Space Tourism: The Pros and Cons of the Ultimate Luxury Travel
How the space race became the ultimate gold rush
Humans have traveled to space before, so why should we care about space tourism?
Think carefully about the words: space travel. What do they imply? If you’re like many people when you hear the word “travel,” your mind probably conjures images of a relaxing vacation — lounging on a beach or sipping a cup of coffee in an exotic locale.
However, when we say “space travel,” our minds think quite differently. We don’t picture a touristy spacecraft with travelers snapping photos and admiring the view from their window seats; instead, we imagine astronauts navigating complex machines toward distant planets, conducting experiments, and pushing the frontiers of human knowledge.
This distinction matters for space tourism because it has nothing to do with its more formal counterpart. Rather than contributing to technological evolution or space exploration, the main goals of space tourism fall into the deadly sins triad: pride, greed, envy.
How the space race became a gold rush
Decades ago, going to space was only accessible to the best pilots and space engineers on governmental runner missions. Since the turn of the century, the public has become increasingly aware of private companies’ involvement in space exploration. The most notable examples are Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos), SpaceX (Elon Musk), and Virgin Galactic (Richard Branson).
- Blue Origin is focused on developing reusable rockets to significantly reduce the cost of spaceflight. Blue Origin will build a lunar lander that can take up to four people to the moon as part of its plan.
- SpaceX is currently developing a crewed version of its Dragon spacecraft that will carry up to seven astronauts on missions to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has already flown two crewed missions for NASA that carried four astronauts each.
- Virgin Galactic is reportedly working on spaceships similar in shape and size to military jets but with twice as many engines. The company offers suborbital trips for space tourists where they can experience weightlessness for about six minutes before landing back down at their starting point.
Space tourism will encourage innovation
A competitive market also encourages innovation, which is an excellent thing for the space tourism industry as a whole.
Competition drives space tourism companies to develop new technology and inventions to attract customers. This desire for innovation will continue to be an essential factor in the future of space travel.
In fact, it’s likely that many of the advances in technology we see over the coming decades will be made due to demand from the tourism industry.
After all, if there are millions of tourists lining up every year to go on holiday into outer space, they’ll need somewhere nice to stay when they get there — which means hotels will have to be built.
Space hotels could look very different from what we know today: they might be dome-like structures floating among asteroids; or immersive space igloos on Mars.
Either way, designing accommodations that provide comfort and pleasure while out in orbit is no easy task — but it’s certainly possible given the further development of our technology!
Space tourism will boost scientific research
The idea of space tourism has been around for decades, and the first space tourists have already flown into low Earth orbit. As more people begin to travel to space, they will directly drive the creation of a new industry.
Many investors claim that this industry will result in enormous benefits for humanity, including advancements in technological innovation and scientific research. Consider the following:
- Tourism will create a new market, encouraging competition among companies that want to be at the forefront of this industry.
- Tourism will motivate scientific research by creating consumer demand for new technologies designed for space travel.
- Tourism will encourage innovation as researchers create solutions to various challenges that arise from sending ordinary people into outer space (e.g., spacecrafts designed for comfort).
Space Tourism could violate the legal principles of outer space
There are five main legal principles regarding outer space. They include:
- Freedom of Scientific Investigation
- Non-Appropriation of Outer Space
- Non-Harmful Use of Outer Space
- Non-Military Use of Outer Space
- No Environmental Harm in Outer Space
All five principles have to be considered when moving forward with space tourism. There is no precedent for resolving these issues and establishing a clear definition of what space tourism is.
The danger is that commercial activity in orbital space will become more common, making it difficult to discern whether the operations are for scientific research or profit.
Even though there are no laws in place prohibiting commercial activity, there is still a question of whether or not outer space can be commercially used at all.
Space tourism will not be accessible to all
But while the possibility of space tourism is undoubtedly exciting to think about, there are some things to keep in mind.
The current cost and complexity of space travel are problematic
That said, there are still some issues to consider. Space travel is prohibitively expensive for all but the very wealthy at this point in history.
However, as the tech improves and more companies offer services, the price will likely drop over time, even if questions of safety and comfort need to be addressed.
Space tourists brave enough to sign up now are only required to undergo basic safety training if things go wrong during their trip — which they may likely do, given that traveling into outer space is an inherently dangerous activity.
As more tourists visit space stations or orbit Earth, regulations must be created and enforced so that people know what they’re getting themselves into before embarking on these longer voyages.
Space tourism will contribute to pollution in outer space
Space debris is a term for any object in outer space that is no longer functional. It can be pieces of rockets, satellites that have burned up, and any other type of junk that has made its way into orbit.
With more tourists visiting space, the amount of debris will increase exponentially. This can prove dangerous to both astronauts and satellites alike.
The latent threat rises exponentially as the amount of space junk clutters outer space, and we all know how severe the damage caused by space debris can be.
Concluding remarks
While there are some benefits to space tourism, it’s essential to consider the potential risks. Traveling to space should not be taken lightly. The human race may envision again traveling to the moon, but for now, we must think about things that impact us directly.
As long as the Earth is a viable place for humans to live, our space program should not infringe on the rights of other countries. However, when we go beyond these two goals and evaluate the possible rewards and hazards of space flight, it is evident that space tourism may provide both advantages and downsides while providing few, if any, incentives.
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