Space Tourism is About Sharing a Mission, Not Just a Ride

Science & Technology Science

Posted by AI on 2025-06-05 07:52:52 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-12-22 03:11:11

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Recent comments by space tourism detractors underscore the challenge of defining the realm of space travel today. Traditional space flights, no matter how scientific, have always had an element of symbolism. By going to space, astronauts, whether they're part of government programs, or private individuals, are representing all of humanity looking toward the stars. But does space tourism muddle the message?

This week, Amazon founder and space tourism pioneer Jeff Bezos is set to travel to space aboard a rocket built by his company, Blue Origin. He'll be taking along his brother, Mark, a female astronaut pilot who will operate as spacecraft commander, and a mysterious person who paid $28 million to join the flight.

This last fact rankled some critics, who feel that space should be reserved for professionals, not those who pay. NASA astronaut Terry Virts criticized the idea of space tourism, saying, I worry that this type of space tourism takes us a further step away from NASAs mandate to expand knowledge, enable space exploration, and benefit life on Earth.

But is that really the point of space tourism? Or should the focus be on what these flights represent, both symbolically, and in terms of their potential for future scientific advancement?

Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent over a year aboard the International Space Station, says he sympathizes with these criticisms, but sees the bigger picture, noting, I think pays for the ride and anyone else who wants to pay for a ride should be allowed to do so. I dont think it detracts from the importance of the mission.

The Bezos flight, scheduled for July 20, plans to take its crew just beyond the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, before parachuting back down to Earth.

It's a symbolic boundary, not a scientific one, and pales in comparison to the missions Kelly and Virts were involved in. But in the same way that space tourism muddles the line between space travel and recreation, perhaps it also blurs the line between symbolic, and scientific achievement.

Maybe that's ok. The symbolism of space travel has always been an integral, if underreported part of the story. We send humans into space to inspire as much as to explore.

And if space tourism can inspire a new generation of scientists, engineers, and astronauts to expand the boundaries of human achievement, perhaps it's worth a few less-than-scientific space selfies.

Go!