Space tourist Maezawa reveals lessons from $120m ISS stay

Japanese space tourist Yusaku Maezawa has been making 100 videos to explain the intricacies of his $120m holiday to space. Photo / Roscosmos Space Agency; YouTube

A billionaire space tourist has shared the lessons learned since blasting off this weekend, as the first resident vlogger.

Japanese tycoon Yusaku Maezawa paid a reported $118m for the 12-night stay on the International space station.

The space tourist copped a bit of criticism for the extravagant holiday but told an AP live interview that the "amazing" experience was worth it. He was determined to make every moment of the $9.8 million a night stay count.

Having compiled a list of 100 things to do in space during his 'mission', he had asked the public for ideas. The results of which, he was uploading in a series of social media posts, in the unofficial role of the International Space Station's first resident vlogger.

He and his video producer will be spending just under a fortnight in space.

"I'll be doing a lot of experiments and activities, filming them and sharing them to my Youtube and Twitter," he said.

In the interview, Maezawa said it was a very small number of people who could afford it and there was a very short window in which people were physically able to go.

"It is not only about money," Maezawa told the AP. "It takes time for your body to adjust in this environment and the training for emergencies takes at least a few months. So, honestly speaking, it is only accessible for those who have time and are physically fit and those who can afford it. But we don't know if that is still going to be the case in 10 years, 20 years' time."

So what are the lessons that $80m and a ticket to space will teach you?

You go to the loo in a vacuum cleaner

Part of the mission Maezawa was least looking forward to.

In a vlog he revealed a yellow 'pee pipe' which made an intense suction noise.

"There are a lot of wet wipes in the toilet"

Due to the Zero-gravity environment, it's vital that waste doesn't leave the loo, or it could end up throughout the small space station. It's not only smells that can spread.

It was the first place he went to after the long journey to space.

"I haven't made any mistakes so far," he said.

The Japanese billionaire and his producer rocketed to space Wednesday as the first paying space tourists in more than a decade. Photo / Ivan Timoshenko, Roscosmos Space Agency

A day lasts 90 minutes

Soaring past the Earth at 28,000 kilometers per hour, the international space station completes an orbit once every one and a half hours.

Sharing a timelapse from out the window Maezawa showed the disorienting view, of the earth.

"This is exactly an entire orbit around Earth," he said. "Breathtaking."

Took a time lapse of Earth from the ISS window.
This is exactly an entire orbit around Earth. Breathtaking. pic.twitter.com/54L8lwdmLr

— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) (@yousuckMZ) December 12, 2021

"The sun is really intense. You see everything from a different light"

Spaceport screening is way more intense than air travel

Even with the current restrictions and security measures in the era of Covid, catching a flight on a rocket is way more intense than airport travel.

Everything has to be disinfected to ensure nothing stows away in space and before launch, astronauts are held for hours on standby.

I had to "disinfect my skin, wear my space underwear and flightsuit," said Maezawa.

$10m a night doesn't afford you a lot of comfort

"I am not sleeping well, to be honest," he told AP. "A sleeping bag has been provided but it is too hot."

"It's like a pod hotel," he revealed in a recent vlog entry, strapping into a vertical bed. There's small comfort on the Space Station.

The fashion mogul who runs a billion-dollar clothing empire has also been forced to pack light.

"For a 12-night stay, we actually only get 4 sets of underpants and socks." There will not be many changes of outfit on this trip.

"I'll wear the same underwear as long as I can," he says.

" You never know what will happen in the second half of the trip. I want a spare pair, In case there are any accidents."

He's been looking forward to this trip for a long time

Prior to his flight, Maezawa moved to Kazakhstan for an intense training regime.

This involved some high-tech tests and not so high-tech techniques.

In the run-up to his space mission, he revealed he had been sleeping in a tilted bed, propped up on blocks, to prepare him for zero gravity.

【11 days until Launch🚀】

Unusual training in Russia ①

Place a wooden block underneath the legs of the bed to tilt it. Get the blood flowing down to your head and sleep in that position.#MZJourneytoSpace pic.twitter.com/KF1Fpx35yC

— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) (@yousuckMZ) November 27, 2021

"Place a wooden block underneath the legs of the bed to tilt it. Get the blood flowing down to your head and sleep in that position."

More intense training involved exposure to the centrifugal force in a spinning chair.

"Some cosmonauts say it's necessary, some say it's not. Either way, it's the hardest training ever done."

He described the two-week space excursion as a "humbling experience" however he missed his home comforts.

"Once I return, I want to have sushi!" he told the Associated Press.

The experience hasn't dampened his taste for space. In 2023 he is scheduled to be the first paying customer of SpaceX's moon mission.

With 8 spare tickets, Maezawa has been running a competition to audition would-be astronauts to join him on the long-distance flight.

"I am planning to go to the moon in 2023 – we are in the final stages of selecting the 8 people for the Dear Moon project," he said.

- With additional reporting from Associated Press