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Some space tourism startup companies are planning to offer tourism on or around Earth's Moon (also known as lunar tourism), estimated to be a reality sometime between 2018 and 2043.
Contents
Companies
Space tourism companies which have announced they are pursuing lunar tourism include:
Types
Tourist flights would be of three types: flyby in a circumlunar trajectory, lunar orbit, and lunar landing.
Cost
Some of the space tourism start-up companies have declared their cost for each tourist for a tour to the Moon.
Possible attractions
Two natural attractions would be available by circumlunar flight or lunar orbit, without landing:
Protection of lunar landmarks
The site of the first human landing on an extraterrestrial body, Tranquility Base, has been determined to have cultural and historic significance by the U.S. states of California and New Mexico, which have listed it on their heritage registers, since their laws require only that listed sites have some association with the state. Despite the location of Mission Control in Houston, Texas has not granted similar status to the site, as its historic preservation laws limit such designations to properties located within the state. The U.S. National Park Service has declined to grant it National Historic Landmark status, because the Outer Space Treaty prohibits any nation from claiming sovereignty over any extraterrestrial body. It has not been proposed as a World Heritage Site since the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which oversees that program, limits nations to submitting sites within their own borders.
Interest in according historical lunar landing sites some formal protection grew in the early 21st century with the announcement of the Google Lunar X Prize for private corporations to successfully build spacecraft and reach the Moon; a $1 million bonus was offered for any competitor that visited a historic site on the Moon. One team, led by Astrobotic Technology, announced it would attempt to land a craft at Tranquility Base. Although it canceled those plans, the ensuing controversy led NASA to request that any other missions to the Moon, private or governmental, human or robotic, keep a distance of at least 75 meters (246 ft) from the site.
Proposed missions
The company Space Adventures has announced plans to take two tourists within 100 kilometers (54 nautical miles) of the lunar surface, using a Soyuz spacecraft piloted by a professional cosmonaut. The trip would last around a week.
Excalibur Almaz has announced plans to take three tourists in a flyby around the Moon, using modified Almaz space station modules, in a low-energy trajectory flyby around the Moon. The trip would last around 6 months.
In February 2017, SpaceX announced it had accepted deposits for a week-long flyby mission to the Moon, set for late 2018, in a Crew Dragon capsule, crewed by the two tourists, to be launched via Falcon Heavy rocket.