Space
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COVID-19 information: Even though people in outer space are one of the lucky ones that is literally watching the world panicing, there are real risk at infecting other fellow astronauts with COVID-19 when you travel there. Thus, special measures will be taken, and please consult your contractors or government employers for further instructions.
On Earth, many centers and museums has been limited or temporarily closed due to the pandemic, so please check these information carefully at other websites and services to be sure. |
| (Information last updated 25 Feb 2022) |
| “ | Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before! | ” |
—Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek | ||
Space exploration has been a dream of humanity for millennia. When you have been transported 100 kilometers from the Earth, you can experience weightlessness, floating inside a spacecraft and viewing the planet from an unique vantage point. Commercial space tourism has arrived, though as of yet only for an extremely privileged few. However, with recent innovations to rocket and spaceflight technologies, it may be accessible to many in the near future. While very few can go to space, everyone with good eyes can see it for free, do amateur astronomy from anywhere on Earth's surface, or visit spaceflight sites.
Regions
Outer space or simply space symbolizes all that is impossibly remote from us, yet it's actually remarkably close — the most common definition is that space begins just 100 km (62 mi) above earth's sea level, a boundary known as the Kármán line. Above that height, tourists need space technology to get there and to survive, as even high-altitude aviation technology won't suffice. The trick with spaceflight is that it's not about going high... it's about going fast. In low Earth orbit, that means speeds around 7.8 km/s (28,000 km/h or 17,000 mph), which is enough to circle the entire Earth in about 90 minutes. Space is characterized by near-vacuum, with the atmosphere dwindling away to a few atoms per cubic meter in interplanetary space, and by microgravity or freefall, creating the sensation of weightlessness.
A further paradox of space is that it's mapped and managed in great detail, more than many places on our own world. Bygone explorers setting out into new continents or seas had little idea what lay before them or where their journey might lead, and they might be out of contact with home for years. Those heading into space have very precise trajectories, computed to the split-second to take advantage of gravitational forces. Throughout the day they coordinate with mission control, and in their free time, they can have audio and video calls with their families at the speed of light.
Earth
These are the destinations that most of us would ever dare dream of experiencing. There, tourists will travel thousands of meters per second, avoiding the ground while falling. Adjusting the spacecraft's speed using fuel can change its orbital distance from the Earth. Low Earth orbit region is a popular place for space stations, since a relatively small amount of fuel is needed to get there and it's unnecessary to dodge the deadly radiation from Van Allen belts. That said, to date, every single human has been inside Earth's gravitational influence, as the furthest that anyone has travel is to the dark side of the Moon.
Technically, the distinction between space and the upper atmosphere is arbitrary. Since the atmosphere becomes less dense as a spacecraft go up, drag in "space" is a real issue. In fact, the International Space Station needs to get boosted once a while to prevent it from falling back to Earth. The 100-kilometer altitude is chosen partly because this is the hard limit on any kind of air travel, but also because it's a nice round number. So don't worry if a space tourism company carries you just shy of that distance – it is still the experience of a lifetime!
| Low Earth orbit region Between 100 km (Kármán line) and 2,000 km, this the most popular destination of all spaceflight, sub-orbital or on the International Space Station. Present the least risk and most probable form of travel in our lifetime. |
| Medium and high Earth orbit regions Between 2,000 km and the end of Earth's gravitational influence, including the Moon, present intense level of radiation from Van Allen belt. Coupling with poor space infrastructure makes this place currently not a popular destination by itself. |
| Moon Only natural satellite of Earth, the Moon captures the human imagination and exploration since the prehistoric times. Dominated by craters and "seas", they are a popular planned destination of many tourists. However, as of 2022, only 12 people have walked on it. |
| Highly elliptical orbits This is another popular orbit to reach to, as you can experience being near Earth at perigee (closest point) and see the small Earth at apogee (furthest point). Risk of radiation sickness is reduced compared to the Medium and High Earth orbit region, but still high. |
| Lagrange points These points are where the gravitational forces cancelled out, labeled L1 to L5. They also host paths that don't necessary go around the planet, called halo orbits. For tourists, these are the places that you can experience strange effects, such as the Sun revolves around Earth. |
Understand
History
Outer space was not well understood for millennia. People believed that the atmosphere extended upwards indefinitely, and if people could rise high enough on balloons or flying contraptions, they would eventually reach the moon and the stars. Only around the 1600s, advances in math, physics, and technology began to reshape our understanding. Telescopes demonstrated what lay beyond our own world when we could observe the moons of Jupiter and phases of Venus. Through the theory of gravity and Newtonian physics we discovered that outer space is a vacuum, and why stars, planets, and moons orbit each other the way they do.
Inspired by the idea of exploring space, in the 20th century Russian teacher Konstantin Tsiolkovsky published landmark papers and American scientist Robert Goddard experimented with rocket designs. While early 20th-century rocketry pioneers had their eyes on the stars, rockets had not yet escaped their military origins. By 1944 Germany had built the V-2, the first ballistic missile, to rain down on targets at speeds that made it invulnerable to anti-aircraft guns and fighters. The development of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles led to the Space Race as both nations competed for various "firsts" in spaceflight.
Under the leadership of engineer Sergei Korolev, the Soviet Union got this first on 4 October 1957 when Sputnik 1 orbited the Earth for 21 days. On 3 November 1957 The Soviet Union succeeded in putting the Laika the dog into space aboard Sputnik 2, making her the first animal to orbit the Earth. Yuri Gagarin then became the first human to be successfully launched into space on board Vostok 1 on 12 April 1961. Then, in 1967, the breakneck pace of development resulted in fatal disasters for both programs: a fire during a test of the U.S. Apollo 1 which killed all three astronauts, and the crash of the Soviet Soyuz 1 which killed its cosmonaut.
The U.S. recovered and picked up its pace, landing Apollo 11 on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin exited their lander and walked on the Moon, a spectacle watched live by some 723 million people (more than one-fifth the population of Earth). Six more missions followed through December 1972. However, the wild dreams of the 1960s and 70s died as the public realized the cheap and easy space tourism they'd been promised wasn't forthcoming.
Satellites have become quite accessible in the eighties and the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit in 1990, marking great milestones in space observation. The United States's Space Shuttle first debut in the 1981 and became the first reusable launch system. During that time, the Russian developed the Mir space station, while the United States was developing space station Freedom. Space station Freedom would be converted into an international project called the International Space Station as we know today. Returning to spaceflight's private sector, Dennis Tito became the first pay-to-fly space tourist in April 2001, paying US$20 million for a seven-day trip to the International Space Station, with other follows suit.
China became the third country to put a person into orbit with the launch of Shenzhou 5 in October 2003, and since expanding its space presence. In 2004, Scaled Composites won the $10-million incentive Ansari X Prize by launching the reusable SpaceShipOne spaceplane, promising to usher an era of private space exploration. However, these vehicles once again do not met the expectations. The real deal came in December 2015, when SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket land on its landing site. Since then, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin sent a couple of passengers on short journeys to the edge of space in July 2021, and SpaceX follow suit with a space tourist flight Inspiration4 in September 2021. While space remains a destination for just a few people, it's definitely more accessible as these spaceflight technologies gets refined.
Destinations
Besides these natural destinations mentioned above and staying inside a spacecraft, there are two space stations that are currently in operation. These are:
- Lua error in Module:Marker at line 64: attempt to index field 'datavalue' (a nil value)., Earth, perigee: 413 km, apogee: 420 km, inclination: 51.63° (See "Spot the station" for directions). 6am to 9:30pm UTC. The most well known space station of all, also the largest and most long-lasting. It is a popular destination of space tourists, primarily because of Roscosmos agrees to launch them into the station. Contains many modules and facilities, a hub for science and engineering advancement.
- Tiangong (天宫), Earth, perigee: 389.5 km, apogee: 395 km, inclination: 41.58° (See "Observation of Tiangong" for directions). A true second space station, owned by China. A bit smaller than the ISS, with significantly less volume. Access to the station may be difficult as it is in construction and likely not support foreign tourists.
There are also other proposed space stations, with notable ones listed below.
- Lunar Gateway, Moon, perigee: 3000 km, apogee: 70,000 km, orbit type: near-rectilinear halo. Serve as a science and staging area for the lunar landings of NASA's Artemis program. First module may launch no earlier than November 2024.
- Axiom Station, Earth (initially docked to the International Space Station, then detached). Private, free flying space station for commercial tourism and science activities. Has amenities like high-speed Wi-Fi, video screens, picture windows, and a glass-walled cupola for tourists. First module launch no earlier than 2024.
- Orbital Reef, Earth, low Earth orbit. Designed by Blue Origin and Sierra Space for commercial space activities and space tourism uses. Can support up to 10 people in 830 m3 of volume, with huge 8 meters diameter modules. Has been awarded by NASA for further development, expected to be operational in 2030.
- Russian Orbital Service Station, Earth, altitude: 400 km, inclination: 98.0°. Russian own space station for when the country left the International Space Station. A commercial module for up to four space tourists is also under consideration. First module launch no earlier than 2025.
- Starlab Space Station, Earth, low Earth orbit. Designed by Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin for commercial space activities uses. Can support up to 4 people in 340 m3 of volume. Has been awarded by NASA for further development, expected to be operational in 2027.
People
Most of the people to visit space so far have been astronauts or cosmonauts — professionals who are paid to train for and perform spaceflights. The distinction between the names is largely one of respect, with "cosmonaut" being reserved for members of the Russian Space Agency, and "astronaut" being used by NASA, ESA, CSA, JAXA, and essentially all others. Chinese astronauts are also often called "taikonauts" after the Chinese word for "space" (太空 tàikōng). As both the Soviet Union and later the U.S. have invited citizens of allied nations on their spaceflights, the nomenclature of the inviting nation was usually applied, making the first German in Space, East German Sigmund Jähn, a "Kosmonaut" on a Soviet Soyuz and the first West German in Space, Ulf Merbold, an "astronaut" on the American Shuttle Program.
The remaining few are commonly referred to as space tourists. As this conjures an image of someone in a polyester shirt with a camera around their neck, NASA and RKA prefer the term spaceflight participant. This is rather more accurate, as to date all participants have spent much of their time in space helping to perform scientific experiments. A more careful distinction might be drawn between government-funded participants from other nations that don't have a permanent astronaut program (such as Brazil, Malaysia, and UAE) and self-funded tourists who paid their way into space.
Climate
Since there is no atmosphere in space, spacecraft must create one in order for the astronauts to survive. Therefore, the atmosphere composition can vary widely. In the past, many spacecraft use pure oxygen for convenient storage, but nowadays it matches much more like Earth. On board the International Space Station, the temperature can range from 18 to 26 ºC, with a humidity at around 60%. It is wise to wear a light jacket to keep your body comfortable. In a space suit, the climate can be controlled more easily. In that case, a comfortable and tight clothes would be the best fit, as the suit is very stiff.
However, in space, there is no real "temperature", since there is very little matter in space. These temperatures is more often refer to the surface temperature, which can be misleading as different orientation of an object would receive heat from the Sun differently. Without sunlight, the temperature is around −270.5 °C, 2.7 degrees above absolute zero!
Units of measure
Most activities in space use the metric system, because almost all countries adopt the standard. However, in the case of United States, many parts are manufactured in the imperial system, resulting in a mess of conversions. The most embarrassing case of these mishaps is the deorbit of Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999, as the spacecraft interpret the data as metric, even though it is imperial. Other countries are not immune to this either, as a lot of space components use the imperial system, especially with diameter measures. As for a space tourist, it should not matter too much as most things are metric already.
Politics
The concept of politics in space is given a very futuristic name: astropolitik, though lots of other people use astropolitics. The most well-known document about this is the Outer Space Treaty, developed during the Space Race. To summarize, it recommends countries to consider that space "shall be the province of all mankind". This includes fostering science development, no claim of sovereignty on planets and moons, and no mass destruction weapons in space.
A prime example of how politics affect space operations is the Mir space station, when it witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union. The space station had adapted and changed greatly, such as by being commercialized when the newly formed Russian space agency did not have enough money to operate it. As tension between the United States and Russia is rising again due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, space may become more militarized. For the travelers going to the International Space Station, it is important to separate politics from their travel purpose, to prevent conflicts.
Talk
- See also: Russian phrasebook, Mandarin phrasebook
Like polar bases and other multinational ventures, space travel uses the languages of the craft's operators. English is the working language of space, used for many space operations and international coordination on the ground. Russian is the secondary language; some signs and labels on the International Space Station are bilingual, and Soyuz missions use exclusively Russian until reaching the International Space Station. Naturally, Mandarin is the main language spoken on the Chinese missions to space.
On the International Space Station, English is generally the working language, but astronaut and cosmonaut crews must be fairly fluent in both English and Russian (often talking with each other in an English-Russian hybrid, typically speaking the native language of whoever they're talking to, and substituting words they don't know in the foreign language). Space tourists on the International Space Station must know at least "enough English to get by", and, as all tourists to date have flown on Soyuz missions, have needed some basic ability in Russian (250 hours of language training during 6 months of study, or about 2 hours per day).
There is a lot more jargon in spaceflight than many other places, especially because of most people are technical-minded. This is unavoidable – space is never easy! Here are some of the basic terms that tourists and space-interested should be familiar with:
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Get in
| “ | Given ships or sails adapted to the breezes of heaven, there will be those who will not shrink from even that vast expanse. | ” |
—Johannes Kepler | ||
Entry requirements
Citizens of the United States, Russia, and China have the ability to facilitate space tourism as of date. There are nine other countries and one organization named the European Space Agency that have only launched objects to space, using their domestic launch vehicles. The other independent countries that has reached space and an active space program are Japan, India, Israel, Iran, North Korea and Ukraine, though Ukraine has never put its satellites into orbit. The European Space Agency includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Though has reached space, this feat by New Zealand is accomplished by an American company, called Rocket Lab.
As of February 2022, there are ten countries which are actively working on placing satellites in orbit, which are Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Argentina, Pakistan, and Turkey. Beside those, there are several more countries which had plans to be space-faring, but now abandoned: Canada, Egypt, and Iraq. The United Kingdom though abandoned their national Black Arrow project is not counted here, since it belongs to the European Space Agency. Citizens of other countries though do not have space capabilities can fly on spacecraft built by these aforementioned countries, though be wary of sanctions before booking a flight.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration regulates space tourists must be able to withstand the stresses of spaceflight, which may include high acceleration, deceleration, microgravity, and vibration. They also must be trained to deal with emergency situations, such as smoke, fire, loss of cabin pressure, and emergency exit. In practice, the training can last from a few days in suborbital flights to a few months in orbital flights.
For those inside a reduced-gravity aircraft, the training would be much less stringent. Almost all age groups is eligible on flying on once of these aircrafts, from a 8-years-old child to 93-year-old man. However, those with medical conditions should consult the provider and doctors before flight. The tourist may also need to submit medical certificates and other measurements in some countries.
By reduced-gravity aircraft
The weightlessness experienced in orbit can be created by a parabolic aircraft flight, which alternates low g-forces for about 30 seconds at the top of its arcs with high g-forces at the bottom. These parabolic flights are notoriously nausea-inducing, leading to the nickname Vomit Comet, but commercial operators claim that their shorter flights (15 parabolas) are considerably gentler than research and training flights which involve 40-80. They are also much less costly than risky than other options, though the price can be steep for some people.
- 1 Incredible Adventures Florida, Kennedy Space Center, Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island, Florida, United States (go east through Florida State Road 528 and turn left at Florida State Road 3), ☏ +1 941 346-2603, toll-free: +1 800 644-7382, info@incredible-adventures.com. The only provider for individual reduced-gravity flights, with a general plan from Martian gravity (1/3 Earth gravity) to lunar gravity (1/6 Earth gravity) and finally to zero-g. The small Rockwell Commander 700 plane will make 10-12 maneuvers, with each maneuver lasting 10 seconds. $4500 per adult, children under 18 years old are not allowed.
- Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G), ☏ +1 703 894-2188, toll-free: +1 888 664-7284, fax: +1 702 947-6343, info@gozerog.com. Offers reduced-gravity flights on a modified Boeing 727 named "G-FORCE ONE" with a large compartment suitable for weightless tumbling. 15 parabolas will be flown, with several brief simulations of micro-gravity, lunar gravity (1/6 Earth), and Martian gravity (1/3 Earth). There's about 8 minutes of micro-gravity. See the listing for booking flights. US$5,400 for 1 seat, US$55,000 for 12 seats, US$165,000 for private flight.
- Space Affairs, Bismarckstraße 72, 28203 Bremen, Germany (go to the Dobbenweg bus station of Line 25 and then go east through Bismarckstraße), ☏ +41 44 500 50 10, +44 20 3179 3070, toll-free: +1 888 881-1893, fax: +1 661 843-1871, info@space-affairs.com. Flights on balloons named "BLOON" have not started yet, and commercial BLOON flights are expected to start in 2023. BLOON is a very safe and steady balloon and can ascend up to 36 km (22 mi). On the day before your flight, you will head over to southern Spain, where the BLOON launch site is located. That night, there will be some easy training and stargazing using telescopes. The next day, you must get up early for the flight, and the BLOON will ascend to about 36 km. See the curvature of the Earth! After 2 hours, the BLOON will descend, and you'll soon be back on Earth.
- MiGFlug, Grüngasse 19, CH-8004 Zurich, Switzerland (first go to the Bezirksgebäude station of tram lines 2, 3 and 19 and bus line N14, and then go through Wyssgasse until you're at the end), ☏ +41 44 500 50 10, +44 20 3179 3070, toll-free: +1 888 881-1893, fax: +1 661 843-1871, info@migflug.com. As of June 2020, this program is unavailable, but you can contact MiGFlug for them to put you on the waiting list. Offering supersonic flights with a Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum jet up to 22 km (14 mi), departing from Russia. The MiG-29 Fulcrum is not guaranteed to go that high, but 17 km (11 mi) up is guaranteed. The MiG-29 Fulcrum will be climbing up in a ballistic path at nearly Mach 2. The flight package also includes transportation between your hotel and the airbase, a medical checkup before the flight, flight training, flight certificate with max altitude, a visit to the airbase museum, and an optional HD video and photo service of you at the edge of space. Edge of space jet flight for 50 minutes: from €17,500/person.
By suborbital spacecraft
A suborbita flight can fly high into space, but not not fast enough to achieve orbit. This means that the spacecraft is in space in just a few minutes, so be sure to plan everything beforehand. Price for these spaceflights are pretty steep by conventional standards, but it is certainly cheaper than an orbital spaceflight. Currently, there are two operators offering sub-orbital flight, consisting of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo spaceplane and Blue Origin's New Shephard rocket. There are many more companies which plans to offer such services, but as with most things, they won't go online for many years.
- 2 Gateway to Space Terminal, County Road A021, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (From County Route A13, turn left to County Route A39, and turn left again at the roundabout). Constructed by Virgin Galactic, the place is the hangar for the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. Riding on a mother aircraft, SpaceShipTwo detach mid-air and boost to about 80 kilometers, reaching Mach 3 speed. While total flight time is 2.5 hours, the feeling of weightlessness will only last for about 6 minutes. Flights will be taken at Spaceport America with a portfolio of four successful flights. US$450,000 per seat, reservations US$150,000.
- 3 Launch Site One (Corn Ranch), Texas Highway 54, Van Horn, Texas (Turn left near the Figure 2 Ranch Airport and wildlife management areas). Owned by Blue Origin, this facility is used to launch the suborbital New Shepard rocket. There, in the ten-minute flight, the rocket would go up, separate the capsule, and the weightless adventures begin. Then, the rocket stage lands vertically, the capsule deploy its parachutes and land with a loud "thump". New Shepard has been crewed three times, but it has been tested countless times in the past. Price not public.
By orbital spacecraft
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This is the real deal. Some people will not going to accept that a tourist were "in space" until they've gone into orbit. The minimum practical height for this is 350 km; otherwise, atmospheric drag will force the spacecraft down. The price tag for a trip to this region starts at around an eye-popping US$40 million. So, it is wise to wait and invest in these companies, for them to boost the development of cheap and convenient space access. The most promising of all is Starship rocket in development, carrying 100 crews with "less than $1 million" cost per launch. Although, in practice, the price tag would still be really high for ordinary citizen like us.
- Space Adventures, 8000 Towers Crescent Drive, Suite 1000, Vienna, Virginia, USA, toll-free: +1-888-85-SPACE (77223), info@spaceadventures.com. Space Adventures has organized orbital flights to the International Space Station (ISS), the only fully functioning space station in orbit. Around US$35 million per person will buy you basic training and a launch on a Soyuz vessel from Baikonur or a Crew Dragon vessel from Florida to the ISS. Participants must also fulfill certain physical fitness requirements to ensure their and the mission's safety. The ISS was launched in 1998 and has a Russian half and an American half. It orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, and 16 sunrises and sunsets can be seen from it every 24 hours. The ISS consists of 14 main modules including 4 labs, a utility hub, an airlock, and a life support module.
- Axiom Space, Houston, Texas, USA. Axiom Space has planned to send to send four tourists to the ISS in January 2022. It also plans to construct a space hotel on the ISS in 2024.
- SpaceX (Space Exploration Technology Corp.), 1 Rocket Road, Hawthorne, California, United States, ☏ +1 310-363-6000, sales@spacex.com. On demand, 24/7. The private firm transports astronauts to the International Space Station, and Boeing plans to as well. Russian Soyuz spacecraft had exclusively filled this gap since the 2011 end of the U.S. Space Shuttle program until 2020 when a SpaceX rocket with astronaut passengers bound for the ISS launched from Florida. NASA plans to allow tourists to stay on the ISS, charging $35,000 per night. The expensive part will be getting there: round-trip fare to the ISS by Boeing or SpaceX is estimated at $60 million. SpaceX has launched four civilians to orbit in Inspiration4 mission, so for the first time, space is accessible to all. You still need a billionaire to be your friend though.
- Boeing. Boeing announced the CST-100 Starliner, an orbital capsule capable of orbital flight with up to 7 passengers at "competitive prices".
- Roscosmos, Khrunichev Center territory, Zavodskaya 18, Moscow, Russia, ☏ +7 495 660-2323, info@roscosmos.ru. The Russian space agency has launched several space tourists into the International Space Station, and thus has a high reputation. Price negotiable, around $50-75 million.
- China is testing out the technology for space stations and is planning to launch a complete modular space station like the International Space Station by 2022.
By interplanetary spacecraft
Leaving the endless loop around Earth to journey elsewhere in the Solar System and beyond. Nobody has gone that far since the Apollo 17 flew the last lunar mission in 1972, nearly fifty years ago. There are no government-backed projects to return people to the Moon or to reach Mars, though work continues on the massive challenges such as self-sufficient habitats. Commercial or private proposals are wildly speculative.
- SpaceX is planning a tourist flight around the Moon for Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who wants to invite a group of artists to come with him. The trip is planned for 2023, but the company has a history of making ambitious plans and then delaying or canceling them.
Get around
Most space travelers remain inside their spacecraft and use its propulsion systems to get around. As orbital mechanics is extremely unintuitive and fuel for maneuvering is quite limited, these tasks are best left to a qualified pilot and computers.
By yourself
Inside your craft, it is very easily move around using your hands and feet. Craft are designed with ample handholds and footholds for moving yourself around as well as anchoring yourself in place while you're working. You're unlikely to get stuck out of reach of one, as momentum, air currents, and other minuscule movements of your craft make it difficult to remain perfectly stationary. However, tourists could be stuck for many minutes, possibly even hours of that's happens.
Whenever a person reach out for a surface, the rest of your body will move away just as much, preventing them from reaching anything. "Swimming" through the air doesn't work either, since unlike water, air offers very little mass to push against. Your best bet, other than asking for help, is to throw something reasonably heavy, such as your clothes, which will propel the person slowly in the opposite direction.
Moving things in a weightless environment is not intuitive, and doing it right takes practice and training. Sure, you can push or pull a massive object just as easily as a tiny one, but what's really happening is that you and the object are moving towards or away from each other. If you try to use a screwdriver, for example, what will actually happen is that the screw and the spacecraft it's attached to will rotate a tiny amount, while your comparatively small body rotates the rest of the way in the opposite direction — not at all what you were trying to accomplish!
What you need to do is anchor yourself to the spacecraft so you can turn the screwdriver and screw without turning the craft. On Earth, gravity holds you to the ground with the force of your whole bodyweight, but in space, you have to use muscle power to provide that force. (Imagine holding a block of wood in your hand, and trying to put a screw in it. It's much harder than trying to put a screw in a wall.) Astronauts practice in neutral buoyancy pools, large pools where objects underwater are balanced to neither float nor sink. Many tasks in space, particularly during EVAs, are performed very slowly and methodically.
By spacecraft
Locating yourself in space is crucial. Unlike addresses on Earth, locations in space are often refer to its orbit, i.e. path around a parent body. This is because you are constantly moving in space, interacting with planets and moons along the trajectories. Some characteristics of an orbit includes its relative position, inclination, apogee/perigee (highest/lowest point in orbit), etc. The usual units used are kilometers, astronomical unit (distance from the Earth to the Sun), and degrees respectively. In practice, that would mean using an array of telescopes to measure these data accurately. Predicting the future location of an object can be done very accurately, as engineers rely on that to push the spacecraft to the correct destination.
By suits
Occasionally, space travelers need to do extra-vehicular activity (EVA), where they exit their craft to access scientific experiments or perform repairs. For this, you need a very rugged spacesuit, which provides breathable air and protects you from the vacuum of space, harmful radiation, and extremes of temperature (from near absolute zero in the shade to absolutely roasting in the ferocious sunlight).
While a tourist can zoom around to their heart's content inside the spacecraft, outside of it, the person can easily become stranded with no propulsion left, potentially doomed the tourist a short life until air supply runs out in a few hours. Maneuvering units with small thrusters have been used a handful of times (most recently in 1990), but the safety risk is considered too great, and the scant advantages are certainly not worth the potential trouble. Today an emergency-use one is worn on all EVAs but has never yet been used outside of tests. EVAs are always conducted tethered, and often not just tethered but firmly attached to the Canadarm2 grappling arm so your crewmates can move you around.
See
| “ | Oh my God! Look at that picture over there! There's the Earth coming up. Wow, that's pretty. | ” |
—William Anders | ||
In space
Sightseeing in space is a must – after all, isn't it attractive? There, the Earth's boundaries are visible, making quite a few space visitors experiencing a shift in their awareness, dubbed the "overview effect". There, they become much more aware of how fragile and isolated life on Earth is compared to the vastness of the universe. In suborbital flight though, you needs to plan out everything in advance, or you would miss everything! Also for that reason, you should forget about taking pictures from a phone, as the spacecraft would likely have an array of cameras.
- Black sky: by 25 km (16 mi) altitude (well short of reaching space), all blue has drained from the sky, you're far above the weather systems, and you can see the curvature of Earth's surface. The stars become fixed points of light instead of twinkling: you'll see a rich field of them as you orbit the night side of Earth, but on the day side the glare of "earthshine" blanks out almost everything else. In Low Earth Orbit, sunrise and sunset flash by every 45 min; there's a brief red glow, but not the prolonged colors you see from the surface.
- The Earth is a remarkable sight, with its whorls of weather systems, blue oceans, "phases" as you pass from day to its night side, and glowing nighttime cities. If you orbit the moon, as you pass around its far side you lose radio contact as well as sight of Earth, and suddenly feel very much alone in the universe. Then you come around the corner and with relief see earthrise. You don't see this from the lunar surface without moving, as the Earth holds a nearly fixed position in the lunar sky.
- The Northern and Southern Lights form at the edge of space, at an altitude of a few hundred kilometers, so from orbit they're seen far below you flickering across the Earth's night surface.
- Stars can be seen very clearly without the Earth's atmosphere obstructing. Have a nice view of the Milky Way, or dream about humans going to Proxima Centauri, our closest neighbor. Make sure to equip with long-exposure cameras and software to get the nicest pictures.
- If you want to feel more close to Earth, try observing and understanding the technologies of your spacecraft and space station. These have been designed by very smart people, with a lot of them is on the bleeding edge of our capabilities.
Museums
For many of us though, we remain stuck down here on the little blue marble. Fortunately, space travel has such a long history that most major centers on earth have played a part in it, now displayed in their local museum. They are scattered throughout many countries, so this list of museums is definitely not exhaustive.
- 1 Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA (go east through Florida State Road 528 and turn left at Florida State Road 3), ☏ +1 855 433-4210, toll-free: +1 866 737-5235. Daily 9AM-6PM or 9AM-7PM; rarely 9AM-8PM; closed sometimes for launch days. This busy tourist attraction offers museums, movies, a rocket garden, and bus tours of former shuttle preparation and launch facilities. This is an official federal site — however, the visitor complex is run by contractors for a profit, so prices are comparable to private tourist attractions, not a typical national park. Basic admission (a 1-day pass) includes an excellent bus tour (including the complimentary bus tour of Launch Complex 39 and the Apollo/Saturn V Center), the museums (including the exhibit featuring the Space Shuttle Atlantis), and the IMAX movies. Additional special tours or programs should be booked in advance since they sell out quickly. Cape Canaveral also includes the Air Force Space and Missile Museum. 1-day pass: adults (12+) $57, children (3-11) $47. Discounts and other passes available. Parking $10.
- 2 Canada Aviation and Space Museum, 11 Aviation Parkway, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (at the tip of Aviation Pkwy, Aviation Pkwy starts from Ontario Highway 417, a.k.a. Queensway), ☏ +1 613-991-3044, fax: +1 613-993-7923, contact@IngeniumCanada.org. Daily 9AM-5PM. Not to be confused with Canada Air and Space Museum, which is a whole different museum. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum has five exhibitions, of which three are about space and not aviation. Life in Orbit: The International Space Station is about life in the ISS and how the astronauts handle a microgravity environment. There's a model of the ISS that you an climb in! Canada in Space is an overview of Canada's most notable space achievements, including a full-scale model of the satellite Alouette-1 and the Disorientation Station, which you can climb in and spin and get dizzy. And finally, Health in Space: Daring to Explore is about the effect of outer space on humans, such as microgravity and cosmic radiation. Adults (aged 18 to 59): $15, seniors (aged 60 or over): $13, children aged 3 to 17: $10, children under 3: free.
- 3 Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum, Mahony Ave, Brown Range, Western Australia, Australia, ☏ +618 9941 9901. Daily 09:00-16:00. This museum displays the little known history of Carnarvon's role in the manned space industry, and Australia's role in the space industry. The museum can be split up into two. One focusing about the tracking station, and the other with the OTC Earth Satellite Station.
- 4 Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics (Музей космонавтики, a.k.a. Memorial Museum of Astronautics or Memorial Museum of Space Exploration), 111 Prospekt Mira, 129223 Moscow, Russia (right beside the VDNKh metro station), ☏ +7 495 683-79-14, cosmomuseum@mail.ru. M closed, Tu W F Sa 10:00-19:00, Th Su 10:00-21:00. Sergey Korolev Memorial House: M Tu closed, Th 11:00-21:00, all other days 11:00-19:00. A large space museum with over 98,000 items about Soviet and Russian space exploration, located inside the base of the Monument of the Conquerors of Space. There's a Soyuz rocket and a duplicate of the very first artificial satellite inside. Tours are available for booking and can be in English. Not far from the Museum is the Sergey Korolev Memorial House, which is the house where Sergey Korolev, the designer of the first artificial satellite, once lived. This house is also a museum, with over 13,000 items about Sergey Korolev's life. 250 руб for individual visitors for both the museum and the memorial house, 750 руб for families with 2 adults and 2 children aged 7-17, 2250 руб for tours with groups of less than 15 people.
- 5 Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum), Paris, France (take Line 7 of the Métro to La Courneuve and then take bus line 152 to Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, it is next to Le Bourget airport), ☏ +33 1-49-92-70-00. Oct-Mar: Tu-Su 10:00-17:00; Apr-Sep: Tu-Su 10:00-18:00. One of the earliest air and space museums in the world, over 100 years old. There are 12 halls (exhibitions) in the museum, one of which is about space: La conquête spatiale. There are many models of rockets and satellites. Of the four activities, the planetarium and Planète Pilote are space-related. The planetarium has a large dome-shaped screen with 7,039 stars and 20 deep space objects. Planète Pilote is dedicated to 6- to 12-year-olds, but parents and teachers may enter. It has an aviation part and a space part, and more than 40 interactive activities. Permanent exhibitions: free; activities for adults/under 26: €9/7 for 1 activity, €14/11 for 2, €17/13 for 3, €21/17 for 4. The Paris Museum Pass can be used here..
Launch sites
Where rockets and spaceplanes' go up. Since this section only show the best of these launch sites, you may be interested at the sub-article spaceflight sites for a more comprehensive list.
- 6 Baikonur Cosmodrome (Космодром Байконур), Baikonur, Kazakhstan (go north through Korolev Avenue and turn right at the end of the road), ☏ +7 495 745 72 61, fax: +7 495 232 34 85, info@kosmotras.ru. The rocket launch site of Sputnik 1 and Yuri Gagarin in Kazakhstan, and to this day the main Soyuz launch site. Long a closed city and strictly off-limits, but now open to limited tourism through guided tours. Several tour companies operate tours to here, including Star City tours and Baikonur Cosmodrome tours. The Baikonur Cosmodrome plus the entire city of Baikonur is off-limits unless you get a special permit, which is usually done through your tour company. Star City tours: ~1,687,000 tenge for regular tour, ~2,050,000 tenge for VIP tour; Baikonur Cosmodrome tours: ~1,153,000 tenge for regular tour, ~2,050,000 tenge for VIP tour.
- 7 Guiana Space Centre (Centre Spatial Guyanais), Kourou, French Guiana, ☏ +594 37 77 77 (museum and tours), +594 33 44 53 (rocket launches), fax: +594 33 30 66 (museum and tours), +594 33 31 22 (rocket launches), visites.csg@cnes.fr (museum and tours), csg-accueil@cnes.fr (rocket launches). Museum: M-Sa 8AM-6PM. The European Space Agency's launch site in French Guiana, with a space museum nearby. The space museum has 2 floors, with 7 permanent exhibits and a planetarium. The launch site offers tours twice a day, one 8AM-11:30 and one 1PM-4:30; these must be reserved 48 hours in advance. Children under 8 cannot go on the tour. You can watch rocket launches from a distance of 7 km, 15 km, or 20 km. Children under 8 cannot watch rocket launches, and children between 8 and 16 are sometimes not allowed to watch rocket launches. Museum: adults (11+) €7 (€4 on Saturdays), children (3-10) €4 (€2.5 on Saturdays), children under 3 free.
- 8 Mojave Spaceport, 1434 Flight Line, Building 58, Mojave, California, USA (turn left to Airport Blvd. at the Mojave-Barstow Highway), ☏ +1 661 824-2433, info@mojaveairport.com. Plane Crazy Saturdays are on the third Saturday of each month. The first FAA-certified spaceport and the home of Scaled Composites' private spaceflight program. It does not offer tours, but there are Plane Crazy Saturdays which are open to the public and allow you to see what the spaceport is like.
- 9 Tanegashima Space Center (種子島宇宙センター), Tanegashima, Japan (in the south of Tanegashima, you will see a sign to the center when driving on the Tanegashima main road), ☏ +81 997-26-2111 (launch site), +81 997-26-9244 (space museum), fax: +81 997-26-9245 (space museum). 9AM-5:30PM Jul-Aug, 9AM-5PM on other days; closed on launch days, Dec 29 to Jan 1, and Mo-Tu after a long weekend (space museum). Japan's main launch site. The Space Museum has free exhibits, and tours of the launch site are also free. There are crowded public viewpoints for launch days, but you can watch rocket launches from anywhere outside 3 km (1.9 mi) from the launch site. There's a model of Kibō, a Japanese science module for the ISS, that you can go in, and the Rocket Launch Theater in the Space Museum. Free (space museum).
- 10 Vostochny Cosmodrome (Космодром Восточный, "Eastern Spaceport"), near Zilokovskiy, Amur Oblast, Russia. Operational since 2016, the Vostochny Cosmodrome was built to reduce Russian dependency on the Baikonur site in Kazakhstan, since after the Soviet Union dissolved the Baikonur Cosmodrome was in a different country. 15 km off the Trans-Siberian Railway, launches are certainly within viewing distance to train passengers, provided the train passes in the right moment. It has not opened to tourists yet.
- 11 Starbase, 54298 Boca Chica Blvd (get off ramp on Boca Chica Blvd, drive straight until reaching the end of the street, which meets several feet near the ocean), ☏ +1 310-363-6000, sales@spacex.com. Not for touring, but viewable outside 24/7. Aerospace facility launching Starship from Boca Chica State Park. Although the launch frequency has been lower than in early 2021, there are a lot of Starships and Super Heavy on display there. Many launch equipments can also be seen, such as the launch tower with steel arms and eight white tanks holding propellants, liquid oxygen and water.
Telescopes and testing facilities
Usually, telescopes are hosted in remote places, with clear atmosphere. As such, Australia hosted a lot of large observatories, some of them are listed in astrotourism in Australia.
- 12 CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope, Telescope Road, Parkes, New South Wales, Australia (when going along the A39 Newell Highway, there are clear signs telling you when to turn.). A radio telescope, which was the first telescope to detect signals from the moon back in 1969. There is a small museum with some stuff of interest to kids. There is a cafe with decent coffee and sandwiches. But the spot itself with the telescope and the wide-country and blue sky is quite special on a sunny day - even if you have no interest in space or telescopes. free - although you can pay to watch a short film when you arrive.
- 13 Star City (Звёздный городок), Moscow Oblast, Russia (in the Zvyozdny Gorodok Urban Okrug of the Moscow Oblast, it's surrounded by a forest). A cosmonaut training facility northeast of Moscow. This town's location was kept secret until the 1990s, even though the media often talked about it. There's a statue of Yuri Gagarin in town. About 70% of its population of 6,000 have jobs relating to space. There are two parts to the city: the residential area and the Yuri Gagarin Training Center. The world's first and largest centrifuge is here, which can produce up to 20 times Earth's gravity. There's also an airport for parabolic "vomit comet" flights. The Hydro Lab uses advanced technology to simulate a weightless environment with a big tank of water. Finally, there are many simulators used to train various skills. It is still a closed city, though unlike in Soviet times, it is now open to limited tourism if you join a guided tour.
- 14 Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 4800 Oak Grove Dr, Pasadena, California, USA (go north through Oak Grove Drive and turn right at the end of the road), ☏ +1 818 354-9314, tour.reservation@jpl.nasa.gov. The designers of the Curiosity Mars rover and the Voyager space probes, it gives public lectures monthly. Tours need to be reserved at least 3 weeks ahead, and they are 2-2.5 hours in length. Passport/identification are required to enter the lab. Free.
Planetariums
- 15 [dead link] Beijing Planetarium (北京天文馆; Běijīngtiānwénguǎn), 138 Xizhimenwai St (西直门外大街138号; Xīzhíménwàidàjiē), Beijing, China (at exit D of the Beijing Zoo station of the subway), ☏ +86 10 6835 2453. Closed M Tu, W-F 9:30AM-3:30PM, Sa Su 9:30AM-4:30PM. This is the first large-scale planetarium in China, with two buildings, one old and one new. The old building has a Foucault pendulum, a device used to show the Earth's rotation, and an exhibition with many facts about space. The new building has more stuff than the old one, and has models of all the planets. There are also exhibitions about the Sun and the Big Bang in the new building. Four theaters (two 3D theaters and two dome-shaped theaters) play more than 10 movies. Adults (aged 18 to 59): ¥10, children aged between 6 and 18: ¥8, children aged below 6 or seniors aged above 60: free, though there is still a charge for movies.
Do
| “ | Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in a cradle forever. | ” |
—Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, 1911 | ||
In space
Once you are there, there are a lot of activities to do. You can do extravehicular activities (EVA), better known as space-walking, means exiting the spacecraft to float around in space. It's only realistic in orbit and beyond, as a suborbital flight is too brief. Space Adventures offer EVA, but there have been no takers yet: it costs US$20 million extra, requires an extra month of training, and has additional fitness qualifications. You can do science as well, but be sure plan this with the organizers in advance, and assume it must involve zero extra weight. At the very least, you can be the subject of medical observations. You might not need to bring a camera if the spaceship's CCTV and external imaging is comprehensive.
Study in space-related field like astrobiology and astrophysics, with lots of fun! Gone are the days of nerds reading thick and complicated books, there are videos of explainers all over YouTube. As a bonus, understanding what is prograde would help you cut down on training time.
On Earth
Astronomy is a way of exploring space that you can do in your backyard if it's relatively free of ambient light. Astronomy itself has now traveled into space, with the Hubble Space Telescope and other imaging systems, and even earth-based astronomy is often big-ticket high-tech science. Yet amateur astronomers with simple equipment — even the naked eye — continue to make discoveries. Although, be skeptical of commercial "astronaut training camps" that spring up from time to time. They're like screen-writing courses in Hollywood, they make their money from hundreds of wannabes while doing nothing to foster genuine talent. Only go on the basis that they won't get you closer to space but still look value-for-money as an experience. Be even more skeptical of "investment opportunities" and discount ticket sales on some unbuilt space vehicle, which might as well be powered by unicorns.
- NASA space camp.
- 1 Mars Desert Research Station, 2200 Cow Dung Road, Hanksville, Utah, USA (beside Utah State Route 24 just outside Hanksville), ☏ +1 303 984-9346, srupert@marssociety.org. Experience how it would be to live on Mars. The campus includes 6 buildings: the two-story round habitat with a diameter of 28 ft (8.5 m), two observatories, the GreenHab (a crop farming lab), the Science Dome (a lab and control center for the entire station) and the RAMM (Repair and Maintenance Module). $750 per week.
- 2 Johnson Space Center, 1601 NASA Parkway, Houston, Texas, USA (exit out Saturn Lane in NASA Parkway), ☏ +1 281 483-0123, schinfo@spacecenter.org. 10AM-5PM most days, 10AM-6PM or 9AM-6PM some days, there's more information on the website. Mission Control for Space Shuttle and International Space Station activities, with an adjacent museum. In the museum, there's the Starship Gallery, which includes the Apollo 17 command module and a touchable moon rock. The International Space Station Gallery has interactive live shows and real ISS artifacts, and the Mission Mars gallery is an interactive exhibition about Mars. Outside, Independence Plaza has a model of a Space Shuttle that you're able to go in. There's a rocket park nearby, and it's available for personal tours. Adults (age 12 and up): $29.95, children aged 4 to 11: $24.95, children aged 3 and under: free, seniors: $27.95.
Work
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Astronauts perform many tasks as they orbit Earth. The space station is designed to be a permanent orbiting research facility, with a major purpose is to perform science and research that only a space environment can provide. The station crew spends their day working on science experiments that require their input, as well as monitoring those that are controlled from the ground. They also take part in medical experiments to determine how well their bodies are adjusting to living in space for long periods of time.
Working on the space station also means ensuring the maintenance and health of the orbiting platform. Crew members are constantly checking support systems and cleaning filters, updating computer equipment: doing many of the things homeowners must do to ensure their largest investment stays in good shape. Similarly, down on Earth, the mission center constantly monitors the space station and sends messages each day through voice or email with new instructions or plans to assist the crew members in their daily routines.
For those dreaming of working in space, look at the websites of the space agencies to see what they're hiring, and consider what skills might get you into space. Think ahead on how that job market might evolve: they'll probably need fewer pilots but more specialists. Solar panel maintenance, water extraction from Martian shale, who knows?
Buy
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For most of us stuck down here on Earth, there are a lot of souvenirs at the space centers. Beware though that a lot of them are designed to serve the general public, which can contain science and concepts being represented inaccurately. The best way to buy real souvenirs is to have a good understanding of basic space concepts.
The Kennedy Space Center Space Shop has a range of products, from T-shirts to space pens. The shop also sell old mission badges, Apollo and Shuttle-themed cups and toys. They also feature unique planet cuddles, which one of them has flown into real space! Products can be bought offline in the shop, or online with shipment from FedEx and USPS.
Many space company also produces merchandises. SpaceX primarily make wearables, mission patches and Mars-themed souvenirs. They can only be bought online, with the shop support most major credit cards and Apple Pay.
Eat
Although space food has come a long way in terms of appeal and variety, the quality and flavor are still not up to standards of most connoisseurs of fine cuisine. Your transportation provider may offer some choice in the foods available, but you will be limited by their willingness to indulge you. Real space food has to be carefully tested to make sure it's nutritionally balanced, can be stored for months without refrigeration, and is suitable for a zero-gravity environment. Food that would leave crumbs, for example, is problematic. The menu on the International Space Station generally consists of American and Russian staples along with other meals and international cuisines that have been requested and developed.
The freeze-dried "astronaut ice cream" sometimes sold on Earth as a novelty item is a misnomer; it has never actually been served on any manned space mission, and the texture is as off-putting to astronauts as it is to everyone else. However, real ice cream has occasionally been eaten in space by astronauts aboard Skylab, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station (usually when frozen components for scientific experiments are being sent up and there's some space remaining).
Unfortunately, even with extensive research and development, astronauts find much food in space to be bland and often don't have much of an appetite. In zero-gravity, fluid in your body distributes evenly instead of being pulled to your feet, resulting in a permanent stuffy head that dulls your sense of smell and taste. Space travelers have typically preferred strongly-flavored and spicy foods; beef jerky is a particular favorite. (Similar but weaker phenomena can be observed with airline food, in that case due to the dry low-pressure atmosphere.) Nevertheless, you must eat to maintain energy and body mass. Among many other rules for eating in space, one is key: once you open a package of food, you must eat all of it. Leftover food will rot and become a biohazard, and there's no way to dispose of it until the next resupply mission arrives or you return to Earth.
Standard delicacies
Food packaged in Russian cans is generally the best quality-wise but is also the heaviest, so only a limited number of these are allowed. Most food is in plastic pouches; some of these are ready-to-eat after optionally being reheated (a variety of main and side dishes, as well as snacks like granola bars and candies) while many others are dehydrated and must be reconstituted with water (such as borscht, spaghetti with meat sauce, or cereal with powdered milk). Fresh foods like fruit are a treat sent on resupply missions; they must be eaten within two days before they spoil. While most plants grown in space have been for research, astronauts have eaten small amounts of several types of leafy greens that they have grown.
As the fixed menu repeats every 16 days on an extended stay, you'll soon grow tired of the monotony. Astronauts get personal containers in which they can select items not on the fixed menu as well as extras of favorites. Besides standard condiments (liquid salt solution, pepper oil, and ordinary fast-food packets of ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc.), astronauts bring extras like hot sauces, pesto, horseradish, and more. You can also try combining foods to make new dishes; one astronaut wrote, "I cannot think of anything that cannot be put on a tortilla, or has not been put on a tortilla."
- 1 Space Food Systems Laboratory (Space Food Research Facility), Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, Texas (At Saturn Lane, turn to 2nd Street, the building is opposite to Delta Link), ☏ +1 281 483 7070. The original NASA space food center. The lab produces freeze-dried food, beverage powders, cookies, candy, and other dried goods. The facility also produces foods in pouches, similar to military's Meals-Ready-to-Eat. Food processing techniques and packaging are based on the item's perishability and ingredient. Space foods are evaluated in a specialized center, where food scientists evaluate the products’ shelf-life and goodness.
- 2 Astrofood (Russian Laboratory of Space Food), 12 Granatnyy St., Presnensky District, Moscow, Russia (From Vspolny Lane, go to Granatny Lane at the left), ☏ +8 995 504 12 12, info@astrofoods.ru. 10:00 to 19:00, Monday - Friday. Though not true "space food", Astrofood is a great place if you want tubed food like in the past.
Drink
Like space food, space drinks are mainly freeze-dried and packaged in plastic pouches. Coffee, tea, and a variety of fruit drinks are available; they're drunk with a straw, and you have to be careful to always "close" the straw between sips so liquid doesn't get accidentally squirted inside the vehicle. However, recent development has made drinking on an open cup possible, using the wicking effect to flow coffee to the mouth. This requires complex modeling and prior study in space in order to nail the shape right.
Water tends to be scarce (as it is heavy and must be brought from Earth at great expense), so International Space Station machinery recycles water aggressively. Scientific wastewater, humidity, and even urine are all recovered and sanitized. Astronauts don't mind the taste of the recycled water, which is actually purer than drinking water on Earth. And as one astronaut points out, the same kind of recycling happens naturally on Earth, too, just over a much longer timescale. Contrary to popular belief, Tang was invented shortly before the U.S. space program, although its popularity soared when NASA used it on Mercury and Gemini missions.
Since 2015 the International Space Station has had a machine that can make fresh espresso in addition to other hot drinks. It's used with a special cup that has a narrow spout; surface tension causes water-based liquids to climb the spout, from which you can sip it like you would on Earth. However, in zero-gravity, the crema foam is distributed throughout the espresso instead of floating to the top. Carbonated beverages aren't allowed because the bubbles don't rise in zero-gravity, leading to very unpleasant "wet burps". Alcohol has been consumed on a few flights in the past (mainly by Russian crews), but are prohibited on the International Space Station as it would interfere with the environmental systems, not to mention the potential danger for fire or crew impairment.
Sleep
While sleeping in zero gravity may sound relaxing, the overall experience is mediocre. As usual, you are free to choose your pyjamas, provided that they aren't very loose. On the International Space Station, astronauts each have a cabin about the size of a shower stall, so this is definitely not for those with claustrophobia! Inside this, they zip themselves into a sleeping bag on the wall, which can feel weird since you have gotten used to feel a force while laying down. There is no pillows and blanket in space – astronaut Scott Kelly missed the pillow so much that he stick his bag to a cushion.
And it doesn't stop here. Maintaining your circadian rhythm is difficult on a craft that experiences a sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes, and schedule disruptions due to mission planning and long workdays create further problems. Constant noise from the station is annoying, and astronauts are often cold because of the strong ventilation, which is needed to push away the carbon dioxide they exhale and replace it with oxygen. Because of the cosmic rays are streaming through the eyes, you might occasionally see fireworks inside, which would make you missed the sleeping experience on Earth a lot!
Some people are a bit luckier, since they sleep inside their spacecraft and do not need to deal with the noises. However, this really depends on the type of spacecraft that you are on. The Russian Soyuz spacecraft is the worst because of the very cramped space, but you are free to pick your space to nap in. SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule would provide you with a much better experience, with ergonomic seats and tons of personal space. With these features, many people joked that the Soyuz is for the economy class, while the Crew Dragon is for the first class passengers.
Stay safe
If you obtain a legitimate ticket to orbit, you will still need to pass through very intensive training and face with a real risk of dying. There are less demanding ways of experiencing space, such as sub-orbital flights and parabolic aircraft flight.
While more mature technology has made it safer than it was in the 1960s, space remains an inherently dangerous environment to put yourself in. Cosmic radiation, extreme temperatures, micrometeorites, engineering mistakes, high speeds, explosive fuels, space debris, the distance to the ground, and the lack of atmosphere make any unplanned situation potentially life-threatening. Spacecraft launch testing is extremely expensive, so spacecraft don't and can't have thousands of flight hours. By the standards of aviation, every space flight is a test flight.
Both launch (our only method of getting to space is to sit on a huge fuel-filled container and hope it behaves like a rocket and not a bomb) and reentry (if you hit it in the wrong angle you burn up in or bounce off the atmosphere) have thus far proven to be the biggest dangers during a mission. So far most accidents have been during launch and reentry as well as during training and testing; only three humans have died in space (albeit during preparations for reentry), but there have been several close calls such as Apollo 13 or the very first spacewalk. Some of the technological problems and close calls only became known to the public decades after they happened, so there may still be dangers you won't even know you are facing.
Voyagers should be wary of purchasing space flights on projects that haven't yet begun. Many ventures are highly speculative; PanAm's “First Moon Flights” Club issued over 93,000 waiting list spots between 1968-1971 and predicted launch dates for many subsequent commercial expeditions have slipped just as dramatically. If there are complications with the project or the company goes under, you might lose your money and your plans. Just look at the bold predictions of some private space companies that have already proven to be less permanent than a shooting star.
Don't even attempt to commit anything that could be interpreted as a crime in space, as the law around space crime is fuzzy and undeveloped. There has been at least one instance that an International Space Station astronaut got involved in legal trouble, causing headaches to lawyers and such, although the suspect would generally be tried by the nation they're a citizen of.
Stay healthy
Astronaut training is physically demanding, so good physical fitness is a good starting point. Similar physical and mental stresses are present in particularly demanding types of military service, piloting fighter aircraft, mountain climbing, Antarctic expeditions, and advanced scuba diving such as cave diving. National astronaut programs often require athlete-like physical fitness and experience from these or comparable tasks. There are no hospitals in space and rescue is difficult or impossible, so people with conditions that might require immediate medical treatment are not qualified for space travel.
Although early astronauts hid the truth to protect their tough-guy image, we now know that about half of all travelers experience space sickness, a condition related to motion sickness with similar symptoms including vomiting and vertigo. Most people adapt within 3 days, and medicinal anti-nausea patches help with the symptoms.
You need to exercise to stay healthy in zero gravity. Even so, you'll still lose both bone and muscle mass. Astronauts on extended stays are required to exercise at least 2.5 hours every single day. While exercise helps diminish the problem somewhat, a long stay will still see you weakened, and several cosmonauts and astronauts had difficulty getting out of their capsule and onto their own feet upon landing.
Another concern is cosmic radiation. While you are exposed to a certain level of background radiation at all times, it gets higher in certain areas on earth and once you leave the protective layers of the atmosphere. This is already notable on a commercial transatlantic flight at 10,000 m, and only gets worse if you go up to the International Space Station at 400 km above the Earth's surface. While the International Space Station still enjoys some limited protection against radiation, once you go well beyond that height, or even to the moon, there are short term and long term risks associated with radiation that only get worse the longer you stay. Particularly dangerous are solar storms that may give you a year's worth of radiation in just a couple of hours. Shielding against radiation is also one of the major problems in ever sending humans to Mars, as all known solutions involve huge amounts of extra weight for the spacecraft or too high a risk to the crew.
Respect
Astronauts are generally very friendly and can explain concepts well, because that's their daily job. Like many hardcore space fans, they really dislike space films that portray the sciences inaccurately.
A remark that can annoy people working in the space field is that exploring space is useless. It is usually masked in topics such as caring about Earth, too much taxpayer money goes to NASA, etc. While these questions are usually genuine, the counter-argument is that they don't account for the enormous benefit of exploring space. If you would like a positive response from the people involved, you would do better by asking them to give you their take on how humanity's investment in space exploration has justified itself by benefiting the human race.
Connect
In the past, communications are usually very low bandwidth, with flight data and audio transmitted by low-gain antennas. Higher data rate is now available, thankfully, and now astronauts can stream movies in space. A very common activity of astronauts in the International Space Station is to talk with their relatives at homes, as this would boost their morale. Keep in mind that the data speed can be very variable depending on priorities and time of the day, so usually communications from Earth to space can be poorer than the usual high-bandwidth cellular and WiFi. In the near future, satellite constellations like Starlink may provide gigabit speed to the spacecraft, via laser communications. It is possible to send small objects like physical mails and souvenirs between International Space Station expeditions, though you must have black hole-deep pocket to afford such long trips.
Astronaut has been able to dial 911 from the International Space Station, but this is not recommended as they would probably cannot help you. Instead, refer to your instructions by the contractor when there is an emergency. You should never try to fix a problem alone in space – there are an army of people on the ground that will instruct on what to do. Though, if there is such the need there is an official listing of radio frequencies to contact people from the ground using Kenwood D710E and Kenwood D710GA radios. Call sign is either RS0ISS for Russian; NA1SS for American; DP0ISS, OR4ISS, IR0ISS for European; and RS0ISS-11, RS0ISS-1 for packets.
- 145.80 MHz: voice and slow scan television (SSTV)
- 145.825 MHz: packet communications in the very high frequency range
- 437.550 MHz: packet communications in the ultra high frequency range
- 437.80 MHz: repeater
For the opposite, it is possible to communicate to the International Space Station, but some events require prior applications.
- 144.49 MHz: voice for the Americas, and the Pacific and Southern Asia (ITU Regions 2 and 3)
- 145.20 MHz: voice for the Europe, Russia and Africa (ITU Regions 1)
- 145.825 MHz: packet communications in the very high frequency range
- 437.550 MHz: packet communications in the ultra high frequency range
- 145.99 MHz and 67 Hz squelch tone (PL): repeater
Cope
National agencies
Many countries do have an independent space agency, though most do not have experience at crewed spaceflights.
Hygiene
Clothes in space actually don't get dirty very quickly, due to a variety of environmental factors. Wearing the same underwear 3-4 days in a row is no big deal! However, there's no practical way to wash clothes in space; astronauts get fresh clothes from resupply missions, and the dirty ones are discarded as trash, which is incinerated by sending it into Earth's atmosphere.
Although a shower was tested on Skylab with mixed feedback from astronauts, it was large and cumbersome, and hasn't been used again. Astronauts take sponge baths using liquid soap, water, and rinseless shampoo. Washing of hands and cutlery is similarly done with napkins and washcloths.
Some toilets in space come in different shapes, but they usually operate on similar principles. They generally have a funnel-like receptacle for urine and a larger bowl for solid waste, both using suction to capture the material and any odors. You have to hold on or strap in, of course, and there are procedures to follow for operating the toilet and cleaning up afterwards. The degree of privacy depends on the craft; stations have enclosed cabins as did the Space Shuttle, but in smaller craft it may be merely tucked away in a corner, hidden behind a curtain, or is in the open and you have to ask your fellow passengers to face the other way. On short missions, many astronauts prefer to simply avoid using the toilet, relying on enemas before launch and low-fiber diets.
News and entertainment
Mental health in space is paramount. You're stuck with a small number of people in very cramped quarters for weeks at a time, or months for permanent crew on the International Space Station. While short missions may be different, astronauts on the International Space Station do get weekends and a few holidays off. They have a projector for watching select TV shows and movies (sometimes before they play in theaters), and laptops for surfing the internet and talking to family. They bring their favorite hobbies with them, and the International Space Station now has an assortment of musical instruments on board.
Religious services
Although sticking to the traditional rituals and schedules can be difficult, religion has been actively practiced in space, both privately and publicly.
Christians have celebrated Communion in space, including Buzz Aldrin from the surface of the Moon during Apollo 11 and several astronauts on the International Space Station. Christmas is celebrated every year on the International Space Station, which includes a small artificial Christmas tree, Christmas dinner, and sometimes presents for the crew. Sometimes, Christmas is celebrated more than once, due to differences between the Julian calendar used by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Gregorian calendar.
Islam has been practiced in space and there are guidelines for how to pray in space, which address kneeling, facing Mecca, and washing. The religion also instruct how to time prayers and fasts for a 24-hour day when experiencing a sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes, which also generally based on the point of departure from land. It may be difficult or impossible to verify whether food is halal, in which case one should eat just enough to ward off hunger. There is a fatwa forbidding devout Muslims from participating in one-way missions to Mars, as the risk to life is considered too great.
Judaism has also been practiced in space, and there are similar guidelines for observing Shabbat, based on the point of departure from land, and orienting oneself while praying. Some adaptations may be needed to affix a mezuzah or wear a prayer shawl. Keeping kosher is possible with appropriate selection of meals, and there is already personal time allocated in schedules which could be used to study the Torah. However, properly observing tzniut (modesty) in mixed-gender crews might be impossible as that would require separate showers and toilets for men and women, which no vessel has as of 2020. The danger to one's life should also be weighed carefully.
No matter your religion, if in doubt of the rules, check with an appropriate religious authority. If possible, do so several months or years in advance so leaders have enough time to consider the implications and determine the answers.
Go next
What goes up must come down—at least for now. Once you've exhausted the Moon, there are countless opportunities for exploration and discovery down on the surface, in places such as Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, Antarctica, and countless islands in between.
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