Former BigBang member T.O.P, also known as Choi Seung-hyun, has shared his thoughts on the cancellation of the dearMoon project.
The dearMoon project announced through its official account on June 1, “It is unfortunate to be announcing that ‘dearMoon,’ the first private circum-lunar flight project, will be canceled. We thank everyone who has supported us and apologize to those who have looked forward to this project.”
T.O.P, who participated in the project as a crew member, also shared on his personal account, “As you may have heard, the ‘dearMoon’ project has unfortunately been canceled,” adding, “However, I am deeply grateful to Mr. Yusaku Maezawa for conceptualizing the ‘dearMoon’ project.”
He continued, “This was the greatest and most beautiful art project for the development of mankind that no one in the world would have dared to imagine, and the courage to even attempt this mission was truly extraordinary to witness,” emphasizing, “My dream is by no means over.”
He said, “Being selected as a ‘dearMoon’ crew member was one of the greatest honors of my life. My heart is full of gratitude for the experiences I gained and the friendships I made through this process. Over the last few years since joining ‘dearMoon,’ I feel that my body and soul have forged a deep, direct connection with the moon,” and added, “My body and soul connected with the moon and space have already inspired me to compose a lot of new music. The moon has and will continue to nourish my soul and fill me up with meaning and inspiration forever.”
He concluded, “My dream to travel to the moon is not over. It has become the ultimate and greatest goal of my life, an official challenge, and a core mission for my life,” adding, “I feel a deep responsibility to all the people who cheered for and supported me through this process to make them proud.”
T.O.P announced his participation in the dearMoon project in 2022, a lunar tourism initiative by SpaceX, a United States space exploration company founded by Elon Musk. The project aimed to be the first private lunar flight, with T.O.P among the eight crew members scheduled to participate. It was set to fly around the moon aboard a spacecraft developed by SpaceX for about a week.
In November last year, the dearMoon project announced, “Initially targeted to liftoff in late 2023, the launch will not take place this year due to the ongoing development of Starship,” and then, after about six months, announced the cancellation of the project.
