Have you ever got this strong desire to just pack your bags and go somewhere far away from the chaos of this world? And, by far we mean REALLY far. Well, you can get out of this world by taking a trip to space. And don’t freak out as you don’t have to be a professional astronaut to go to space. You can simply be a space tourist….. by paying millions of dollars !!
Space tourism is an endeavor of the aviation industry to provide civilians an opportunity to be an astronaut and experience space expedition for recreational purposes. The ticket to space is obviously highly expensive. Very few people in the world have been able to afford this trip to space so far.
The Russian Space Agency, now known as Roscosmos, is the only organization in the world that has successfully provided the facility of orbital touring to space so far. In the early 2000s, the agency began the trips and took as many as seven tourists to space in a span of about 10 years. The first one to tour space was an American businessman Dennis Tito who with this trip became the first ever space tourist in the world. He boarded a Russian Soyuz rocket that arrived at the International Space Station on April 30, 2001. The second space trip was undertaken by Mark Shuttleworth, a South African Businessman. A telecommunications entrepreneur, Anousheh Ansari became the first female space tourist and fourth overall by embarking on a space tour in 2006. Each of them paid atleast 20 Million dollars for the journey.
Unfortunately, the Roscosmos had to cease this service as NASA‘s space shuttle retired in 2011, leaving the Russian Soyuz as the only space vehicle for commuting NASA astronauts to and from the space station. Hence, the recreational tours had to stop. But the good news is that according to a report by The Verge, after a decade-long gap Russia is finally going to do a comeback in the field of space tourism. The report also stated that the tourists will be able to do spacewalk with an experienced cosmonaut.
Not only Roscosmos, NASA in 2019 also made an announcement that it would allow civilians to fly to the International Space System.
Another ambitious company Virgin Galactic has been developing and testing their tourism spacecraft since years. It was founded by British billionaire Richard Branson about two decades ago. According to a CNN report, the company is bringing ex-Disney executive Michael Colglazier as its CEO.
In March 2020, Axiom Space announced that it had signed a contract with Elon Musk’s rocket company, SapceX for Space Tourism. According to a report, this 10-day stay tour in space can happen in 2021 at about 55 Million dollars per ticket. Two days for the up down and about 8 days on-board. According to The New York Times, one ticket has already been booked. This flight can be the first space flight without the involvement of government space agencies.
SpaceX is also involved in a Lunar Tourism Mission titled #dearMoon project. This project has been financed by a Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and he will take with him few artists to provide them some inspiration. This expedition is expected to take place in 2023.
(Feature image source: Wall Street Journal)
