Let the four year hype begin…

Last night technological wunderkind Elon Musk announced the first private passenger on his journey to the moon: Japanese billionaire, and founder of Japanese clothing company ‘Zozo,’ Yusaku Maezawa. Then, in a move that would make even Richard Branson jealous, the entrepreneur announced that he’d purchased an additional eight seats aboard the revolutionary SpaceX rocket and would be distributing them to a yet-to-be-determined group of artists.

Now it appears as though even us humble commoners will have the opportunity to join in on the massive undertaking in the form of a livestream broadcasted entirely in VR.

Moon mission will be livestreamed in high def VR, so it’ll feel like you’re there in real-time minus a few seconds for speed of light — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2018

In a tweet posted earlier today via his official account, Musk revealed that the upcoming moon mission “will be livestreamed in high def VR, so it’ll feel like you’re there in real-time minus a few seconds for speed of light.”

The business magnate goes on to reference his ongoing Starlink program as a possible component of the operation. Musk and his team recently launched two satellites as part of the project, which hopes to eventually provide users the world over with a high-quality, low-cost internet network. With Musk confirming that it’s more than likely the Starlink initiative will be active prior to the missions launch, it’s entirely possible the network will play an integral role in this ambitious broadcast.

Regardless of how it’s done, a VR livestream broadcasted directly from space would no doubt capture the attention of just about everyone. With the missions launch scheduled for 2023 at the very earliest, it’ll be interesting to see just how far VR technology has progressed in that time and how we’ll eventually be viewing this cosmic art show.

Image Credit: Elon Musk / SpaceX