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Space Tourism: How to Visit Space as a Tourist

Last updated: August 28, 2023 . Written by Laurence Norah - 4 Comments

Despite the name of this blog, I have been distressingly earth bound for all of my years thus far. Given recent developments in space exploration technology though, hope is not yet lost for the dream of going into space as a tourist – without having to shell out the millions of dollars that past tourists have paid!

In today’s post, I’m going to talk about a few things. I’m going to cover where space travel & exploration is today.

I’m going to talk about what options we have now, and may have in the future, for getting into space as a tourist. And I’m also going to cover a few ways those of us stuck on Earth without access to a giant pile of cash can still get our space fix around the world!

The State of Space Travel as a Tourist in 2023

Huge strides are happening right now in space exploration, particularly with private companies looking at opening up space to your average person. Admittedly, right now, space tourism isn’t exactly accessible.

Up to 2009, only 7 people made it into space as tourists, all travelling with the Russian Space Agency, and all paying in excess of USD $20 million.

These weren’t exactly hop-on hop-off trips either, with the participants undergoing months of training, and many of them actively running their own experiments in space. So to call them space tourists is perhaps a bit of a misnomer.

However, things have now changed, and trips into space are becoming more affordable. Admittedly, they aren’t exactly “budget”, but they are less than $20 million a go.

So what’s changed?

Well, put simply, private investment. Whilst massive government organisations like NASA , the Russian Space Agency and the European Space Agency are always researching and expanding their space exploration efforts, their focus isn’t exactly on getting folks like you and me into space – at least not in the near term. Their focus is on long term scientifically focused exploration missions, with perhaps the most exciting being NASA’s Journey to Mars .

Other organisations though, see the potential for space based tourism as a way to generate funds and publicity for their projects. There are three main players in the space tourism business right now – Virgin Galactic , SpaceX and Blue Origin .

Let’s take a look at the main players with whom you have a real chance of getting into space within the next few years.

How to Go To Space As A Tourist

Other than flagging down a passing UFO Ford Prefect style, or signing up to be an astronaut with a government agency, getting into space is a bit tricky. But that’s all changing, and these are the companies with whom you are most likely to be able to travel into space.

1. Virgin Galactic

Part of the Virgin Group headed up by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic currently offers sub-orbital flights to paying passengers aboard their SpaceShipTwo and SpaceShipThree craft.

Sub-orbital means that you’re not high enough to actually orbit the earth, but as the goal you do pass the 100km line that marks the edge of space, you will technically be in space, and also experience weightlessness. Hurrah!

The good news is that as of June 2023, commercial space flights have actually commenced. Trips are scheduled to go monthly, and you can now buy tickets for a voyage into space with Virgin Galactic. They are currently on sale for $450,000.

Admittedly, $450,000 USD isn’t exactly small change, but it’s a lot less expensive than the $20 million that previous space travellers have paid. For your money, you get three days of training at Spaceport America in New Mexico, a flight into space, a somewhat incredible view and a period of weightlessness. Not too bad.

2. Blue Origin

Owned by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin is a private company which initially appeared to be focusing on sub-orbital flight, much like Virgin Galactic.

Unlike Virgin Galactic though, which uses a combination of a normal plane and a rocket plane to achieve the necessary space altitude, Blue Origin are using more conventional rocket technology, with a focus on re-usable components that cut the cost of launches.

Other than the spacecraft, the experience is largely the same – a sub-orbital flight that comprises a few days of training in Texas, a journey lasting around 11 minutes to up beyond the 100km line, weightlessness and some incredible views.

The technology to do this will look familiar to any fans of existing space flight technologies, including the capsule that returns to Earth by parachute, meaning that there are fewer technical hurdles to overcome.

As of 2021, flights have commenced on the New Shepherd, with Jeff Bezos being the first into space. The ticket for the first commercially available seat in the July 2021 launch was auctioned off for a cool $28 million.

Since that launch, there have been a number of flights with paying customers.

Regular pricing isn’t set, although it’s currently rumored to be around $1 million per seat. A timeframe for general availability of commercial flights isn’t yet known. You can sign up to be kept informed and updated however.

Perhaps even more excitingly than the New Shepherd program is its successor – the New Glenn program. This should offer longer duration, possibly even orbital flights, although details are currently sparse on the ground, with operations aimed to launch in late 2024. We do know however that priority on these trips will be given to New Shepherd customers.

Last in our trio of serious contenders for firms that will take your money and send you into space in the next few years is SpaceX .

SpaceX is owned by Elon Musk, who is particularly famous for being the CEO and co-founder of Tesla Inc, the electric car and battery manufacturer, amongst other things.

SpaceX largely focuses on commercial launch capabilities, with a particular focus on reusable rocket technologies that bring down the cost of putting payloads into orbit.

They’ve been hugely successful in this field, with multiple achievements, including being the first privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.

They were also the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, and have since flown many missions to the ISS.

Whilst the majority of their work is on commercial and government contracts for putting things like satellites into orbit, some recent developments have put SpaceX firmly on the space tourism map.

First, in 2017 they announced that they had been contracted by two private individuals who want to go on a trip around the moon. This was originally due to launch in 2018, but has been postponed until at least 2024. It will be by far the most ambitious space tourism endeavor to date by any company, and you can read more about the project here .

SpaceX are also starting to sell tickets on their Crew Dragon capsule, which is the launch system NASA is using to shuttle astronauts to the ISS. These are not generally available, but a 3-day mission consisting entirely of tourists took place in 2021, with further missions expected. These are still priced in the tens of millions of dollars though, so don’t bank on these becoming affordable for a while to come.

Next, SpaceX is actively working on technology to colonise Mars, with a lofty goal of setting up a permanent colony on the red planet, home to over a million people, within the next 100 years.

Whilst the current estimate of cost for such a ride is in the region of $10 billion USD per person, SpaceX is aiming to bring that down to $100,000 through the development of their Interplanetary Transport System . This won’t happen in the near-term, but by the end of the century tourism to Mars might be a real possibility, with lunar and earth-orbital flights the norm by then.

4. Other Contenders

So those are the main players who, in my opinion, have the most realistic chances of taking you to space in the coming decade. But they aren’t the only players in the space tourism arena! Here are a few others to be aware of who might give you a chance of getting off Planet Earth.

Bigelow Aerospace: Bigelow Aerospace are actually a pretty major name when it comes to space technology, and if you ever happen to find yourself in a hotel on the moon or floating around the Earth, it’s likely going to be inside one of their inflatable habitats.

This isn’t theoretical either, they’ve got an inflatable capsule attached to the International Space Station already undergoing feasibility testing. Owner Robert Bigelow made his fortune in hotels, and he sees no reason why we can’t have them in space too.

Space Perspective: Space Perspective are taking a slightly different approach to everyone else, in that their route to space is to fly passengers 100,000ft above the ground in capsule carried aloft by a gigantic hydrogen filled balloon.

Ok, so 100,000ft isn’t exactly space, but it is high enough to see the curvature of the earth. It’s likely to be a more sedate and relaxed experience as well, compared to firing yourself into space on some sort of rocket at least. And whilst experiencing zero-gee isn’t going to be on the cards, you should be able to enjoy the views from the wraparound windows whilst enjoying a tipple from the on-board bar!

Tickets for 2024 flights have already sold out, but you can book for 2025 at a cost of $125,000 per person.

Boeing: Boeing are currently under contract with NASA to build a crew transport vehicle that would be compatible with a number of rocket systems, primarily for the purpose of shuttling astronauts to the ISS. It was originally due to start those flights in late 2018. However, testing did not start until late 2019, and the current timetable for crewed flights is now 2023.

As part of their contract, this CST-100 Starliner was specified to include one seat specifically for the purposes of space tourism , allowing one passenger to just tag along for the ride as it were. For a price, naturally. That price is currently unknown, although the original goal was to have it price competitive with the Russian Space Agency, so don’t expect it to come under the tens of millions mark!

Mars One: Mars One was an organisation with a goal of establishing a permanent human colony on Mars by the year 2035. Announced in 2012, it encouraged members of the public to sign up for the one-way mission, which resulted in over 200,000 applicants. That was whittled down to 100, and then a final 24 candidates.

Unfortunately, the project was dogged by criticism, particularly around the technical and financial feasibility of the plan. Finally, Mars One entered administration in 2019.

The Best Space Sights and Activities on Earth

Ok, so based on all the above, you’re probably realising that space is still a pretty tough place to get to right now, and even over the next few years it’s still going to be pretty darn expensive for a fairly brief jaunt.

Don’t fret though. Planet Earth is a pretty cool place, and there are a lot of space-related activities you can take part in without re-mortgaging your house and strapping yourself to a rocket.

Here are a few places you can learn about space and space travel in the meantime! Let’s look at these.

1. Active Spaceports

Whilst you might not get into space right now, you can still visit a spaceport and dream of the future! I’ve picked three spaceports for you to think about visiting.

Spaceport America, USA. Set in the high New Mexican desert, Spaceport America is the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, meaning it’s designed for commercial users. Yes, people like you and me. It’s the home base of Virgin Galactic, and is where that company will be operating from when they finally launch their space tourism flights. SpaceX also conduct some of their testing here. Unfortunately, you still can’t board a space trip here, but it’s a worthwhile place to visit, if only to get a tantalising glimpse of a possible future.

Kennedy Space Center, USA. Found in Florida, Kennedy Space Center is the main launch pad for NASA’s operations, and is where Apollo and Space shuttle launches took place. It’s a massive facility, spanning 144,000 acres. There’s a visitor centre on site, where you can learn all about NASA and it’s space operations, see an actual space shuttle and even experience a simulated space shuttle launch. Kennedy Space Center is still very much an active launch site, and you can also come here to watch rockets blast off into space – see their website for the launch schedule .

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. One of the world’s most famous spaceports, and certainly the oldest and largest, Baikonur Cosmodrome is where the majority of Russia’s space program has operated from, including the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin. It’s still very active, and you can in theory visit, however prices are steep for a one day tour ($700+), and can only be arranged via a specialist tour operator in a complex process that needs to be booked weeks in advance.

2. Space Museums

As well as active space ports, there are a lot of museums around the world dedicated to sharing man’s activities in space. Here are a few of the best.

Space Center Houston, USA. The official visitor centre for NASA’s center for human spaceflight activities, Space Center Houston is an excellent place to come and learn all about NASA’s efforts around getting people into space. It has a number of artifacts from our explorations to date, including a lunar module replica and various actual capsules that have been into space. Tip – if you’re visiting a few sights in Houston, you can save money by investing in a CityPASS card which will get you into the Space Center as well as a number of other attractions in the city.

New Mexico Museum of Space History, USA. Found in Alamogordo in southern New Mexico, the five storey New Mexico Museum of Space History is full of information about man’s efforts to get into space, with everything from information on early rocket technology through to more modern day exhibits including a space shuttle landing simulator. It’s also home to the International Hall of Space Fame, a planetarium, and offers fantastic views across the White Sands National Monument.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum , USA . Found in Washington, D.C., this enormous museum is home to the world’s largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world, including the Apollo 11 module and clothing worn by astronauts. With over 60,000 objects on display, you won’t run out of things to look at!

The National Space Centre, UK. Both a museum and an educational resource, the National Space Center in Leicester, UK, is home to six interactive galleries and the UK’s largest planetarium. A highlight though is the 42 metre high Rocket Tower , which houses a number of upright rockets, really giving you a feel for the enormity of these machines.

The U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Found in Huntsville, Alabama, right next door to NASA Marshall. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center has loads of information on the history of space flight, including two full size Saturn V rockets! This is also where you can attend Space Camp , a hands-on multi day training program for all ages, which will take you through a range of training similar to that which real astronauts do!

3. Space Themed Sights

We may be currently fairly stuck on the planet, but that doesn’t mean we’re not still hurtling through space, a small rock in a vast galaxy. Here are a few ways to help remind ourselves that there’s more out there than our horizon.

Meteor Craters. On our journey through space we regularly bump into errant lumps of space debris – around 100 tons a day in fact. Most often these lumps are so small (dust-specks really) that they just burn up in our atmosphere, creating beautiful shooting stars. However, anything larger than a marble has a chance of making to earth, although there are a lot of factors at work.

According to NASA , it’s the lumps that are around the size of a football field and up that make the most impact, and one of these hits us every couple of thousand of years. They can cause significant damage and leave a lasting impact. Two worth mentioning that you can visit are the aptly named “ Meteor Crater ” in Arizona, USA, and the Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater in Western Australia. Both of these are around a kilometre in diameter, meaning you can see the whole structure with the naked eye and really get a feel for the force required to create such a hole. Of course you can also find smaller ones all over the world.

Star Gazing. You might not be able to get to the stars, but that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate them. I always find that just lying back and staring into the vastness of space from a really dark location is a very powerful experience. You need to be somewhere far away from light pollution to get the best views of the night sky – there are dark sky preserves (and even festivals !) where you can get a great view, otherwise, head as far away from the lights as you can and just look up.

4. Giant Telescopes

How about if you can’t get into space, you try just looking at it through a really big magnifying glass and pretend you’re there? It might be as close as you can currently get to space for free, whilst also being wowed by humanities technological accomplishments. Below are four locations around the world where you can learn all about the art of looking into space. Of course, there are many more sites around the world and you can find a list of some of the major telescopes here although not all can be visited by the public.

The Very Large Array, USA. Far out in the New Mexico wilderness, the Very Large Array is one of the world’s largest and most impressive radio telescopes. Unlike an optical telescope, which look at visible light waves, a radio telescope looks at radio waves, and from that we can learn all sorts of things from how black holes are formed through to the creation of the universe itself. These radio waves require a very large telescope, which is why the VLA is actually made up of 27 dishes, which work together to capture radio waves. There’s a small visitor centre and self-guided walking trail, and there are guided tours on the first Saturday of the month. See the official website for more details.

Jodrell Bank, UK. If you’re in the UK , then a trip to Jodrell Bank is a good option for viewing impressively large radio telescopes. In fact, Jodrell Bank is home to the world’s third largest steerable radio telescope, as well as a number of other active telescopes. There’s a visitor centre where you can learn all about the telescopes, and all sorts of other space-related things.

The Very Large Telescope, Chile. Way up high in the mountains of Chile is the world’s most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory – the aptly named “ Very Large Telescope ”. Operated by the European Southern Observatory, this is the most impressive optical instrument in the world to date, consisting of four main mirrors that are over eight meters in diameter, as well as four 1.8m diameter mirrors. These work together to create a final image, and the telescope is powerful enough that it would be able to make out a cars headlights on the moon. It’s fairly remote, what with it being on a mountain top in Chile, but you can visit – check here for more information on tours.

Green Bank Observatory, USA – At time of writing, Green Bank Observatory is home to the worlds largest steerable radio telescope, the Green Bank Telescope. Constructed in 2001, it’s one of the newest US telescopes, and with a total collecting area of 2.3 acres, is certainly impressive to behold. You can take a tour of the observatory, and there are also weekly and monthly events at the site.

5. Extra-terrestrial spots

If you’re really desperate to get off planet, you might want to frequent a location which has a history of extra-terrestrial activity such as UFO sightings. Whilst E.T. is yet to make formal contact, who knows, you might get lucky and have the chance to hop on a passing spaceship!

  Roswell, USA. If you want to learn about aliens, then the town of Roswell in New Mexico has definitely got to be on your list. It became famous as the alleged site of a huge government cover-up of a supposed alien spaceship crash at a nearby ranch property, and the town has since embraced it’s position as the world’s most famous UFO hotspot. There are a number of alien themed attractions here – we’d recommend visiting the Roswell UFO museum as a good starting point.

El Enladrillado, Chile. Central Chile is well known as a UFO spotting hotzone. So much so in fact, that the country’s national tourism board established a UFO trail, a 30km long designated trail in the Andes mountains that centres around the town of San Clemente. This is definitely a good place to come to spot UFO’s, although the national tourism authority is keen to stress that a sighting isn’t guaranteed.

Nullabor Plain, Australia. When I was travelling in Australia, I had a memorable evening out in the outback on the vast Nullabor Plain with a chap who was convinced he was regularly visited by aliens. He might have been on to something of course, with this region of Australia being particularly famous for UFO sightings. And if you don’t see a UFO, fear not, the star gazing here is pretty epic too!

HR Giger Museum, Switzerland. If you prefer your aliens of the fantastical science fiction type, then a visit to the HR Giger museum in Gruyères, Switzerland, should definitely be on your list. It’s home a large collection of works by Swiss artists HR Giger, who famously created the monsters from the sci-fi classic horror movie Alien (and its sequels). Definitely one for the sci-fi fans.

Further Reading for your Space Trip

Well, that was a lot about space. Hopefully you’ve learnt a bit about your options for getting into space as a tourist, as well as some slightly more cost-effective ways to get your space fix on! Here are a few resources that you might find useful.

• Our favourite sights along the New Mexico Space Trail , USA. Plus a guide to attending the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta if you’re in New Mexico.
• Our guide to visiting Jasper National Park for their annual Dark Sky Festival
• A guide to attending Space Camp USA , as well as visiting the U.S Space and Rocket Center
• Official websites for Virgin Galactic , Blue Origin and SpaceX , for when you’ve saved up enough for that ticket to space
• The NASA Instagram feed , for mind blowing space images
• John Glenn’s memoir, to give you an insight into what it was like to be the first American to orbit the earth.
• Chris Hadfield’s book “ An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth ”, helping you understand how to make the impossible a reality, which seems like a good place to end this post!

Well, that was a lot to write about space travel and space tourism! We’re not quite there yet, but with the pace of developments I see no reason why, in the coming years and decades, that I won’t finally be able to realise my dream of heading up into space for real. Let me know in the comments if heading into space is a dream of yours!

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Lynn Magnuson says

17th February 2024 at 8:16 am

Traveling into space is something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a child. I remember sitting in class and I think it was the third grade and watching Alan Shepard blast off. I knew at that point that someday I wanted to do the same thing. It hasn’t happened yet, but as time goes by the chance to do so, becomes more and more a possibility. I hope someday I do get the chance.

I love your article. Very well written and very informative. Keep up the great writing. That’s another thing I share a passion for. Writing

Laurence Norah says

20th February 2024 at 1:45 am

I’m right there with you! I really hope you get the chance to get into space some day soon. It’s definitely getting closer as a possibility 🙂

Safe travels, be they earthbound or not!

roshmand says

2nd July 2023 at 6:57 pm

amazing poat. thanks

4th July 2023 at 9:39 am

thank you very much 🙂

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The Future of Space Tourism Is Now. Well, Not Quite.

From zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps, reservations for getting off the planet — or pretending to — are skyrocketing. The prices, however, are still out of this world.

By Debra Kamin

Ilida Alvarez has dreamed of traveling to space since she was a child. But Ms. Alvarez, a legal-mediation firm owner, is afraid of flying, and she isn’t a billionaire — two facts that she was sure, until just a few weeks ago, would keep her fantasy as out of reach as the stars. She was wrong.

Ms. Alvarez, 46, and her husband, Rafael Landestoy, recently booked a flight on a 10-person pressurized capsule that — attached to a massive helium-filled balloon — will gently float to 100,000 feet while passengers sip champagne and recline in ergonomic chairs. The reservation required a $500 deposit; the flight itself will cost $50,000 and last six to 12 hours.

“I feel like it was tailor-made for the chickens like me who don’t want to get on a rocket,” said Ms. Alvarez, whose flight, organized by a company called World View , is scheduled to depart from the Grand Canyon in 2024.

Less than a year after Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson kicked off a commercial space race by blasting into the upper atmosphere within weeks of each other last summer, the global space tourism market is skyrocketing, with dozens of companies now offering reservations for everything from zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps and simulated zero-gravity flights. But don’t don your spacesuit just yet. While the financial services company UBS estimates the space travel market will be worth $3 billion by 2030, the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to approve most out-of-this-world trips, and construction has not started on the first space hotel. And while access and options — not to mention launchpads — are burgeoning, space tourism remains astronomically expensive for most.

First, what counts as space travel?

Sixty miles (about 100 kilometers) above our heads lies the Kármán line, the widely accepted aeronautical boundary of the earth’s atmosphere. It’s the boundary used by the Féderátion Aéronautique Internationale, which certifies and controls global astronautical records. But many organizations in the United States, including the F.A.A. and NASA, define everything above 50 miles to be space.

Much of the attention has been focused on a trio of billionaire-led rocket companies: Mr. Bezos’ Blue Origin , whose passengers have included William Shatner; Mr. Branson’s Virgin Galactic , where tickets for a suborbital spaceflight start at $450,000; and Elon Musk’s SpaceX , which in September launched an all-civilian spaceflight, with no trained astronauts on board. Mr. Branson’s inaugural Virgin Galactic flight in 2021 reached about 53 miles, while Blue Origin flies above the 62-mile mark. Both are eclipsed by SpaceX, whose rockets charge far deeper in to the cosmos, reaching more than 120 miles above Earth.

Balloons, like those operated by World View, don’t go nearly as high. But even at their maximum altitude of 18 or 19 miles, operators say they float high enough to show travelers the curvature of the planet, and give them a chance to experience the overview effect — an intense perspective shift that many astronauts say kicks in when you view Earth from above.

Now, how to get there …

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, which are both licensed for passenger space travel by the F.A.A., are open for ticket sales. (Blue Origin remains mum on pricing.) Both companies currently have hundreds or even thousands of earthlings on their wait lists for a whirl to the edge of space. SpaceX charges tens of millions of dollars for its further-reaching flights and is building a new facility in Texas that is currently under F.A.A. review.

Craig Curran is a major space enthusiast — he’s held a reserved seat on a Virgin Galactic flight since 2011 — and the owner of Deprez Travel in Rochester, N.Y. The travel agency has a special space travel arm, Galactic Experiences by Deprez , through which Mr. Curran sells everything from rocket launch tickets to astronaut training.

Sales in the space tourism space, Mr. Curran acknowledges, “are reasonably difficult to make,” and mostly come from peer-to-peer networking. “You can imagine that people who spend $450,000 to go to space probably operate in circles that are not the same as yours and mine,” he said.

Some of Mr. Curran’s most popular offerings include flights where you can experience the same stomach-dropping feeling of zero gravity that astronauts feel in space, which he arranges for clients via chartered, specialized Boeing 727s that are flown in parabolic arcs to mimic being in space. Operators including Zero G also offer the service; the cost is around $8,200.

You can almost count the number of completed space tourist launches on one hand — Blue Origin has had four; SpaceX, two. Virgin Galactic, meanwhile, on Thursday announced the launch of its commercial passenger service, previously scheduled for late 2022, was delayed until early 2023. Many of those on waiting lists are biding their time before blastoff by signing up for training. Axiom Space, which contracts with SpaceX, currently offers NASA-partnered training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Virgin Galactic, which already offers a “customized Future Astronaut Readiness program” at its Spaceport America facility in New Mexico, is also partnering with NASA to build a training program for private astronauts.

Would-be space tourists should not expect the rigor that NASA astronauts face. Training for Virgin Galactic’s three-hour trips is included in the cost of a ticket and lasts a handful of days; it includes pilot briefings and being “fitted for your bespoke Under Armour spacesuit and boots,” according to its website.

Not ready for a rocket? Balloon rides offer a less hair-raising celestial experience.

“We go to space at 12 miles an hour, which means that it’s very smooth and very gentle. You’re not rocketing away from earth,” said Jane Poynter, a co-founder and co-chief executive of Space Perspective , which is readying its own touristic balloon spaceship, Spaceship Neptune. If all goes according to plan, voyages are scheduled to begin departing from Florida in 2024, at a cost of $125,000 per person. That’s a fraction of the price tag for Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, but still more than double the average annual salary of an American worker.

Neither Space Perspective nor World View has the required approval yet from the F.A.A. to operate flights.

Unique implications

Whether a capsule or a rocket is your transport, the travel insurance company battleface launched a civilian space insurance plan in late 2021, a direct response, said chief executive Sasha Gainullin, to an increase in space tourism interest and infrastructure. Benefits include accidental death and permanent disablement in space and are valid for spaceflights on operators like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, as well as on stratospheric balloon rides. They’ve had many inquiries, Mr. Gainullin said, but no purchases just yet.

“Right now it’s such high-net-worth individuals who are traveling to space, so they probably don’t need insurance,” he said. “But for quote-unquote regular travelers, I think we’ll see some takeups soon.”

And as the industry grows, so perhaps will space travel’s impact on the environment. Not only do rocket launches have immense carbon footprints, even some stratospheric balloon flights have potentially significant implications: World View’s balloons are powered by thousands of cubic meters of helium, which is a limited resource . But Ted Parson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that space travel’s environmental impact is still dwarfed by civil aviation. And because space travel is ultra-niche, he believes it’s likely to stay that way.

“Despite extensive projections, space tourism is likely to remain a tiny fraction of commercial space exploration,” he said. “It reminds me of tourism on Mt. Everest. It’s the indulgence of very rich people seeking a transcendent, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the local environmental burden is intense.”

Stay a while?

In the future, space enthusiasts insist, travelers won’t be traveling to space just for the ride. They’ll want to stay a while. Orbital Assembly Corporation, a manufacturing company whose goal is to colonize space, is currently building the world’s first space hotels — two ring-shaped properties that will orbit Earth, called Pioneer Station and Voyager Station. The company, quite optimistically, projects an opening date of 2025 for Pioneer Station, with a capacity of 28 guests. The design for the larger Voyager Station , which they say will open in 2027, promises villas and suites, as well as a gym, restaurant and bar. Both provide the ultimate luxury: simulated gravity. Axiom Space , a space infrastructure company, is currently building the world’s first private space station; plans include Philippe Starck-designed accommodations for travelers to spend the night.

Joshua Bush, chief executive of travel agency Avenue Two Travel , has sold a handful of seats on upcoming Virgin Galactic flights to customers. The market for space travel (and the sky-high prices that come with it), he believes, will evolve much like civilian air travel did.

“In the beginning of the 20th century, only very affluent people could afford to fly,” he said. “Just as we have Spirit and Southwest Airlines today, there will be some sort of equivalent of that in space travel, too. Hopefully within my lifetime.”

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Keep track of things going on in our solar system and all around the universe..

Never miss an eclipse, a meteor shower, a rocket launch or any other 2024 event  that’s out of this world with  our space and astronomy calendar .

Scientists may have discovered a major flaw in their understanding of dark energy, a mysterious cosmic force . That could be good news for the fate of the universe.

A new set of computer simulations, which take into account the effects of stars moving past our solar system, has effectively made it harder to predict Earth’s future and reconstruct its past.

Dante Lauretta, the planetary scientist who led the OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve a handful of space dust , discusses his next final frontier.

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Space tourism – 20 years in the making – is finally ready for launch

Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University

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Wendy Whitman Cobb is affiliated with the US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Her views are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Defense or any of its affiliates.

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For most people, getting to the stars is nothing more than a dream. On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito achieved that lifelong goal – but he wasn’t a typical astronaut. Tito, a wealthy businessman, paid US$20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be the first tourist to visit the International Space Station. Only seven people have followed suit in the 20 years since, but that number is poised to double in the next 12 months alone.

NASA has long been hesitant to play host to space tourists , so Russia – looking for sources of money post-Cold War in the 1990s and 2000s – has been the only option available for those looking for this kind of extreme adventure. However, it seems the rise of private space companies is going to make it easier for regular people to experience space.

From my perspective as a space policy analyst , I see the beginning of an era in which more people can experience space. With companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin hoping to build a future for humanity in space, space tourism is a way to demonstrate both the safety and reliability of space travel to the general public.

The development of space tourism

Flights to space like Dennis Tito’s are expensive for a reason. A rocket must burn a lot of costly fuel to travel high and fast enough to enter Earth’s orbit.

Another cheaper possibility is a suborbital launch, with the rocket going high enough to reach the edge of space and coming right back down. While passengers on a suborbital trip experience weightlessness and incredible views, these launches are more accessible.

The difficulty and expense of either option has meant that, traditionally, only nation-states have been able to explore space. This began to change in the 1990s as a series of entrepreneurs entered the space arena. Three companies led by billionaire CEOs have emerged as the major players: Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX. Though none have taken paying, private customers to space, all anticipate doing so in the very near future.

British billionaire Richard Branson has built his brand on not just business but also his love of adventure. In pursuing space tourism, Branson has brought both of those to bear. He established Virgin Galactic after buying SpaceShipOne - a company that won the Ansari X-Prize by building the first reusable spaceship. Since then, Virgin Galactic has sought to design, build and fly a larger SpaceShipTwo that can carry up to six passengers in a suborbital flight.

The going has been harder than anticipated. While Branson predicted opening the business to tourists in 2009, Virgin Galactic has encountered some significant hurdles – including the death of a pilot in a crash in 2014 . After the crash, engineers found significant problems with the design of the vehicle, which required modifications.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respective leaders of SpaceX and Blue Origin, began their own ventures in the early 2000s.

Musk, fearing that a catastrophe of some sort could leave Earth uninhabitable, was frustrated at the lack of progress in making humanity a multiplanetary species. He founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of first developing reusable launch technology to decrease the cost of getting to space. Since then, SpaceX has found success with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX’s ultimate goal is human settlement of Mars – sending paying customers to space is an intermediate step. Musk says he hopes to show that space travel can be done easily and that tourism might provide a revenue stream to support development of the larger, Mars-focused Starship system.

Bezos, inspired by the vision of physicist Gerard O’Neill , wants to expand humanity and industry not to Mars, but to space itself. Blue Origin , established in 2004, has proceeded slowly and quietly in also developing reusable rockets. Its New Shepard rocket, first successfully flown in 2015, will eventually offer tourists a suborbital trip to the edge of space, similar to Virgin Galactic’s. For Bezos, these launches represent an effort at making space travel routine, reliable and accessible to people as a first step to enabling further space exploration.

Outlook for the future

Now, SpaceX is the only option for someone looking to go into space and orbit the Earth. It currently has two tourist launches planned. The first is scheduled for as early as September 2021 , funded by billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman. The other trip, planned for 2022, is being organized by Axiom Space . These trips will be costly , at $55 million for the flight and a stay on the International Space Station. The high cost has led some to warn that space tourism – and private access to space more broadly – might reinforce inequality between rich and poor.

Blue Origin’s and Virgin Galactic’s suborbital trips are far more reasonable in cost, with both priced between $200,000 and $250,000 . Blue Origin appears to be the nearest to allowing paying customers on board, saying after a recent launch that crewed missions would be happening “soon.” Virgin Galactic continues to test SpaceShipTwo, but no specific timetable has been announced for tourist flights.

Though these prices are high, it is worth considering that Dennis Tito’s $20 million ticket in 2001 could pay for 100 flights on Blue Origin soon. The experience of viewing the Earth from space, though, may prove to be priceless for a whole new generation of space explorers.

[ Over 104,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today .]

An updated version of this article was published on May 7, 2021. Read it here .

• Space tourism
• International Space Station (ISS)
• Virgin Galactic
• Space industry
• Blue Origin
• Private spaceflight

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You Won’t Hear Much About the Next Chapter of Space Travel

Space tourism is getting less transparent, and more like traveling by private jet.

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Of all the high-flying tourism ventures spawned by space-obsessed billionaires, Virgin Galactic, founded by Richard Branson, offers perhaps the most unconventional approach. It doesn’t use big rockets or gumdrop-shaped capsules. Instead, an airplane takes off with a spacecraft strapped to its wing. The spacecraft, shaped like a plane itself, holds the paying customers and more pilots. When the airplane reaches a certain altitude, it releases the spacecraft. The spacecraft’s pilots then ignite its engine, and the vehicle soars straight up, to the fuzzy boundary that separates us from the rest of the universe, before gliding back down and landing on a runway.

The spaceplane experience is a stark contrast to Blue Origin’s suborbital jaunts and SpaceX’s orbital missions, but Virgin Galactic’s passengers still have a few surreal minutes of weightlessness, and they get to see the planet gleaming against the darkness of space. Those passengers have included the first former Olympian to reach space, as well as the first mother-daughter duo and, most recently, the first Pakistani .

In the midst of all that, Virgin Galactic clocked a first that raised some eyebrows: The company withheld the passenger list from the public before a takeoff last month, divulging the travelers’ names only after they had landed. The company never publicly explained its preflight secrecy. (Virgin Galactic did not respond to a request for comment.) Yesterday, Virgin Galactic announced its next flight, scheduled for November; the company kept one of the three listed passengers anonymous, saying only that the person is “of Franco-Italian nationality.”

Virgin is of course within its rights to withhold passenger names before takeoff. After all, airlines and railroads keep private the names of their customers. But Virgin Galactic’s choice to do so marks a subtle shift—the latest in U.S. spaceflight’s arc from a publicly funded national mission to private tourism. NASA, as a taxpayer-funded organization, has always had to provide the public with launch lists and livestreams. But the age of space tourism raises a host of questions: How much openness do space-tourism companies owe the public? How much privacy do they owe their customers? Before the Virgin flight returned home last month, it operated almost like a privately chartered plane, its movements known to relevant aviation agencies but its passengers’ names undisclosed to the public. Commercial spaceflight and air travel are still far from alike, but in this particular aspect, the space-tourism industry may be drifting toward its private-jet era.

Read: The new ‘right stuff’ is money and luck

In practice, the space-tourism industry is barely more than two years old, and it’s “still finding its norms,” says Carissa Christensen, a space consultant and the CEO of BryceTech, an analytics and engineering firm. The first passenger rosters were marquee news in 2021, when Branson and Jeff Bezos were racing to be the first to ride their own spacecraft , and Elon Musk’s SpaceX was working to send a quartet of private astronauts with zero spaceflight experience into orbit.

All three of their companies publicized, and even hyped, the passenger lists, in some cases months in advance. Wally Funk, an octogenarian aviator who had outperformed male candidates in astronaut tests during the 1960s but was kept out of the astronaut corps because she was a woman, flew alongside Bezos . Jared Isaacman, a billionaire businessman, paid for three other people to fly into orbit with him on SpaceX; all of them gave countless interviews before launch. And who can forget the hype ahead of William Shatner’s flight, and the Star Trek star’s unfiltered, emotional remarks after landing?

The rosters became less noteworthy as time went on: The customers were no longer memorable guests who got free rides, but simply very wealthy people who could afford the trips on their own. Last month’s temporarily secret Virgin Galactic fliers included a real-estate investor from Las Vegas, a South African entrepreneur, and a British engineer who founded a company that builds race cars. Michelle Hanlon, a space lawyer and the executive director of the University of Mississippi’s Center for Air and Space Law, told me that she was mildly surprised by Virgin Galactic’s decision to withhold the passengers’ identities before takeoff, but that the decision did not strike her as inappropriate.

“From a paparazzi standpoint, if it’s Ashton Kutcher, the world’s gonna care a little bit more than if it’s Michelle Hanlon,” Hanlon said. (Kutcher did, in fact, purchase a Virgin Galactic ticket in 2012, but he later sold it back to the company after his wife and fellow actor, Mila Kunis, talked him out of going.) And from a legal standpoint, nothing inappropriate occurred, Hanlon said; there are no existing requirements for a private company to disclose passenger names. Space travelers must sign waivers from the Federal Aviation Administration outlining the risks associated with the activity, she said, but the companies they’re flying with are not required to provide the agency with a passenger list.

Read: Jeff Bezos knows who paid for him to go to space

Passenger names aren’t the only details of commercial spaceflight that are becoming more opaque. When SpaceX launched its first set of private astronauts, the company shared significantly less live footage of their experience in orbit than they did when NASA astronauts test-drove the capsule a year earlier. During its last two flights, Virgin Galactic decided not to provide a livestream, giving updates on social media instead.

Because there are no regulations, it’s difficult to say when the companies’ right to privacy becomes a concerning level of secrecy. NASA overshares when it comes to its astronauts and their mission, because the public—which funds the agency—expects it. Americans might also expect a good look at SpaceX customers who visit the International Space Station, which relies on billions of dollars of taxpayer money, and where private visitors share meals with government astronauts. But what about other kinds of SpaceX missions, which go into orbit without disembarking at any government-owned facility? The company developed its crewed launch services with significant investment from NASA, so virtually every SpaceX trip indirectly involves government money. That doesn’t necessarily mean SpaceX is obligated to share as the space agency does, even if people on the ground feel that it should.

Another major difference between NASA missions and private ones, of course, is that astronauts are at work, whereas many space tourists are presumably just having fun. Caryn Schenewerk, a consultant who specializes in commercial spaceflight at her firm CS Consulting, told me that she thinks commercial spaceflight will adopt the practices of other forms of adventure tourism. Take skydiving, for example: Schenewerk said that she has signed paperwork granting the skydiving company permission to use footage of her experience for its own purposes. “There’s some expectation of privacy on the individual’s behalf that then has to be actively waived for the company’s benefit,” she said.

The once-anonymous Virgin Galactic passengers on the September flight have since publicly shared their stories , basking in the awe of their experience. Christensen told me that most future tourists will likely do the same. “A big part of the fun is other people knowing that you’ve done it,” she said. Flying to space isn’t exactly something to be modest about: Fewer than 700 people have done it since human beings first achieved the feat, in the early 1960s, and we know all of their names. If Virgin’s new mystery passenger doesn’t reveal their name, they really will make history.

Read: Seeing Earth from space will change you

Many spacefarers—the Soviet cosmonauts who inhabited the first space station, the American astronauts who shuttled their way into orbit, the Chinese astronauts living in space right now, all of the people who have flown commercial—have spoken about the transformational wonder of seeing Earth from space, a phenomenon known as the overview effect . They reported that they better understood the reality of our beautiful, fragile planet, and that they felt a duty to share their impressions with people on the ground. Gene Cernan, one of the dozen men who walked on the lunar surface, once said, “If only everyone could relate to the beauty and the purposefulness of it … It wouldn’t bring a utopia to this planet for people to understand it all, but it might make a difference.” In this sense, for a space traveler to remain unknown forever would be a sort of anti–overview effect: Just as they may have the right to request some privacy, they have no obligation to bring the transcendent power of their journey back to Earth.

Three years ago, two NASA astronauts made a historic flight on a new SpaceX astronaut capsule. Ahead of the mission, I asked NASA what Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were going to have for breakfast on the morning of the launch. It was a question with a long tradition in spacefaring history: During the Apollo days, the public was privy to the final Earth-bound meals of history-making astronauts. NASA officials balked, saying they couldn’t divulge that information for privacy reasons. But on the day of the launch, Hurley, as if to sate the space press corps, posted a picture of his steak and eggs on Twitter (as it was still known then).

Hurley and Behnken’s preflight hours seemed like fair game; after all, these men were government employees, doing their job on their assigned mission. But future passengers may decide that we have no business knowing their breakfast order—or even their name.

Space Tourism: Can A Civilian Go To Space?

2021 has been a busy year for private space tourism: overall, more than 15 civilians took a trip to space during this year. In this article, you will learn more about the space tourism industry, its history, and the companies that are most likely to make you a space tourist.

What is space tourism?

Brief history of space tourism, space tourism companies, orbital and suborbital space flights, how much does it cost for a person to go to space, is space tourism worth it, can i become a space tourist, why is space tourism bad for the environment.

Space tourism is human space travel for recreational or leisure purposes . It’s divided into different types, including orbital, suborbital, and lunar space tourism.

However, there are broader definitions for space tourism. According to the Space Tourism Guide , space tourism is a commercial activity related to space that includes going to space as a tourist, watching a rocket launch, going stargazing, or traveling to a space-focused destination.

The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American multimillionaire, who spent nearly eight days onboard the International Space Station in April 2001. This trip cost him $20 million and made Tito the first private citizen who purchased his space ticket. Over the next eight years, six more private citizens followed Tito to the International Space Station to become space tourists.

As space tourism became a real thing, dozens of companies entered this industry hoping to capitalize on renewed public interest in space, including Blue Origin in 2000 and Virgin Galactic in 2004. In the 2000s, space tourists were limited to launches aboard Russian Soyuz aircraft and only could go to the ISS. However, everything changed when the other players started to grow up on the market. There are now a variety of destinations and companies for travels to space.

There are now six major space companies that are arranging or planning to arrange touristic flights to space:

• Virgin Galactic;
• Blue Origin;
• Axiom Space;
• Space Perspective.

While the first two are focused on suborbital flights, Axiom and Boeing are working on orbital missions. SpaceX, in its turn, is prioritizing lunar tourism in the future. For now, Elon Musk’s company has allowed its Crew Dragon spacecraft to be chartered for orbital flights, as it happened with the Inspiration4 3-day mission . Space Perspective is developing a different balloon-based system to carry customers to the stratosphere and is planning to start its commercial flights in 2024.

Orbital and suborbital flights are very different. Taking an orbital flight means staying in orbit; in other words, going around the planet continually at a very high speed to not fall back to the Earth. Such a trip takes several days, even a week or more. A suborbital flight in its turn is more like a space hop — you blast off, make a huge arc, and eventually fall back to the Earth, never making it into orbit. A flight duration, in this case, ranges from 2 to 3 hours.

Here is an example: a spaceflight takes you to an altitude of 100 km above the Earth. To enter into orbit — make an orbital flight — you would have to gain a speed of about 28,000 km per hour (17,400 mph) or more. But to reach the given altitude and fall back to the Earth — make a suborbital flight — you would have to fly at only 6,000 km per hour (3,700 mph). This flight takes less energy, less fuel; therefore, it is less expensive.

• Virgin Galactic: $250,000 for a 2-hour suborbital flight at an altitude of 80 km;
• Blue Origin: approximately $300,000 for 12 minutes suborbital flight at an altitude of 100 km;
• Axiom Space: $55 million for a 10-day orbital flight;
• Space Perspective: $125,000 for a 6-hour flight to the edge of space (32 km above the Earth).

The price depends, but remember that suborbital space flights are always cheaper.

What exactly do you expect from a journey to space? Besides the awesome impressions, here is what you can experience during such a trip:

• Weightlessness . Keep in mind that during a suborbital flight you’ll get only a couple of minutes in weightlessness, but it will be truly fascinating .
• Space sickness . The symptoms include cold sweating, malaise, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, and vomiting. Even experienced astronauts are not immune from it!
• G-force . 1G is the acceleration we feel due to the force of gravity; a usual g-force astronauts experience during a rocket launch is around 3gs. To understand how a g-force influences people , watch this video.

For now, the most significant barrier for space tourism is price. But air travel was also once expensive; a one-way ticket cost more than half the price of a new car . Most likely, the price for space travel will reduce overtime as well. For now, you need to be either quite wealthy or win in a competition, as did Sian Proctor, a member of Inspiration4 mission . But before spending thousands of dollars on space travel, here is one more fact you might want to consider.

Rocket launches are harmful to the environment in general. During the burning of rocket fuels, rocket engines release harmful gases and soot particles (also known as black carbon) into the upper atmosphere, resulting in ozone depletion. Think about this: in 2018 black-carbon-producing rockets emitted about the same amount of black carbon as the global aviation industry emits annually.

However, not all space companies use black carbon for fuel. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket has a liquid hydrogen-fuelled engine: hydrogen doesn’t emit carbon but simply turns into water vapor when burning.

The main reason why space tourism could be harmful to the environment is its potential popularity. With the rising amount of rocket launches the carbon footprint will only increase — Virgin Galactic alone aims to launch 400 of these flights annually. Meanwhile, the soot released by 1,000 space tourism flights could warm Antarctica by nearly 1°C !

Would you want to become a space tourist? Let us know your opinion on social media and share the article with your friends, if you enjoyed it! Also, the Best Mobile App Awards 2021 is going on right now, and we would very much appreciate it if you would vote for our Sky Tonight app . Simply tap "Vote for this app" in the upper part of the screen. No registration is required!

SpaceX's first space tourists have returned to Earth, splashing down inside the Crew Dragon spaceship

• SpaceX's first space tourists have returned to Earth and splashed down off the coast of Florida.
• The amateurs on the Inspiration4 mission orbited Earth for three days aboard a Crew Dragon spaceship .
• It was the world's first all-tourist flight to orbit, but SpaceX already has another planned.

SpaceX and its four passengers have emerged victorious at the conclusion of the world's first all-tourist flight to orbit.

The company's Crew Dragon spaceship splashed down off the coast of Florida on Saturday at 7:06 p.m. ET, carrying four amateur spacefarers: billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, geoscientist and science communicator Dr. Sian Proctor, physician-assistant Hayley Arceneaux, and engineer Chris Sembroski. None of them are professional astronauts.

"That was a heck of a ride for us, and we're just getting started," Isaacman said on the livestream after the splashdown.

The unlikely quartet came together after Isaacman chartered the flight from SpaceX and gave away three seats through a raffle and fund-raising partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He called the mission Inspiration4.

The motley crew spent three days orbiting Earth aboard the Dragon capsule. They flew as high as 367 miles (590 kilometers) — farther from the planet than anyone has traveled since the Space Shuttle era. They took cognitive tests and scanned their organs with an ultrasound for scientific research. Sembroski played ukelele. Proctor made art. They all admired the views 

On Saturday evening, the Crew Dragon fired its thrusters to push itself into a high-speed plummet to Earth. Tiles on the spaceship's underbelly protected its passengers as friction superheated the atmosphere around it to a 3,500-degree-Fahrenheit plasma.

A few miles above Earth's surface, parachutes ballooned from the capsule, likely giving the passengers a significant jolt as the spaceship slowed its fall.

Related stories

The Crew Dragon dropped into the Atlantic Ocean and bobbed there like a toasted marshmallow, caked in soot from the fiery descent. It's not the first time this particular capsule, named Resilience, has weathered such a fall: It's the same ship that flew SpaceX's first full astronaut crew to the International Space Station for NASA last year, then brought them home in May.

Recovery crews in boats swarmed the scene to pull the spaceship out of the water and help the travelers climb out.

SpaceX has opened the doors to private space tourism

The Inspiration4 crew's safe return is a major step in a new era of space tourism.

NASA didn't run this mission; SpaceX did, to Isaacman's specifications. He chose the length of the flight, the altitude, the crew, and their activities in orbit. He even contributed his own idea — a climb up Mount Rainier — to their nearly six-month training regimen .

SpaceX already has another tourist flight lined up for January. For that mission, called AX-1, the company Axiom Space chartered a Crew Dragon to take customers to the space station for eight days.

The AX-1 crew includes real-estate investor Larry Connor, Canadian investor Mark Pathy, and former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe. Axiom Space's vice president, former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, will command the mission.

For now, SpaceX is the only entity that can launch people to orbit from the US. In October, it's set to launch another astronaut crew for NASA — the third of six Crew Dragon flights the agency has purchased.

SpaceX developed this spaceship through NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a competition that awarded funding to facilitate the development of commercial spacecraft.

The program also funded Boeing to develop a human-rated spaceship, but that vehicle has been bogged down in technical issues and delays. It still needs to complete an uncrewed test flight to the ISS before it can fly people.

In the meantime, SpaceX ended the US's nine-year hiatus in domestic human spaceflight in May 2020, when Crew Dragon flew two NASA astronauts to the ISS. NASA has also tapped SpaceX to land its next astronauts on the moon.

Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX in 2002, aims to someday send the company's vehicles all the way to Mars and build a settlement there.

Isaacman shares that vision.

"I'm a true believer," Isaacman said in a February press conference. "I drank the Kool-Aid in terms of the grand ambition for humankind being a multi-planetary species. And I think that we all want to live in a Star Wars, Star Trek world where people are jumping in their spacecraft, and I know that that's going to come. But there has to be that first step, which is what Inspiration4 represents."

Watch: VIDEO: The first all-civilian crew launches into orbit aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule

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13 Things Tourists Should Know Before Traveling to Space, According to Astronauts

We asked the pros for their best tips on handling a first trip to space.

For most of human spaceflight history, those lucky enough to reach the stars were professional astronauts hired and trained by government agencies around the world. But since the early 2000s, when seven intrepid travelers paid millions to spend a few days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), space tourism has begun to take off. We're now on the cusp of a new era of space exploration, with commercial companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin launching spacecraft capable of taking paying travelers beyond the Earth's surface.

We spoke with former NASA astronauts Leroy Chiao and Scott Parazynski to get their tips for first-time spaceflight participants. During his 15 years with NASA, Chiao participated in four missions — three aboard the space shuttle and one to the ISS, in which he served as commander. Parazynski worked at NASA for 17 years, flying five shuttle missions throughout his career. Read on to discover what they think aspiring space tourists need to know.

Your only job on the flight will be to kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

If you're taking a suborbital flight, which is what companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have offered, your ride will be a quick up-and-down to reach space, rather than a full orbit of the Earth. The short journey is relatively easy compared to what professional astronauts experience. For starters, you won't need to worry about flying your spacecraft. That's all up to the spaceflight provider. "You won't have any responsibility other than to enjoy the experience — and not kick anyone else in the head," says Parazynski. "Their obligations on the flight are pretty straightforward."

As such, the training programs for suborbital space tourist experiences are relatively minimal, perhaps only a few days in length at most. "The downside of not having a lot of training is that you don't have the confidence that comes from lots of training," says Parazynski. "Contrast that with the training I had on the space shuttle, where we trained for hundreds and hundreds of hours for launching in space. If something were to go awry, we would know exactly what to do and our hearts wouldn't skip a beat."

So, other than learning to place your complete trust in your spaceflight provider, Parazynski recommends talking to people who have flown before in order to ease any nervousness. Chiao agrees: "The best advice I can give on launch — and it's easy to say, harder to do — is to try to relax and enjoy the whole process," he says. "Pay attention during your training, talk to other people who've been there if you can. And actually, you might be surprised — it's quite calm!"

Make sure you’re physically and mentally fit.

"I think people should treat this as their Olympics or Super Bowl. This is a really big life experience, and though you don't need to be an Olympic athlete or a Super Bowl champion to fly in space, it helps to be fit," says Parazynski. After all, your body will be experiencing quite a range of new sensations during your spaceflight."

But it's not just about physical fitness — mental fitness is key, too. "I think through fitness comes mental acuity as well," says Parazynski. "The more you can be engaged in the experience, the more you'll remember of it — it'll be more impactful to you."

The G-forces experienced on launch and reentry are not as intense as you might expect.

If you've ever watched a livestream of an astronaut launch, caught any Hollywood flick about space travel, or ridden Mission: Space at Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park, you know that during launch, astronauts get crushed back into their seats. (And, actually, during reentry, too!) They're experiencing strong G-forces, or a sensation of weight felt during acceleration. It's the same feeling you get when you speed up quickly in a car or zoom through a loop or a sharp curve on a roller coaster, but during a rocket launch, those forces are stronger and more sustained. While the experience might seem a little terrifying, the pros say it's quite manageable.

"The G-forces aren't nearly as bad as they show in the movies," says Chiao. "If you're good enough to be given medical approval to go on a trip like this, you're not going to have any problems handling the G-forces." He also notes that you'll likely go through centrifugal runs during your training to prep for the sensation — you'll be strapped into a spinning machine that lets you experience strong G-forces, just like that spinning amusement park ride where you're pressed against the wall and the floor drops.

But to make launch and reentry as comfortable on your body as possible, you'll want to physically relax your muscles so you don't fight against the G-forces. "If you relax and let your body sink into the launch couch, you're going to tolerate it much better," says Chiao. "If you're rigid, that's where you might hurt yourself. And make sure your limbs and arms are inside of the couch."

To prep for weightlessness, you should book a zero-gravity flight.

While it takes quite a bit of effort (and time and money) to get into space to experience weightlessness, you can actually experience the sensation right here on Earth — or rather, just slightly above it. All you need to do is book a zero-gravity flight , where a plane flies in a series of parabolas (or arch-like shapes) during which passengers experience simulated weightlessness through free fall.

It's physically the same as skydiving or even riding a roller coaster, but in those two instances, your senses tell you you're actually falling. "When you're in a zero-G airplane, the airplane is falling at the same rate you are, so you're floating inside the airplane," says Chiao. "That's what it's like in a spacecraft when you get up into space and the engines cut off."

Through commercial companies like the Zero Gravity Corporation , anyone who can spare the cost of a ticket can experience weightlessness — and anyone who's planning on making a trip to space should definitely give it a go. "If they have the means, they should get on a zero-G flight before they go on a suborbital flight," says Parazynski. "It would take some of the mystery out of 'what am I going to feel like?' and 'how do I move?'"

Learning how to scuba dive is good weightlessness training, too.

While being underwater isn't exactly like floating in space, it's a pretty good way to practice moving around in a weightless environment. In fact, NASA even has a life-sized replica of the ISS set inside a giant pool, so astronauts can train for spacewalks underwater.

"Moving in weightlessness comes to you very quickly when you spend some time underwater," says Parazynski. "Get neutrally buoyant underwater and very gently try and move yourself along the ocean floor or bottom of your pool. It doesn't take a lot of force, but it does take a lot of thought."

Come up with a game plan for your few minutes in space.

On suborbital flights, you're only going to have a few minutes in weightlessness, so you should plan exactly how you want to spend your time up there. Figure out if you'd like to bring a memento like a family photo or college pennant for a fun picture. (U.S. Naval Academy graduates and former astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford famously put a "Beat Army" sign in the window of their Gemini VI spacecraft, so there's a long tradition of this.) Decide in advance if you want to attempt what spaceflight veterans call "stupid astronaut tricks," like flips or spins. But most importantly, budget time to look out the window.

"The most important thing I would tell future astronauts is to savor the view out the window," says Parazynski. "It's, for lack of a better term, a God's-eye view, and so few people have ever had a chance to see it. It's really a beautiful thing to be hovering in space and looking down at your planet."

Don’t worry about taking your own photos.

"As far as taking photographs, I don't know that I would recommend it," says Chiao. "You're not going to be very good at it, first of all, because it takes a little bit of practice to get used to zero-G. Don't waste that time taking photos. Get your memories, look out those windows, and enjoy the whole experience of being weightless." Plus, given the price tag of these spaceflights, we're pretty sure that your operator will provide you with photos and videos of your journey anyway.

When you get into zero gravity, you might feel a little dizzy.

The body functions a bit differently when you remove gravity from the equation for a sustained period of time, and side effects may include dizziness and nausea. "You're going to feel full-headed because there's no longer gravity pulling fluid down into your legs," says Chiao. "And so all that fluid comes up into your torso, and you can feel it right away. It feels kind of like you're standing on your head."

But the good news is, on suborbital flights you might be able to avoid the worst of it. "The adrenaline and excitement are going to make you do OK at first, and by the time you might start feeling bad, it's time to strap back in and come back down," says Chiao.

If you’re spending a few days in space, be prepared for some bumps and bruises.

On a suborbital flight, you won't have a ton of time in space, so you won't really have to worry about acclimating to zero gravity. However, some private spaceflight companies are looking to send their clients up into orbit for longer stays and there are even talks of a space hotel within Voyager Station . If you're going to spend a few days or even a few weeks up in space, you're probably going to bump your head more than once, no matter how much you've trained for the experience.

"It's really funny watching rookie astronauts the first day or two up on a mission," says Parazynski. "We called them the bull in a china shop. They push off with full force and they crack their skull or bang their knee."

You’re also going to make a mess.

Doing routine tasks like brushing your teeth (you can't just spit your toothpaste into a sink), clipping your fingernails (you don't want them floating off into your space station), and going to the bathroom (have you ever thought about how to use a toilet without gravity?) are all very different experiences in weightlessness. Inevitably, you might have a few mishaps early on in your trip.

"Just sitting down for a meal, you put your fork down, and it's gone in 30 seconds," says Parazynski. "You may find it two days later in the cabin air cleaner because that's where the air currents have taken it." Luckily, a lost fork is an easy mess to clean up — and the situation can be prevented by tethering it down. Other messes are a different story.

"As far as using the restroom, that's what you need to pay attention to during your training. The toilet is not particularly simple and you have to be careful," says Chiao. (In case you were wondering, space toilets use airflow to guide things where they're supposed to go.) "But be prepared to make some messes," says Chiao. "And everybody has to clean up their own mess."

If you’re going to do a spacewalk, the stakes are much higher for you and your crew.

If you want to zip around space with a jetpack like George Clooney in "Gravity," sorry, but chances are that's not going to happen any time soon. Most private astronauts will be safely tucked inside their craft for the duration of their flight.

Unlike suborbital flights, future orbital flights with a spacewalk will require extensive training, given that spacewalks are inherently more dangerous than simply riding in a vessel. "If you're careless with your tethers and you float off into the void, there's not a whole lot anyone can come do for you," says Parazynski. It's possible that a crewmate may be able to head out to rescue you, but then you're endangering their life as well. "It's paramount for a spacewalker to think not just about their own health and well-being and their experience, but also that of their crewmates," he says.

If you’re in a capsule, be prepared for a bumpy landing.

While the only way up to space is by rocket, there are two ways to come back down: via a winged vehicle, like the space shuttle or Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, or a capsule, like Apollo, Soyuz, and Blue Origin's New Shepard. The experiences are quite different, as winged vehicles land like an airplane on a runway, whereas capsules descend beneath parachutes onto land or water. While both experience a range of G-forces during reentry, capsules have a bit of a rougher ride, particularly at the very end.

"When the parachute comes out, you can expect to get jostled around a fair amount, so that can be disorienting," says Chiao. "Then, whether you're hitting the water or the ground, you're gonna get a good bump. There are shock-absorbing mechanisms, of course, that make it not too big a deal. But on Soyuz, you smack the ground pretty darn hard. It was kind of surprising!"

It’ll be worth every penny.

Sure, it's going to cost a small fortune to go into space as a tourist — for now, that's somewhere in the ballpark of several hundred thousand dollars for a suborbital flight and millions of dollars for longer-duration orbital stays. But ask any astronaut, and they're sure to tell you it'll be worth the investment.

"What I would tell prospective astronauts is that it's going to change their lives forever," says Parazynski. "It's a perspective that can't be captured in emotion on film. Even in 3D IMAX, there's no way to capture the way it's going to make you feel, the connectedness you feel to planet Earth, and the awe you have when you look out into the universe."

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Make your reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are going for a mere $20 million for a one-week stay in space. Despite reluctance from NASA, Russia made American businessman Dennis Tito the world's first space tourist. Tito flew into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that arrived at the International Space Station on April 30, 2001. The second space tourist, South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth , took off aboard the Russian Soyuz on April 25, 2002, also bound for the ISS. Greg Olsen , an American businessman, became tourist number three to the ISS on October 1, 2005.

On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari , a telecommunications entrepreneur, became the first female space tourist and the fourth space tourist overall. She was also the first person of Iranian descent to make it into space. Charles Simonyi , a software architect, became the fifth space tourist on April 7, 2007.

These trips are the beginning of what could be a lucrative 21st century industry. There are already several space tourism companies planning to build suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two decades. These companies have invested millions, believing that the space tourism industry is on the verge of taking off.

In 1997, NASA published a report concluding that selling trips to space to private citizens could be worth billions of dollars. A Japanese report supports these findings, and projects that space tourism could be a $10 billion per year industry within the two decades. The only obstacles to opening up space to tourists are the space agencies, who are concerned with safety and the development of a reliable, reusable launch vehicle .

If you've ever dreamed of going to space and doing what only a few hundred people have done, then read on. In this article, you'll learn about the spacecraft being designed as destinations for space tourists, and how you may one day have a chance to cruise through the solar system.

Commercial Space Travel

Space accommodations, who gets to go.

Russia's Mir space station was supposed to be the first destination for space tourists. But in March 2001, the Russian Aerospace Agency brought Mir down into the Pacific Ocean. As it turned out, bringing down Mir only temporarily delayed the first tourist trip into space.

The Mir crash did cancel plans for a new reality-based game show from NBC, which was going to be called Destination Mir . The Survivor -like TV show was scheduled to air in fall 2001. Participants on the show were to go through training at Russia's cosmonaut training center, Star City . Each week, one of the participants would be eliminated from the show, with the winner receiving a trip to the Mir space station. Mir's demise rules out NBC's space plans for now. NASA is against beginning space tourism until the International Space Station is completed in 2006.

Russia is not alone in its interest in space tourism. There are several projects underway to commercialize space travel. Here are a few of the groups that might take you to space:

• Bigelow Aerospace , formed by Budget Suites of America hotels owner Robert Bigelow, hopes to make "habitable space stations affordable for corporate communities."
• Space Island Group is going to build a ring-shaped, rotating "commercial space infrastructure" that will resemble the Discovery spacecraft in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey." Space Island says it will build its space city out of empty NASA space-shuttle fuel tanks (to start, it should take around 12 or so), and place it about 400 miles (644 km) above Earth. The space city will rotate once per minute to create a gravitational pull one-third as strong as Earth's.
• The X Prize is a national contest that offered $10 million to the first private company to develop a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) capable of carrying the general public into space. In October 2004, Scaled Composites, a California based company, won the prize with SpaceShipOne. See How SpaceShipOne Works to learn more.
• According to their vision statement, Space Adventures plans to "fly tens of thousands of people in space over the next 10-15 years and beyond, both orbital and suborbital, around the moon, and back, from spaceports both on Earth and in space, to and from private space stations, and aboard dozens of different vehicles ..."
• Even Hilton Hotels has shown interest in the space tourism industry and the possibility of building or co-funding a space hotel. However, the company did say that it believes such a space hotel is 15 to 20 years away.

Anousheh Ansari has invested in her interest in space before -- she and another relative contributed to the $10 million XPrize, and she hopes that her experience on the ISS will help her to develop spacecraft that make space tourism more affordable. Ansari dislikes the term "space tourist," because she and the first three explorers had to go through rigorous training to make the trip. "I think tourists are people who basically decide to go to some place and put a camera around their neck, and basically buy a ticket and go there. They don't prepare...I spent six months [training in Russia], and had to learn many different systems, and many new different technologies to take this journey, so I don't think tourism [does] justice to this event," Ansari said [ ref ]. You can learn more about Ansari and read about her adventure on her Web site .

Initially, space tourism will offer meager accommodations at best. For instance, if the International Space Station is used as a tourist attraction, guests won't find the posh surroundings of a hotel room on Earth. It has been designed for conducting research, not entertainment. However, the first generation of space hotels should offer tourists a much more comfortable experience.

In regard to a concept for a space hotel initially planned by Space Island, such a hotel could offer guests every perk they might find at a hotel on Earth, and some they might not. The small gravitational pull created by the rotating space city would allow space-tourists and residents to walk around and function normally within the structure. Everything from running water to a recycling plant to medical facilities would be possible. Additionally, space tourists would even be able to take space walks.

Many of these companies believe that they have to offer an extremely enjoyable experience in order for passengers to pay thousands, if not millions of dollars to ride into space. So will space create another separation between the haves and have-nots? In the next section, you'll find out if you'll be able to go to space even if you don't have a million dollars to spend on a vacation.

Will space be an exotic retreat reserved for only the wealthy? Or will middle-class folks have a chance to take their families to space? Make no mistake about it, going to space will be the most expensive vacation you ever take. Prices right now are in the tens of millions of dollars. Currently, the only vehicles that can take you into space are the space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz, both of which are terribly inefficient. Each spacecraft requires millions of pounds of propellant to take off into space, which makes them expensive to launch. One pound of payload costs about $10,000 to put into Earth orbit.

NASA and Lockheed Martin worked on a single-stage-to-orbit launch space plane , called the VentureStar, that supposedly would've been launched for about a tenth of what the space shuttle costs to launch. However, the program was canceled in late 2001 after a prototype suffered problems during testing as well as scheduling issues and cost overruns. Perhaps NASA's latest spacecraft project, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, will replace the shuttle as a means to transport tourists to space. Check out How the Orion CEV Will Work to learn more.

In 1998, a joint report from NASA and the Space Transportation Association stated that improvements in technology could push fares for space travel as low as $50,000, and possibly down to $20,000 or $10,000 a decade later. The report concluded that at a ticket price of $50,000, there could be 500,000 passengers flying into space each year. While still omitting many people, these prices would open up space to a tremendous amount of traffic.

If you don't want to wait for space hotels and cruise ships, Space Adventures offers passengers an array of options, such as:

• Zero-gravity flight program
• MiG-25 Edge of space program
• MiG-21 High-G flight program
• Spacewalk adventure program

Although most of these programs also include a two- or three-night stay in Moscow, prices start at close to $10,000 and go higher. Still too much money for your budget? Some, including Apollo 11 astronaut and ShareSpace Foundation chairman Buzz Aldrin, have proposed a space-trip lottery system to give everyone a chance to go.

Since the beginning of the space race, the general public has said, "Isn't that great -- when do I get to go?" Well, our chance might be closer than ever. Within the next 20 years, space planes could be taking off for the Moon at the same frequency as airplanes flying between New York and Los Angeles.

For more information on space tourism and related topics, check out the links on the next page.

Lots More Information

Related howstuffworks articles.

• Behind the X-Prize
• How SpaceShipOne Works
• How Space Shuttles Work
• How Space Stations Work
• How the Orion CEV Will Work
• How Space Planes Will Work
• How Antimatter Spacecraft Will Work
• How Light Propulsion Will Work
• How Air-Breathing Rockets Will Work
• Mercury Explained
• Uranus Explained
• The Solar System Explained
• Our Amazing Solar System
• How did Lockheed win NASA's Orion contract?
• Why is NASA playing with marbles?
• What if we lived on the moon?
• Why are space shuttles delayed so frequently?
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More Great Links

• Charles in Space
• CNN.com: Female space tourist blasts off - Sept. 18, 2006
• Armadillo Aerospace
• Scaled Composites
• Space Adventures

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Stratosphere trips are a type of space tourism experience that involves traveling to the stratosphere, the layer of Earth's atmosphere that lies between approximately 6 and 30 miles (10 and 50 kilometers) above the Earth's surface. Stratosphere trips offer passengers the opportunity to experience weightlessness and breathtaking views of the Earth and the stars.

Space Expeditions 

Space Travel Expeditions involve traveling beyond the Earth's atmosphere into outer space. These trips can take a variety of forms, including trips to the International Space Station (ISS), lunar missions, and trips to other destinations in the solar system.

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The Ultimate Space Adventure

Space travel is exciting for a number of reasons. One of the most unique and exciting aspects of space travel is the opportunity to experience weightlessness. This can be a thrilling and unforgettable experience, as it allows travellers to feel what it's like to float freely in a microgravity environment. Space travel also offers travellers the opportunity to see the Earth from a perspective that is not possible from the surface. From space, travellers can see the curvature of the Earth and the stunning beauty of our planet from a completely new angle.

Adventures In The Final Frontier

In addition to these exciting experiences, space travel also offers the opportunity to explore the unknown. Space is an enormous and largely unexplored frontier, and space travel offers the opportunity to explore this vast and mysterious realm. For many people, the idea of being able to explore new worlds and discover what lies beyond our planet is a truly exciting prospect. Furthermore, many space travel missions are designed to gather scientific data and conduct experiments that can help us understand more about the universe and our place in it. For people who are interested in science and discovery, the opportunity to participate in these types of missions can be very exciting. Finally, the thrill of adventure is also a major part of the appeal of space travel. Whether it's the excitement of launching into space or the thrill of exploring new worlds, space travel offers a unique and thrilling adventure that is unlike anything else.

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World View Enters The Space Tourism Sector

The stratospheric balloon company World View has entered the space tourism sector with its Rediscover Earth flights. World View's flights will take passengers into space in a zero-pressure stratospheric balloon and pressurized space capsule. The balloon flights will take travelers nearly 23 miles into the stratosphere. Each tour will take eight guests and two World View crew members on a voyage that can last anywhere from six to 12 hours. The flights will start at one of World View's spaceports located around the world. Passengers will participate in a five-day excursion ahead of their flight that will take them to the Grand Canyon in the United States, the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, the Serengeti in Kenya, the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, an Aurora Borealis spot in Norway, and the Great Wall of China.

The company is all about inspiring, creating, and exploring new perspectives for an improved future. World View wants to create the opportunity to shift perspective about the earth we live on, said Ryan Hartman, the World View president and CEO. Hartman added that the company wants to connect people to the planet in a way that hasn't been possible before.

The cost of the Rediscover Earth flight is $50,000 per person, which is considerably cheaper than other means of space tourism. Those interested can put down a deposit of $500 today on the company's website.

The balloon ride is designed to create an experience similar to spaceflight, with the capsule designed to give the feel of a spaceship. The capsule will have reclining seats, a bar and galley for refreshments, and Wi-Fi. Passengers will be able to view the curvature of the Earth and witness the blackness of space. They will also be able to see a sunrise or sunset every 90 minutes.

World View is not the first company to offer space tourism experiences. However, the company believes its experience is unique because it is not just about space. The Rediscover Earth flights are designed to give people a new perspective of the planet they call home.

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PRESS RELEASE - World View, a global leader in stratospheric exploration and flight, announces the successful opening and initial funding of a Series D round. The round was led by SNC, a renowned leader in innovative technology solutions and open architecture integrations within the aerospace and national security sectors.

CBS REPORTS - In the aftermath of the Titan submersible tragedy, extreme travel has come under fresh scrutiny. But one industry stands out for both its allure and the lack of regulation protecting participants' safety: space tourism. CBS Reports explores the next great leap for humankind and whether regulators and industry stakeholders are striking the right balance between encouraging innovation and ensuring safety.

NASA - NASA is calling on middle and high school students across the country to submit experiment ideas for a high-altitude balloon or rocket-powered lander test flight in the third TechRise Student Challenge.

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Space tourism - statistics & facts

What is the public’s opinion on space tourism, do the public want to travel to space, key insights.

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• Premium Statistic Global sub-orbital space tourism market size 2021-2031, by flight vehicle type
• Premium Statistic Forecast revenue of orbital space travel and tourism worldwide 2021-2030
• Premium Statistic Amount invested globally into space companies by venture capitalists 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Equity investments in space companies worldwide 2013-2022, by type
• Premium Statistic Share of investment deals in space start-ups worldwide by company in 2020
• Premium Statistic Distribution of space start-up investors by type 2000-2020

Sub-orbital space tourism market size worldwide in 2021, with a forecast for 2031, by flight vehicle type (in million U.S. dollars)

Forecast revenue of the orbital space travel and tourism market worldwide from 2021 to 2030 (in million U.S. dollars)

Amount venture capitalists invested into space companies worldwide from 2013 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Cumulative equity investment in space companies worldwide from 2013 to 2022, by type (in billion U.S. dollars)

Share of investment deals in space start-ups worldwide by company in 2020

Distribution of investment deals on space start-ups worldwide in 2020, by company

Distribution of space start-up investors by type 2000-2020

Distribution of investor groups in space start-ups from 2000 to 2020, by investor type

Public opinion

• Premium Statistic U.S. public opinion on which private space companies are leading the space race 2021
• Premium Statistic U.S. opinion on which private space companies are leading the space race 2021, by age
• Premium Statistic Share of U.S. adults that believe space travel should be accessible to everyone 2021
• Premium Statistic U.S. public opinion on profitability of space exploration companies in future 2021
• Premium Statistic U.S. adults that believe billionaires should spend money on space travel 2021

U.S. public opinion on which private space companies are leading the space race 2021

Public opinion on which space companies are leading the private sector's push into space in the United States as of December 2021

U.S. opinion on which private space companies are leading the space race 2021, by age

Public opinion on which space companies are leading the private sector's push into space in the United States as of December 2021, by generation

Share of U.S. adults that believe space travel should be accessible to everyone 2021

Share of adults that believe space travel should be accessible to everyone and not just those that can afford the costs in the United States as of September 2021

U.S. public opinion on profitability of space exploration companies in future 2021

Share of the public that believe private companies focused on space exploration will make a profit in the next 10 years in the United States as of December 2021

U.S. adults that believe billionaires should spend money on space travel 2021

Share of adults that believe billionaires should be spending money traveling to space in the United States as of September 2021

Traveler interest

• Premium Statistic Share of U.S. adults who want to travel to space 2021
• Premium Statistic Share of U.S. adults who want to travel to space 2021, by gender
• Premium Statistic Share of the U.S. public who would go to the moon if money was not a factor 2021
• Premium Statistic Share of the U.S. public who would go to the moon in 2021, by generation
• Premium Statistic Share of the U.S. public who would go to the moon in 2021, by gender
• Premium Statistic Share of U.S. adults who would travel to the moon 2021, by age
• Premium Statistic Share of U.S. adults who would spend over 100 thousand USD to travel to space 2021

Share of adults that would want to travel to space if money was not an issue in the United States as of September 2021

Share of U.S. adults who want to travel to space 2021, by gender

Share of adults that want to travel to space if money was not an issue in the United States as of September 2021, by gender

Share of the U.S. public who would go to the moon if money was not a factor 2021

Share of the public that would go to the moon as a tourist if money was not a factor in the United States as of December 2021

Share of the U.S. public who would go to the moon in 2021, by generation

Share of the public that would go to the moon as a tourist if money was not a factor in the United States as of December 2021, by generation

Share of the U.S. public who would go to the moon in 2021, by gender

Share of the public that would go to the moon as a tourist if money was not a factor in the United States as of December 2021, by gender

Share of U.S. adults who would travel to the moon 2021, by age

Share of adults that would travel to the moon in the United States as of May 2021, by age

Share of U.S. adults who would spend over 100 thousand USD to travel to space 2021

Share of adults that would spend more than 100 thousand U.S. dollars to travel to space in the United States as of September 2021

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Contact restored with NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe

Contact restored.

That was the message relieved NASA officials shared after the agency regained full contact with the Voyager 1 space probe, the most distant human-made object in the universe, scientists have announced.

For the first time since November, the spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems, NASA said in a news release Monday.

The 46-year-old pioneering probe, now 15.1 billion miles from Earth, has continually defied expectations for its life span as it ventures farther into the  uncharted territory of the cosmos .

More: Voyager 1 is 15 billion miles from home and broken. Here's how NASA is trying to fix it.

Computer experts to the rescue

It wasn't as easy as hitting Control-Alt-Delete, but top experts at NASA and CalTech were able to fix the balky, ancient computer on board the probe that was causing the communication breakdown – at least for now.

A computer problem aboard Voyager 1 on Nov. 14, 2023, corrupted the stream of science and engineering data the craft sent to Earth,  making it unreadable .

Although the radio signal from the spacecraft had never ceased its connection to ground control operators on Earth, that signal had not carried any usable data since November, NASA said. After some serious sleuthing to fix the onboard computer, that changed on April 20, when NASA finally received usable data.

In interstellar space

The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever fly in interstellar space (the space between the stars).

Voyager 2 continues to operate normally, NASA reports. Launched  more than 46 years ago , the twin spacecraft are standouts on two fronts: they've operated the longest and traveled the farthest of any spacecraft ever.

Before the start of their interstellar exploration, both probes flew by Saturn and Jupiter, and Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune.

More: NASA gave Voyager 1 a 'poke' amid communication woes. Here's why the response was encouraging.

They were  designed to last five years but have become the longest-operating spacecraft in history. Both carry  gold-plated copper discs  containing sounds and images from Earth, content that was chosen by a team headed by celebrity astronomer  Carl Sagan .

For perspective, it was the summer of 1977 when the Voyager probes left Earth. "Star Wars" was No. 1 at the box office, Jimmy Carter was in the first year of his presidency, and Elvis Presley had just died.

Contributing: Eric Lagatta and George Petras

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft finally phones home after 5 months of no contact

On Saturday, April 5, Voyager 1 finally "phoned home" and updated its NASA operating team about its health.

NASA's interstellar explorer Voyager 1 is finally communicating with ground control in an understandable way again. On Saturday (April 20), Voyager 1 updated ground control about its health status for the first time in 5 months. While the Voyager 1 spacecraft still isn't sending valid science data back to Earth, it is now returning usable information about the health and operating status of its onboard engineering systems. 

Thirty-five years after its launch in 1977, Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to leave the solar system and enter interstellar space . It was followed out of our cosmic quarters by its space-faring sibling, Voyager 2 , six years later in 2018. Voyager 2, thankfully, is still operational and communicating well with Earth. 

The two spacecraft remain the only human-made objects exploring space beyond the influence of the sun. However, on Nov. 14, 2023, after 11 years of exploring interstellar space and while sitting a staggering 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, Voyager 1's binary code — computer language composed of 0s and 1s that it uses to communicate with its flight team at NASA — stopped making sense.

Related: We finally know why NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped communicating — scientists are working on a fix

In March, NASA's Voyager 1 operating team sent a digital "poke" to the spacecraft, prompting its flight data subsystem (FDS) to send a full memory readout back home.

This memory dump revealed to scientists and engineers that the "glitch" is the result of a corrupted code contained on a single chip representing around 3% of the FDS memory. The loss of this code rendered Voyager 1's science and engineering data unusable.

The NASA team can't physically repair or replace this chip, of course, but what they can do is remotely place the affected code elsewhere in the FDS memory. Though no single section of the memory is large enough to hold this code entirely, the team can slice it into sections and store these chunks separately. To do this, they will also have to adjust the relevant storage sections to ensure the addition of this corrupted code won't cause those areas to stop operating individually, or working together as a whole. In addition to this, NASA staff will also have to ensure any references to the corrupted code's location are updated.

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On April 18, 2024, the team began sending the code to its new location in the FDS memory. This was a painstaking process, as a radio signal takes 22.5 hours to traverse the distance between Earth and Voyager 1, and it then takes another 22.5 hours to get a signal back from the craft. 

By Saturday (April 20), however, the team confirmed their modification had worked. For the first time in five months, the scientists were able to communicate with Voyager 1 and check its health. Over the next few weeks, the team will work on adjusting the rest of the FDS software and aim to recover the regions of the system that are responsible for packaging and returning vital science data from beyond the limits of the solar system.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.

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• Robb62 'V'ger must contact the creator. Reply
• Holy HannaH! Couldn't help but think that "repair" sounded extremely similar to the mechanics of DNA and the evolution of life. Reply
• Torbjorn Larsson *Applause* indeed, thanks to the Voyager teams for the hard work! Reply
• SpaceSpinner I notice that the article says that it has been in space for 35 years. Either I have gone back in time 10 years, or their AI is off by 10 years. V-*ger has been captured! Reply

Admin said: On Saturday, April 5, Voyager 1 finally "phoned home" and updated its NASA operating team about its health. The interstellar explorer is back in touch after five months of sending back nonsense data. NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft finally phones home after 5 months of no contact : Read more

evw said: I'm incredibly grateful for the persistence and dedication of the Voyagers' teams and for the amazing accomplishments that have kept these two spacecrafts operational so many years beyond their expected lifetimes. V-1 was launched when I was 25 years young; I was nearly delirious with joy. Exploring the physical universe captivated my attention while I was in elementary school and has kept me mesmerized since. I'm very emotional writing this note, thinking about what amounts to a miracle of technology and longevity in my eyes. BRAVO!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE PAST & PRESENT!!!

• EBairead I presume it's Fortran. Well done all. Reply

SpaceSpinner said: I notice that the article says that it has been in space for 35 years. Either I have gone back in time 10 years, or their AI is off by 10 years. V-*ger has been captured!

EBairead said: I presume it's Fortran. Well done all.

• View All 11 Comments

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Statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Russia’s Veto of the UN Security Council Resolution on the Outer Space   Treaty

Today, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution, proposed jointly by the United States and Japan, that would have reaffirmed the fundamental obligation of States Parties to the Outer Space Treaty not to place nuclear weapons in orbit around the Earth. The resolution also would have called on all Member States not to develop nuclear weapons specifically designed to be placed in orbit. Placement by a State Party of a nuclear weapon in orbit would not only violate the Outer Space Treaty, but would threaten the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial, and national security services that any and all satellites provide to societies around the globe. As we have noted previously, the United States assesses that Russia is developing a new satellite carrying a nuclear device. We have heard President Putin say publicly that Russia has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. If that were the case, Russia would not have vetoed this resolution.

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