Vancouver artist over the moon after being chosen as finalist for SpaceX mission

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A Vancouver artist is preparing for the chance of a lifetime by running long distances, meditating, and taking ice baths after being chosen as a finalist in a contest that could land him onboard the first civilian mission to the moon.

The “Dear Moon” project will launch eight people into space on a SpaceX rocket in 2023. After receiving more than a million applications from people in 249 countries, 20 finalists have been chosen.

And Boris Moshenkov is one of them. Describing himself as a “product of the USSR,” he says he was captivated by the space race and idolized astronaut Yuri Gagarin when he was a child.

“I dreamt of it since I was a child. We looked at astronauts as our heroes and our superheroes,” he explains, adding he used to have plans of becoming an astronaut himself before he decided to pursue art.

“Here I am, I get to sort of couple those two passions together.”

https://twitter.com/dearmoonproject/status/1415861121223823364

Artists, according to Moshenkov, are driven to explore and understand the world around them, and travelling to space will take that exploration to a whole other level.

“It’s honestly mind-blowing to me. I mean, this entire process has just been mind-bending. I think of it every morning when I wake up, and I can’t believe that I’m here. I mean, the universe, we all have such an innate curiosity about it. But for an artist, I think there’s something even deeper there,” he says.

“It’s no coincidence that artists have painted landscapes and cityscapes. They’ve been exploring where they are so that the rest of us can figure out, ‘Where am I?'”

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has purchased all eight seats onboard the rocket, and Moshenkov has already started preparing himself in hopes he’ll be chosen.

“I’m doing a lot of long-distance running. I’m just trying to prepare my mind. I’m trying to be as sharp as possible, mentally, physically, and spiritually. I’m meditating twice a day, I also do calisthenics. And I jump in a bath full of ice, and I sit in there for 20 plus minutes. So I’m trying to do a bunch of difficult things to prepare myself,” he says.

The final crew was supposed to be announced in June, but the decision has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trip will last a week, travelling to the moon and back.