Go to the moon for $100mil

[Kenazo]

Text

So if they think they can afford to do it for $100mil why doesnt' NASA just dish out the $100mil. Far cheaper than what they were going to pay for their own missions...

$100m to visit far side of the moon
By Amy Yee in New York
Published: August 10 2005 23:26 | Last updated: August 10 2005 23:26

For $100m, space tourists will be able to journey to the far side of the moon with Space Adventures, the Virginia-based company that pioneered space tourism, as soon as 2008, Space Adventures officials said on Wednesday.


Two seats aboard a Soyuz spacecraft piloted by a Russian cosmonaut will sell to the public for $100m (?81m, £56m) each, Eric Anderson, chief executive of Space Adventures, said. Lunar trips lasting eight to 21 days will run an elliptical orbit around the moon and come within 100km of its surface.

No one has yet signed up, but the company says it has identified more than 1,000 people with the financial means to make the trip.

?This is the same mission that many governments say requires billions of dollars,? Mr Anderson said. ?It's a very reasonable price.?

Millionaires Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth paid Space Adventures $20m for trips to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Greg Olsen, head of a New Jersey technology company, is to become Space Adventures' third ISS tourist in October.

For the lunar mission, Space Adventures has teamed up with the Russian Federation's Federal Space Agency and Energia, the Russian aerospace company.

In an indication of the growing appetite for space tourism, Space Adventures has pre-sold 115 sub-orbital space flights at $100,000 each, although it does not yet have vehicles to make the trip. Its space tourism packages include astronaut training and rides in Russian Mig jets.

Details of the lunar mission came a day after space shuttle Discovery returned safely to Earth, shortly after Nasa announced it would suspend future shuttle flights indefinitely due to safety concerns.

But Space Adventures pointed out that Nasa's concerns bore little relevance to the company's lunar flights in simpler spacecrafts.

Space tourism gained new attention last autumn after Sir Richard Branson, head of the Virgin entertainment and travel group, formed Virgin Galactic, a space-tourism company that aims to take people to space beginning in 2007.

 

[meltdown75]

:music: we like tha mooooooon :music:

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Bleh. I'll just pay $20 for some drugs. Not only could I go to the moon, but I can do so as a giant green rabbit made of happiness.

 

[Acanthus]

The russians have the right idea.

Make the space agency an operating business entity instead of being wholly subsidized by the government.

 

[Kenazo]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
The russians have the right idea.

Make the space agency an operating business entity instead of being wholly subsidized by the government.

It is kind of funny that the Russians are better at the capitalism thing in this instance

 

[So]

Originally posted by: Kenazo

Originally posted by: Acanthus
The russians have the right idea.

Make the space agency an operating business entity instead of being wholly subsidized by the government.

It is kind of funny that the Russians are better at the capitalism thing in this instance

The thing is, this is a desperation move on their part. While I like the idea, it doesn't seem to be out of a love for the market, or an attempt to privative space. In fact, in a way, it's worse than NASA, because it's a government owned monoply on space travel.

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
Bleh. I'll just pay $20 for some drugs. Not only could I go to the moon, but I can do so as a giant green rabbit made of happiness.

:laugh::laugh::laugh: