Space X to send two tourists around the moon

WASHINGTON: SpaceX is planning to fly two private citizens around the moon next year, the first manned trip to the Earth's only natural satellite in more than four decades, the private company said on Monday.
It did not provide details on the space tourists, but noted they had provided a "significant deposit" and would undergo health and fitness tests to determine if they could make the trip.
The last people on the moon were part of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
SpaceX will not be landing on the moon, but instead orbit it.
The company, founded by internet pioneer and entrepreneur Elon Musk, also hopes to conduct private missions to Mars in the future.
The US, Japan, Russia and China have all proposed manned moon missions for the coming decades, with the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Nasa) planning a manned flight around the moon as a stepping stone to eventually travelling to Mars.
In a separate statement, Nasa said: "We will work closely with SpaceX to ensure it safely meets the contractual obligations to return the launch of astronauts to US soil."
For more than a decade, Nasa has invested in private industry to develop capabilities to advance humanity's future in space. – dpa