So You Want to Go to SPACE Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered what’s out there For the first few decades of spaceflight vacationing in the cosmos was something that only happened in science fiction But now journeys into space are becoming more possible for more people And that means with some preparation and a taste for adventure one of those people could be you
to take vacationers to the Moon and other places near the Earth And new technology being developed right now could mean travel to destinations like Mars the moons of Jupiter and beyond Going into space for fun has actually been possible for a while The first paying space tourist went up way back in 2001 when an American businessman named Dennis Tito took a one-week vacation in Earth orbit at the International Space Station ISS But it was expensive he had to pay U S 20 million for the experience Since then a total of seven people including former Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi and Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberté have vacationed on the ISS As well hundreds of people have trips booked on rockets that fly shorter suborbital trips roughly 100 km 60 mi above the Earth But at U S 95 000 to 250 000 a ticket that’s still a lot of pocket change for the average person Once more people have gone though experts predict that the cost of taking a space vacation could drop down to the average price of a new car Trip of a Lifetime Getting to take a trip into space used to mean that you had to be at the top of your class in math science and lots of other subjects After that you’d have to become one of the best fighter pilots in the world or be an incredible scientist Speaking several languages and being really good at sports and different hobbies would also help But even with all these qualities you and thousands of others would still have had to compete for only a handful of professional astronaut jobs While doing well in school is always a good idea and getting paid to explore the cosmos would be pretty awesome the exciting news is that there are now more opportunities to become a space adventurer Today the dream of heading to space isn’t just for those who work for government organizations like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA or the Canadian Space Agency CSA Already a small number of people have gone on vacations using spaceships originally built for astronauts working in space Meanwhile the development of new materials means engineers are working to build more efficient spacecraft for quick trips into space for fun and adventure New ways of thinking have created plans for space cruisers Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson looks out a window in the Cupola of the International Space Station A part of Earth and the blackness of space can be seen through the windows
Training for Your Space Vacation Though you won’t have to train as hard as a professional astronaut for your trip into the universe there are still things you’ll need to learn and do as an aspiring space traveler To spend any amount of time in space you’ll need to be in good physical shape It’s important to exercise to build up your muscle strength and endurance and eat well leading up to the trip You’ll also be given a medical checkup to make sure you don’t have any serious health conditions that would make space travel too dangerous For a suborbital trip you’ll actually be in space for only a few minutes So after passing the physical exam you’ll likely take some practice runs in a spinning centrifuge to get used to the extreme forces you’ll experience on your flight You’ll read more about this kind of flight simulator later but for now just imagine being strapped inside a giant spinning top Training for trips to the worlds beyond Earth orbit however is a bit different For these longer trips your training will also be longer months or even more You’ll need to become an expert on everything from aeronautics the science of air travel and learning how to deal with medical and other emergencies to the more day-to-day stuff such as repairing the toilet which could also be considered a type of emergency and cutting your fellow passengers hair You’ll also have to get used to living with others in small spaces possibly as small as a moving van drinking liquids and eating food out of bags working on a day-night schedule different from that of Earth and locking yourself in a tiny radiation shelter a thick-walled room that protects you every time the sun burps out a solar flare in your direction Top right Restrained by a harness astronaut Guion Bluford exercises on the treadmill on the space shuttle Challenger Center right Commander Richard Truly sleeps right-side up while astronaut Guion Bluford sleeps upside down on the space shuttle Challenger Bottom right Space food bags of snack foods and dehydrated foods Below STS-131 and Expedition 23 crew members pose for a photo on the International Space Station STS-131 crew members are pictured in the light blue shirts while the Expedition 23 crew are wearing darker shirts
Have some time before your trip Consider enrolling in a flying in a spaceship space camp like those offered at science centers and space agencies around the world There you’ll get to experience what it’s like to plan a mission train for it serve as a mission control member and use some simulators to experience a few of the sensations you’d feel
