Meet The First Nigerian Man Going To The Moon… On A DearMoon Mission [Photos]

The “dearMoon mission,” a lunar voyage scheduled for 2023, will see nine passengers aboard a Starship, including Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and Yemi Akinyemi Dele, a choreographer of Nigerian origin.

This extraordinary journey will take the participants on a loop around the moon, though they won’t be landing on its surface. The mission is generously sponsored by Maezawa, who has invited approximately six to eight artists, encompassing painters, sculptors, fashion designers, and architects, to join the expedition at no cost.

Maezawa envisions that the experience of this spaceflight will profoundly influence the participating artists, inspiring them to create new forms of art. This art will be shared with the world after their return to Earth, with the intention of inspiring humanity and fostering global peace.

Maezawa opened the opportunity to artists worldwide to apply for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. On December 8, 2022, he announced the selection of eight crew members from a pool of over a million applicants, among them Yemi Akinyemi Dele, a Nigerian-Czech choreographer and multidisciplinary creative artist.