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Space TourismThe billion-dollar space tourism industry offers trips into microgravity conditions for recreation rather than scientific research. At a cost of hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars, space tourists can purchase a seat from several space travel agencies to experience the overview effect—the documented sense of awe associated with viewing the entire world at once. Trips fall under two categories: short-term suborbital and longer orbital voyages. Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket and Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity spaceship have conducted suborbital missions, providing tourists with a few minutes of weightlessness, while SpaceX utilizes its Falcon 9 rockets and Crew Dragon capsules to achieve a stable orbit around Earth every 90 minutes. The future retirement of the International Space Station has shifted competition from merely owning the journey into space to also owning the destination. NASA's Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program is currently supporting efforts by Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Starlab Space to launch orbital space stations that can house both astronauts and tourists.Explore Space Tourism

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Space tourism rockets emit up to 100 times more CO₂ per passenger than airplanesRocket launches release significant amounts of water vapor, nitrous oxide, and rocket propellants, which generate greenhouse gases and air pollutants. High-altitude emissions can persist for years, affecting the ozone layer. ideas.ted.com The Russian Federal Space Agency enabled the first space tourism journeyNASA refused to take Dennis Tito, who had no formal training as an astronaut, up to the International Space Station. Instead, the American engineer and entrepreneur traveled aboard the Soyuz TM-32 mission and described the initial experience of microgravity after engine shut-off as the "most spectacular" part of the flight. BBC News As of 2022, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX are the primary space tourism companiesBlue Origin offers 11-minute suborbital flights for $28M, while Virgin Galactic provides a 90-minute suborbital flight for $450,000. SpaceX offers orbital flights for $55M, including trips to the International Space Station, and plans to offer civilians trips to the moon by 2030. AFAR Media Space tourism by the numbersPrivate space tourism agency Space Adventures held a monopoly on space tourism for the industry’s first decade, but everything changed when four more major players entered the stage in the early 2020s. Who are the key players in the space tourism industry, and how many space tourists have there been since the first in 2001? Explore space tourism by the numbers in this article by Space Insider. Space Insider Space tourism opportunities have been explored since the end of the Apollo eraIn the 1970s, Rockwell International, a NASA contractor, and others investigated manufacturing passenger modules that could fit into the Space Shuttle's payload bay. NASA also opened spaceflights to nongovernment professionals, but many such programs were ended after the Challenger disaster, which killed the first Teacher in Space participant. AFAR Media In 2001, a $20M ticket officially kicked off space tourismOn that day, American businessman Dennis Tito became the first paying passenger to visit space, spending a week aboard the International Space Station. Since then, space participants have been members of suborbital flights, which do not require intensive training to prepare for. 1440 Increasing space tourism may require changing the definition of astronautThough astronaut has been used to describe any crew member in space, civilian explorers who lack formal training have instead been dubbed "space travelers" by some. The term astronaut may one day fall out of use or be modified by ongoing media and social perceptions as the space tourism industry continues to evolve. TIME 'Ghost towns' are rarely known for ghost sightingsInstead, they're places an industry has abandoned, leaving many of the town's buildings decrepit and abandoned. That doesn't mean they're completely empty; some folks prefer the pace and look of ghost towns, which often lean into their Old West aesthetics. The Vox documentary explores ghost towns in Nevada, which is home to more than 600. Vox What it's like to go inside the Great Pyramid of GizaTourists can actually enter the ancient wonder, taking a 15-minute jaunt through tight spaces some describe as uncomfortable. The focal point of the journey is the chamber of the dead pharaoh, historically significant but not always visually compelling. The author describes it as a cool bucket list item but wouldn't repeat it. Time Out Worldwide Orbital spaceflight requires reaching 23 times the speed of soundAfter the spacecraft accelerates up to at least 17,500 miles per hour, space tourists can travel in elliptical orbits hundreds of miles above Earth for days or weeks at a time. Suborbital flights instead max out at about 2,200 miles per hour and travel only 50 to 70 miles above Earth's surface for a few minutes. Forbes There are no established minimum fitness standards for spaceflightMicrogravity is known to cause arterial hardening, bone weakening, and other health issues, but the novelty of space tourism and the minimal exposure time for suborbital trips have limited the number of research studies. Many companies have participants sign extensive waivers to bypass the requirement of specific medical standards. Space.com Civilians on short-term spaceflights can experience long-term astronaut health impactsA collection of 44 studies—primarily based on data from a 2021 tourist trip to low Earth orbit—identified immune system disruption and some kidney damage in tourists, with women appearing to recover from space travel faster than men. Return trips from Mars may require human travelers to be on dialysis. Smithsonian Magazine Microsoft Excel is used by over a billion people worldwideThe upstart computer software company Microsoft launched its columns-and-rows spreadsheet program in 1985, enabling users to sort information, create charts, and perform calculations with minimal friction. It would be coupled with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint in 1990 as part of the Microsoft Office for Windows. Witness History Commercial air travel made international vacations more commonplaceLong-distance commercial flights became more common in the 1980s, allowing tourists to travel internationally more easily. For those who could afford it, travel by airplane allowed them to see everything the world had to offer, harkening back to the philosophy of the Grand Tour. Travel + Leisure Explore a virtual tour of the Starlab Space StationHilton plans to design much of the interior of the free-flying commercial facility to provide comfort and hospitality during astronauts' in-space living. Starlab will include crew communal areas, wellness spaces, and advanced sleeping quarters. Stories From Hilton Anticipating moon tourism by 2000, Pan Am issued 'First Moon Flights' club cardsMore than 93,000 cards were issued between 1968 and 1971, creating a waitlist that began when Gerhard Pistor, an Austrian journalist, visited a Viennese travel agency to request a flight to the moon. The cards were issued at no cost and numbered in the order they were issued. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Voyager Station, the world's first space hotel, is planned for 2027The structure spans 488 meters in diameter and will rotate to simulate one-sixth of Earth's gravity while circumnavigating the planet every 90 minutes. The Voyager Station is designed to accommodate 450 guests and 150 crew members, providing amenities such as restaurants, a sports hall, and a movie theater. ArchiExpo e-Magazine Watch a montage of space-based Earth views as astronauts discuss their overview experiencesAs of 2023, more than 600 astronauts and 63 space tourists have seen Earth from space, experiencing a life-changing perspective shift as they view the entirety of our home planet. NASA Johnson Billionaires are racing to space to control future marketsAlthough different companies have described focuses ranging from luxury tourism to Martian space colonies, all are building infrastructure to capitalize on the shift away from government-only control and betting big on reusability and scale. By securing public contracts and subsidies, they aim to develop strategic partnerships toward dominance in low Earth orbit. 1440 The 1992 Olympics changed BarcelonaBarcelona wasn’t always a global tourist hotspot. Before hosting the 1992 Olympics, the city’s coastline was blocked by factories, green spaces were scarce, and tourism was minimal. But after securing the Olympic games, everything changed. 1440

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