SpaceX to fly mystery person around the Moon

Elon Musk hinted the space tourist may be Japanese

SpaceX will send the space tourist aboard its BFR launch vehicle (SpaceX)

Elon Musk's space exploration company SpaceX is set to reveal the name of the first ever paying passenger it will send into space.

The private space firm announced on Twitter that it would reveal who is flying "and why" on Monday, 17 September, describing the venture as "an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of travelling to space."

Few details were given about the trip, beyond saying the passenger would be launched into space by SpaceX's Big Falcon Rocket. Musk hinted that the mystery person may be from Japan, tweeting a Japanese flag emoji.

The high cost of the trip – estimated at around $150m (£120m) – means the person is also presumably a billionaire. According to Forbes magazine's rich list, there are 34 Japanese-born billionaires in the world, though many of them may be too old to take the trip.

Extensive health and fitness tests are required of the passenger, as well as astronaut training. Previous space tourist hopefuls, such as Japan's Daisuke Enomoto, have been prevented from travelling to space at the last minute after failing medical tests.

Last year, the company announced that two private citizens had already paid a significant deposit for a trip around the Moon, though the cost of the ticket was not revealed.

"Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal spirit of exploration," a SpaceX blog post stated.

"This presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years and they will travel faster and further into the Solar System than any before them."

At the time, SpaceX said the mission would use its Falcon Heavy rocket to launch them in space. The decision to use the BFR fits with SpaceX's eventual plan to send humans to Mars using the massive rocket.

Billionaire entrepreneur and founder of SpaceX Elon Musk speaks below a computer generated illustration of his new rocket at the 68th International Astronautical Congress 2017 in Adelaide on September 29, 2017 (PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)

Musk has set a date of 2022 for the Mars mission, telling a conference last year, "that's not a typo, although it is aspirational." 2022 is also the 50th anniversary of the last human mission to the Moon.

"I feel fairly confident that we can complete the ship and be ready for a launch in about five years," he said. "Five years seems like a long time to me."