Musk's SpaceX to fly tourists to the moon in 2018

SpaceX has announced an ambitious plan to launch a rocket carrying two tourists on a trip around the moon as early as 2018, despite the fact it has not yet tested the vehicle which will make the journey.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and US carmaker Tesla Motors, made the announcement on Monday but would not reveal the names of the two people who had paid for the private service.

Neither would he give details of how much the two private citizens paid to complete the journey, which would be the first human trip to the moon in 45 years.

"This presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years," he said. "Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration."

The Falcon Heavy rocket is due to be tested with an unmanned flight later this year ahead of the planned departure late next year. The tourists will undergo health and fitness tests and conduct training sessions in the months leading up to the journey.

Musk added that the total distance that the rocket will travel could exceed all those that have gone before it. He also acknowledged that there was a certain amount of risk involved with the trip, something recognised also by those travelling.

"(The passengers) are entering this with their eyes open, knowing that there is some risk there. They're certainly not naive, and we'll do everything we can to minimise that risk, but it's not zero."

The rocket will not actually land on the moon, according to the SpaceX CEO, but will involve a looped trajectory around it.