Human space travel has been around since April of 1961, when Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first man to ever be in space. This historical moment constituted just one of the several breakthroughs that paved the way for one of the biggest milestones in human history: the moon landing of ‘69. Since then, space exploration has skyrocketed. Spacecrafts have orbited all of the planets in our galaxy, as well as several exoplanets outside of it, and we have access to thousands and thousands of pictures of different planets, stars, and supernovas. Over 550 people from 37 different countries have reached the Earth’s orbit, as well as a modular space station, the I.S.S (otherwise known as the International Space Station), and we have just recently successfully landed and flown Ingenuity, a small robotic helicopter, on a completely different planet and environment: Mars.
Space exploration has reached such a level of advancement that it has become recreational. Of course, space exploration isn’t dedicated to leisurely activities for fun. However, the countless innovations that have occurred since that historical day during 1961 do allow for certain very wealthy individuals to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity: tourism in space. Space tourism is a one way ticket for extremely wealthy civilians to experience orbital or suborbital space travel. The first tourist in space was Dennis Tito, in 2001. Since then, over 240 individuals from 19 different countries have visited space as well as the International Space Station, and have orbited the Earth. On July 20th, 2021, Jeff Bezos, along with his brother Mark Bezos, 82-year-old Mercury 13 aviator Wally Funk, and Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old physics student, flew onboard Blue Origin’s first astronaut flight, one of the few suborbital flight options.
Suborbital space tourism includes high altitude jet fighter flights, atmospheric zero-gravity flights and short-duration suborbital flights. Orbital flights, however, are more complicated and expensive, costing over €48 million. This price is understandable considering the cost, effort and time involved in building the vehicle and preparing the crew. The cost also comes into consideration when speaking about the different orbital flight options: either on a government owned vehicle, such as the Russian Soyuz, or on vehicles owned by private companies such as SpaceX. Despite their costly fees, both have transported over 100 civilians to and from space.
Despite the obvious profit that companies obtain from providing such recreational yet life changing opportunities, why is space tourism even a thing to begin with? Well, firstly, it provides ordinary people, with deep enough pockets, with an opportunity that doesn’t often come around. According to the National Space Society, “Any ordinary person is more likely to make a few million dollars than to become a NASA astronaut.” Space tourism provides a unique experience with the privilege of not having to complete the years of training and learning becoming an astronaut requires. Space tourism also opens new doors and leads to a more developed understanding of our universe. It makes people become more interested in space again. Besides catching the attention of more people in space, space tourism provides a special pathway for people to make a personal connection with themselves and the universe around them.
Although space travel has its benefits, it also has a number of detrimental effects, not only to our environment, but also ourselves. Space tourism could widen the gap between the rich and the poor, as the extremely wealthy continue to live through previously unimaginable situations while the poor continue to struggle to live. Should we continue to fund scientific expeditions and interplanetary research while we are still struggling on our own planet? This is a question that scientists, including Elon Musk, have been faced with, and many have been unable to answer. However, the general consensus between scientists and engineers alike is that trying to find a more sustainable and affordable way of space travel is one of their most important priorities. Blue Origin, one of the few suborbital flight options, has already launched a mechanism that produces only water as an exhaust. It is only a matter of time before pollution-producing space vehicles are developed, and space tourism, along with planned space exploration, becomes ten times more sustainable, and therefore ten times more attractive to the public.
Whilst one may encounter difficulties in imagining space travel, specifically tourism, to be affordable and non-harming to our planet, several advances have been made since that historical day in 1961. Technology is only getting better, and new ideas are starting to spread. New accomplishments and milestones have been achieved (such as Ingenuity’s landing on Mars), and the spacecraft industry is doing better than ever. Who knows, perhaps the price will convert from the current expensive fee, similar to a seat on the Titanic, to one similar to the commonly affordable plane ticket.
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