Most boys dreamed about becoming astronauts when they were little. And surely many were imagining that just as we’re going on a trip to the beach on our vacations, for instance, we could do the same in the future when it comes to paying a visit to another planet. If technology continues to evolve a lot, going to Mars would become just as common as going to a beach resort.
Astronomers still aren’t at that level, but we can consider that they’re making some steps towards making such a scenario possible. NASA aims to launch its first space tourism mission very soon, one that costs applicants roughly $55 million per ticket. IGN.com brings us the news about NASA’s plans, and we have to say right from the start that it’s still far from making space journeys a common act. So far, no astronomer has ever laid foot on Mars, and it won’t happen anytime soon.
Lift-off is scheduled for April 3, 2022
In only a few days, NASA will launch its first space tourism mission to the International Space Station (ISS). What this means is that three amateur astronomers will go to the ISS. The SpaceX Dragon will carry them to the station after gaining height from the Kennedy Space Center of Florida on April 3.
After months of training, the #Ax1 Crew is getting ready to head into quarantine for the final phase of preparation for this historic mission.
Check out the new crew photo: https://t.co/UhX4uACuAN pic.twitter.com/gaPhcYfTAK
— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) March 16, 2022
The International Space Station has a glorious history of almost a quarter of a century, and it will continue likewise until 2031, when NASA plans to retire it in a pretty unexpected way. The station will get crashed into the Pacific Ocean almost a decade from now.
Patrick O’Neill, who’s the marketing and communications+- manager from CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space), stated as CNN quotes:
We’ve had over 3000 experiments that have been happening on station, and there’s now over 30 commercial facilities that are operational.
After all, we’ve all heard that age-old saying that nothing lasts forever, and it seems that it even applies to the International Space Station, whether we like it or not.