Space Vacations?
Space Vacations?
Contents
Where We At
Early Adopters
The Next Wave Of Pioneers
Pushing The Envelope (Literally?)
What It Look Like?
The New Space Culture
Making It Happen
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What about space vacations?
Space for the rest of us?
That’s the goal, right?
A life in space?
At least for those who want it.
Where We At
Progress is already underway.
Like most new things, early forays into space have been, and will be, expensive and, therefore (mostly, so far), undertaken by the very rich. But it’s happening. Has been happening.
Initiated by the adventurous among us willing to forgo that extra Bugatti or a few Dior purses for a rocket ticket.
That said, even at this early stage there have been exceptions; people who got selected to go to space though they were not Scrooge McDuck. In those cases someone else footed the bill.
And it’s vital that they did. And do.
It’s important that these people of means jump in and spend big money so that, eventually, space is doable for everyone.
As an example, if no one was willing to fork out big money for early versions of (name your tech), that tech would never have taken off and … that’s right, never would’ve become available to the rest of us.
Early Adopters
“Early adopters” are vital. Pioneers, who commit and risk either money or life or both, have funded many of the advances that have gotten us where we are today.
And so as those ticket prices come down (and they will), sending more and more private citizens affordably (and relatively safely) into space will become the next rung on the ladder toward a life for all of us in space, should we choose to go.
Which is where our true space future begins.
Until very recently, most of what we thought of when we thought of space was centered around career astronauts, military test pilots, scientists and professional-others (brave teachers, trained researchers and so on); those intrepid adventurers who manned the next frontier. We watched, and we cheered, while they went.
That’s changing.
Astronaut Jessica Meir put it perfectly:
“We’re bringing the spirit of the entire planet with us.”
The Next Wave Of Pioneers
Those pioneers, like Jessica, are making it real for the rest of us. Once the average person has the option to live on the moon, for example – should they have a moon residence on their bucket list – in our humble opinion that’s the mile-marker for the dawn of the next true space age.
Everyday people going to and coming from space. Living on or visiting the moon. Space stations.
Will that happen in our lifetime?
Seems likely if we keep up the current pace.
Until then the travel of private citizens to orbit will continue to evolve, expanding in parallel with everything else happening in the pursuit of space. That future is already underway with the advent of so-called “space tourism”.
Let’s call it space adventurism for now.
Sure, it’s more of a novelty at the moment, but that’s okay. Many great things started that way.
Next will come actual vacations.
Pushing The Envelope (Literally?)
If all goes according to plan, starting next year Space Perspective, a company out of Florida, will begin taking people to the very edge of space—rising above 99% of the Earth’s atmosphere.
And they’ll do it in a balloon.
This is just one example of how near we are to space for everyone.
Called Spaceship Neptune, this extraordinary balloon and cabin was developed to be the most accessible, most sustainable, and safest spacecraft on or above Planet Earth. Over the course of a six-hour cruise (twice the length of the one they set sail on in Gilligan’s Island), riders will ascend in the comfort of a cabin with nine reclining, plush seats, with spectacular – nay, spine-tingling – views from full, 360° wraparound windows.
Plus, the cabin can be reconfigured to accommodate a special event, like a dinner for two, or a wedding.
What?
Yes.
A wedding in space.
Who will be the first private citizens to do that?
What It Look Like?
So what might a space vacation look like?
Hotels in space? Orbital designs have existed for some time.
Hotels on the moon?
Imagine a lunar vacation. Seeing the footprints of our first astronauts to walk there. Other landmarks. Descending magnificent craters, stark in their beauty, your $5,000 Dior purse slung smartly across your shoulder.
(Apologies, we had to make that reference. The first such “tourists” will likely be quite rich.)
But how cool would it be?
Having fun in low gravity; all the things you could do.
Look up at the moon from Earth and you see Tycho Crater. How awesome to be able to point to that, wherever you are in the world, and say:
“Yep. I’ve been there.”
The more we make the moon part of our every-day reality, the more secure our future.
Lava tubes are thought to spider-web pretty much everywhere beneath the moon’s surface. What if we turn a few into subways? Then you could be whisked around quickly and easily to all sorts of destinations.
Lunar circumnavigation, anyone?
Sounds trippy (badump bump).
The New Space Culture
So-called “moon culture” will set the stage for how we adapt to and live on new worlds. Maybe we’ll even call those who go “moon people”, the next set of pioneers that solve the issues the rest of us will face when extending our lives beyond Earth.
In the same way the pioneers of the West blazed trails and learned the ropes for living successfully out yonder, so too will the moon people.
Making it easier for the rest of us to follow.
The beauty of the moon is that it’s not far.
We can experience all sorts of things there, conduct experiments, try different techniques and more, practice our extraplanetary existence and do so with the confidence of being not too far from home.
Getting back to the environments we’re used to will be a snap.
So many reasons we need to be on the moon. Soon.
(Nice rhyme, eh?)
Making It Happen
Right now, even as you read this, there are amazing humans out there doing amazing things to advance the cause.
To help us survive in abundance. Such that we might one day realize that life in space.
So let’s turn our eyes toward discovery. Awareness. Space vacations are but one part of a much larger vision.
Let’s explore the realities and opportunities of what might be our collective space future.
It’s a grand one. And it’s already happening all around us.
Welcome.
Want to hear from us Friday mornings?
Every Friday our chief correspondent, Tai Rade (you’ll love her take on things), sends a recap of the week in space.
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