Space Tourism: Instead of Traveling to the Moon, Space Comes Down to Earth

The fascination with space has existed since the dawn of human civilization, and dreams of becoming astronauts are passed down from generation to generation. It seems we have never been closer to realizing those dreams. For decades, engineers, architects, and wealthy businessmen have been preparing projects to bring space closer to ordinary mortals by turning it into a tourist product; however, a sufficiently practical solution that justifies the enormous costs has yet to be found.

One of the first ideas for building a space hotel was presented back in 2007 when former aerospace engineer Xavier Claramunt introduced the ‘Galactic Suite’ project, the first hotel designed to operate in space. It was envisioned that this space resort would orbit Earth at a distance of 450 kilometers and would accommodate a maximum of four guests and two astronaut pilots. It was supposed to be completed ten years ago at the order of Galactic Suite Limited (GSL), a company that was to become the largest chain of space resorts. However, as is the case with many other space projects, everything remained at the announcement level.

Lunar Experience

Therefore, engineers and architects devised a much more feasible variant – to ‘bring’ space to Earth. Preparations are currently underway for the construction of the most luxurious and largest resort, the Moon or lunar resort, for deep-pocketed guests eager for authentic and unforgettable experiences. As part of the project, several such resorts will be built, primarily in the MENA region, with the best infrastructure and service. The first of these, which is planned to open in 2027, will reportedly be in Dubai. Moon Dubai is expected to be the first serious step towards mass space tourism, but on Earth. In addition to luxurious accommodation, resort will feature a so-called lunar colony, a conference center, and the main guest meeting place, Global Meeting, intended for various attractive live events, with a 90-minute program priced at five hundred dollars. Guests will move around the resort either on foot or via a hop-on lunar rover.

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Dezeen

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Each of the lunar resorts in North America, the MENA region, and the Asia-Pacific ring, which will be built by the Canadian architectural company Moon World Resorts (MWR), will have four thousand luxuriously equipped apartments that should accommodate around ten million guests per year, roughly the same number of tourists that visit Croatia annually.

For Inspiration and Education

As announced, Moon Dubai will become the largest and most modern tourist project in the entire MENA region, with a capacity of two and a half million guests per year; thanks to this capacity, the current number of visitors to Dubai would double. The lunar resort is also expected to significantly contribute to the economy of the United Arab Emirates, including tourism, transportation, real estate, financial services, energy, agriculture, technology, and education. Guests will also have the option to purchase real estate, as the resort will have 144 luxury residential units in addition to the hotel part, and owners will enjoy all the privileges that come with lifetime membership in the MOON Owners Club.

The apartments and units are designed to inspire and educate owners about the benefits of healthy living, so residents will be exposed to various sensory experiences enabled by aromatherapy and various integrations of light and sound. Modern technology will purify the air, and vitamins will be injected into the water through filtration systems. Naturally, all products will carry today’s popular labels: ‘non-toxic’, ‘recyclable’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘eco-friendly’, and ‘not tested on animals’.

A Five Billion Dollar Investment

The ‘Moon’ convention center will host exhibitors and visitors from around the world in a space of 46,500 square meters, and its uniqueness will also include various exhibitions on technology and space. Global Meeting, a space for special events, will be able to accommodate up to five thousand visitors who will have the opportunity to attend live events directed by the world’s most famous artists. It is envisioned as a spectacular living room that will span several levels, with the largest being Earth. The construction costs of the resort, which is expected to be a total height of 224 meters, are estimated at five billion dollars, and the construction duration is four years. In a statement to the American magazine Forbes, architect Michael Henderson emphasized that next year, trips are planned to present the MWR project to obtain regional licenses and various permits, most likely in Dubai, with options including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, or Kuwait.

In Orbit

Unlike the ‘fake’ space, another space hotel, or rather a space station that will be in function for tourism, is in the preparatory phase of construction, but truly in space. This actually involves two hotels, Voyager Station and Pioneer Station, which are also expected to be built by 2027. In addition to intergalactic travelers, the facilities will be available for business meetings and various research. The corporation behind the project, Orbital Assembly, is engaged in building space stations. In the first proposal for the Voyager Station project, accommodation capacity for 280 guests was planned, but this plan has now increased to four hundred. A smaller version, Pioneer Station, which will only accommodate 28 passengers, is also being designed. The estimated construction value of these two space hotels is 200 billion dollars, and they are expected to be managed by the well-known hotel chain Hilton.

Both ‘stations’ will use artificial gravity to aid comfort in hotel rooms and ‘stylish’ bars. According to data from the Space Voyager website, the degree of artificial gravity will depend on the speed of rotation. Due to all the laws of physics, both hotels will look like gigantic wheels floating in space. Simulated gravity is very important for future space residents, but space would not be space if one did not experience weightlessness in it, which will also be enabled for guests in these two hotels. The interior of the Pioneer Station hotel is designed so that the space can function under both zero and partial gravity conditions. Thus, guests will also be able to experience playing basketball games where they can soar high due to the weightlessness of the environment. The hotel’s gastronomic offer can be expected to include so-called space food, such as freeze-dried ice cream, to enhance the ‘space impression’.

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Pioneer Station

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The public has not yet been informed about how much a night in these hotels will cost, but if we look at other tourist missions in space that are in preparation, we can safely conclude that it will be very expensive.

A Flight for 450 Thousand Dollars

For example, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which has long been preparing the first commercial flights into space, plans to send ordinary passengers into space for 450 thousand dollars per person (per trip).

While space tourism and all initial pioneering projects do not become a common occurrence among the stars, we can expect that such experiences will only be available to the extremely wealthy exhibitionists. Over time, experts predict that this mode of travel will become cheaper and, in perhaps not so distant a future, will be priced similarly to cruising on cruise ships.

Currently, HBO is airing the series ‘Avenue 5’ in which the famous Dr. House takes on the role of captain of a spaceship/hotel that was supposed to orbit Pluto, but has gone off course, making his return to Earth questionable. Although it was supposed to be humorous, the series is not overly funny, but the set design and script quite clearly depict the vision of space tourism as we humans imagine it. Very similar to the animated film ‘WALL-E’ from 2008, in which a small robot responsible for cleaning the polluted Earth finds itself on a spaceship with the human race, very similar to the real profile of guests on cruise ships. For those who do not have the money for space adventures and are not fans of resorts and cruises, it may not be such a bad idea to launch such a profile of tourists into space while other earthly mortals enjoy other forms of travel.