A Japanese billionaire wants 8 people to come with him on SpaceX's first civilian mission round the moon. Here's what it's like to apply for the competition.

First you have to go to Maezawa's "Dear Moon" website, which looks like this.

To get to the application stage, there's a big "Join the Crew" button.

The application process is simple. Just fill out a form with basic details about yourself with a picture - and say which of Maezawa's social media accounts you follow.

Once you've applied, you get a certificate with your name and your photo superimposed onto a spacesuit.

According to the website, the timeline for screening applicants goes like this:

In a six-minute video, Maezawa talked about the mission and what he's looking for in applicants.

Maezawa explained why he's no longer taking just artists.

"Two years ago, I said I would like to invite artists from around the world to come along with me. That was the initial plan, but it has since evolved," Maezawa said in the video.

"I began to wonder, who do I mean by artists? A singer? A  dancer? A writer? The more I thought about it, the more ambiguous it became. And I began to think that maybe every single person who is doing something creative could be called an artist," he said.

"That is why I wanted to reach out to a wider, more diverse audience to give more people around the world the opportunity to join this journey. If you see yourself as an artist, then you're an artist," he added.

Maezawa said there are two key criteria for applicants.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also appeared in the video, and said he's confident the rocket will take off on schedule in 2023.