Space has never been more firmly within human reach, now that Axiom Space is offering expeditions to the International Space Station. With the first launch scheduled for 2020, a berth on one of the company’s 10-day missions costs US$50 million, and includes 15 weeks of spaceflight training alongside national astronauts. Only a few seats are left.
Known as the Axiom Experience, the mission will reach an altitude of 250 miles, affording views of almost all the planets from the largest windowed observatory ever made for space exploration.
The Axiom Experience affords views of almost all the planets from the Axiom World Observatory, the largest windowed observatory ever made for space exploration.
Creature comforts do not have to be sacrificed on the trip, and cocktails form part of an array of dining options available to the space tourists.
Visionary French designer Philippe Starck’s influence is felt in the interior spaces, a design, he says, that is “perfectly in harmony with the values and movements of the human body in zero gravity”.
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In an environment that encourages reflection, spaceflight participants can engage in a range of activities designed to broaden the mind and invigorate the body. Access to the station’s exercise equipment is offered alongside opportunities to carry out microgravity and biological research, and short courses in photography and film-making.
Those who return to earth with their appetite for space exploration whetted can take further steps towards gaining the skills of professional astronauts. Axiom Space offers training in spacewalking, robotics, and extreme environments, as well as high-performance jet flights, zero gravity and suborbital flight, and tours of the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center.
“Space travellers return to earth fundamentally changed,” says Axiom Space CEO and President Michael Suffredini, “with a renewed perspective on humanity that stays with them for the rest of their lives.”
With the Axiom Experience, individuals are being given the chance to become a part of human history, and the opportunity to forge the direction of its future.
Read about NASA’S Parker Probe, about to embark upon a seven-year observation of the sun.
