Space isn't remote at all—it's only an hour's drive away if your car could go upwards…Fred Hoyle (www.mirstation.com)

    Apollo 11 Astronaut, “Buzz” Aldrin who drove the lunar wagon on the first moon landing (1969) declares “We are today where the Wright Brothers were in 1903”. A century of advances in aviation technology and mass tourism have changed our global perceptions. Increased transportation speed in relation to distance has both shortened travel time and increased our travel range. Mankind has roamed our earth, conquered its highest mountain and explored the ocean depths. The next travel challenge is our last “frontier”: SPACE. The scientific challenges of this 21st century travel frontier are minimally three-fold: to develop the technology to travel and ultimately to live beyond the limits of the earth's atmosphere; to encourage the social sciences to match the scientific advances in aeronautics, astrophysics, and space medicine; and to strive for international accord in the occupancy and development of cosmic space. This article addresses the state-of-the-art in space tourism at the millennium; the historical stimuli that created a potential market of a million or more passengers, and some physical and psychological issues of extra-planetary hosts and guests. This is the first time a “host population” will be created, to staff space hotels, and initially “guests” must be screened for their aptitude and ability to “tour”.


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    Title :

    Space Tourism: The 21st Century “Frontier”


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2000-01-01


    Size :

    11 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English