A Lunar Holiday, for $100-million (only) |
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Published
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Fri, 12 Aug 2005 03:05
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With the tourism hotspots slowly melting away, courtesy man's greed, it was but natural that people began to look skywards for that relaxing holiday. And Space Adventures, the company which made a name for itself by sending "tourists" to the International Space Station has stepped forward to satisfy this desire as well.
The package? A round-trip to the moon for $100-million per person.
Sounds goofy? You better believe it. For this "tourism" could be very possible in just a couple of year’s time, by 2008 at the very least. Space Adventures has outlined its Deep Space Expeditions program that seeks to make lunar landing by private citizens a distinct possibility. The first mission slated for 2008/2009 has been described as DSE-Alpha. "For the first time in history, a private company is organizing a mission to the moon. This mission will inspire countries of the world, citizens . . . our youth," said Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson. He was addressing newspersons at Manhattan yesterday.
The Arlington, Virginia-based Company said that the first travelers on the Lunar Mission would only be the 28th and the 29th persons in the history of mankind to orbit the moon. This would also be the first such mission in nearly 33 years, the company added. Passengers will have a chance to see the far side of the moon which is never visible form the Earth, "It's much more interesting to look at than the near side," Anderson said of the far side of the moon. The cost of the trip would include that of modifying a modern Soyuz TMA spacecraft and getting it travel worthy as well as training the passengers and conducting test flights before the actual tourists take-off.
But it’s not as simple as it seems. The Lunar journey is bound to be a rough one for sure since it takes almost 21 days to reach the destination as against the 10 days required to dock at the International Space Station. American businessman Dennis Tito and South African Mark Shuttleworth have already indulged in the $20 million trip to the ISS and Gregory Olsen, a New Jersey scientist is all set to visit the ISS come October 1. But the fact remains that exciting as these journeys may sound, they are nevertheless fraught with danger. But Anderson passed all such concerns, "We are going to show the world that private citizens can complete the training and the qualification necessary to execute such flights," he stressed.
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