking chair, not doing any good exercise, if it wasn't for this mission."

While the SpaceX Starship has yet to launch atop a Super Heavy booster, the company has already contracted with NASA to use it to land astronauts on the moon by 2025, which would be the first time humans have been to the moon since 1972.