Book A Vacation In Outer Space

Space truly is the final frontier — and taking a vacation beyond earth is no longer a thing of science fiction. For a sizable fee, wealthier tourists can forgo the typical beach vacation or ski lodge trip and venture upward into the great, unknown immenseness of outer space. In the last few years, a number of space tourist businesses have emerged across the world.

The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo ($250,000) is the creation of billionaire mogul Richard Branson. The “future astronauts,” as the company calls them, will complete three days of training that includes g-force simulation, before their launch. Unlike most space vessels, the SpaceShipTwo is taken upward by an airplane that reaches heights of 50,000 feet. Then, the spaceship is released and soars out of earth’s atmosphere and into the weightlessness of space. Here, passengers can then observe and be humbled by the view of earth.

Virgin Galactic © Jeff Schultes | Dreamstime

The SpaceX Dragon ($2,000,000), while the most expensive of the current space travel options, is perhaps the most rewarding. This seven-day expedition imagined by entrepreneur Elon Musk takes passengers to the international space station.

The Mars One Project (free) is perhaps the most literal interpretation of a one-way-trip. Passengers of the shuttle — the settlers of the future Mars colony — will leave Earth to never return in 2023. Coordinators of the project plan on sending additional shuttles every two years.