Elon Musk’s SpaceX is ready to send someone to the moon. And tonight, it’s going to introduce that person to the world.
The private space agency will reveal its first private lunar passenger at 6 p.m. PDT/9 p.m. EDT on Monday, September 17. Assuming the mission goes according to plan, that person will be the 25th human to visit the moon—and the first to go there since 1972, according to SpaceX.
Technically, the astronaut won’t visit the moon, but will rather do a pass-by. The BFR—Big Falcon Rocket, though many people assume the F stands for something else—launch vehicle will fly around the moon in its maiden flight. Still, SpaceX classifies this as “an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space.”
SpaceX and Musk have played it coy with the identity of the astronaut since announcing plans to reveal his or her identity last week. Musk dropped a cryptic hint via Twitter, sparking speculation the traveler would be from Japan.
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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 14, 2018
The announcement, which will be streamed live from the company’s headquarters, can be watched below.
The BFR is still in development. Testing is scheduled to begin in March 2019, and the company says it will begin test launches with passengers in April 2019. (That could be delayed, however.)
Ultimately, the company hopes to send the BFR to Mars.
