SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, has signed up the world's first private passenger to fly around the moon.

The mission, which will be aboard the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) -the next-generation reusable launch vehicle developed by SpaceX - will see Japanese billionaire and online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa mark the first visit to the Moon by humans since Nasa's Apollo 17 landing in 1972.

"Lasting about a week, the journey will come as close as 125 miles to the moon’s surface before completing lunar transit and returning back to earth," the company said in a tweet.

The company said the flight represented "an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of travelling to space".

Maezawa will be inviting eight artists from around the world to join him on the journey around the moon, which is scheduled for 2023. - TradeArabia News Service