Space tourism is becoming interesting (… and strange)

For less than a century, humans have been sending objects, both organic and inorganic, into space. We have not yet managed to travel beyond our galaxy, but our descendants will possibly find a way to travel to distant galaxies in the future.

Although human exploration of space is in its infancy, how we nurture space exploration will determine its maturity for future generations. We must consider the opportunities that space exploration presents us with now and how we can use those opportunities to prepare for a better life for future generations.

Here are nine innovative, and sometimes weird, ways some companies are now preparing for the future of space exploration.

The scent of space

For most people, the smell of burnt cookies brings back memories of baking and burning cookies for the holidays or other special occasions. But for astronauts, the smell of burning cookies or lingering gun powder (depending on your childhood activities) may remind you of the smell of space.

For more than a decade, NASA has used the scent of space training in the field to prepare astronauts for any unusual events they may experience in space. But now a team of people in the fields of fashion, technology, design and logistics are bottling the scent of space in a scent called “Eau de Space” and bringing it closer to the general public.

Space Lifts

In 1895, when Russian scientist Konstantin Tslolkovsky visited Paris, he was inspired to see the newly built Eiffel Tower and imagined building a space elevator. He based his concept on designing a compression structure built to run along an independent tower from the ground to the height of the geostationary orbit.

Now, more than a century later, while the mode of transportation chosen by humans to outer space is the shuttle, companies like Obayashi are reinventing space elevators. Modern designs consist of a tape made of carbon nanotubes stretching from a giant platform in the middle of the ocean into space, and Obayashi hopes to start transporting people into space by 2050.

Space Baggage

The world’s youngest astronaut in training, Alyssa Carson, collaborated with Berlin-based Horizn Studios to develop a concept for a smart carbon fiber suitcase suitable for space tourism.

Carson is said to be on his way to being the first person to set foot on Mars, and the luggage concept they developed is called HORIZN ONE, the world’s first space travel luggage. What will you pack when you go to space?

Space agriculture

With the desire for any type of exploration comes the need for supplies, and food is a supply that we must consider for long-term space exploration. That’s why Colonel Nick Hague of the US Air Force is on board the International Space Station (ISS) studying how to grow plants in space.

At this time, astronauts carry pre-packaged and processed foods that contain the necessary nutrients. The difficulty with preparing food for the space is the research and development costs necessary to meet the many necessary criteria. Growing plants in a zero-gravity environment also poses challenges, but NASA and The Hague are determined to keep astronauts and other space explorers well fed.

High altitude space balloons

Starting in 2021, a space-focused startup company, Space Perspective, will begin sending scientific research charges into space via a balloon called the “Neptune Spacecraft.” The intention of “SpaceShip Neptune”, which will reach a height of 30 miles, is that it will carry eight passengers at a time on six-hour flights over the next three and a half years.

While passengers traveling into suborbital space via the “Neptune Spaceship” will not experience weightlessness, they will remain over 99% of our atmosphere for two hours. And during that time, they’ll enjoy a panoramic view of the land and stars from a cabin with wrap-around windows.

Space burial (yes, like Spock)

Another part of life that we don’t always like to talk about or think about is death, but a company wants to help families honor the deceased in space and at the same time assist in humanity’s space exploration. Enter the space coffins, which is literally working on space coffins.

While the idea of ​​space burial may sound far-fetched to some, this company hopes to make it happen with an interesting twist. According to space coffins, they offer a space-age alternative to traditional options by organizing the preparation, celebration, and dispatch of a person’s body to travel through space on a path of their choice. The coffin is designed to protect your body in peace while collecting data and spreading. Any information collected by the coffin can be donated or marketed for further space exploration.

In essence, you can verify Grandpa Joe’s journey through space in the afterlife, which is transmitting data and is probably connecting to other interstellar coffins.

Its co-founder Chris Johnson says the company wants to change the Death Care industry from negative spending to something positive for that person and humanity. He also sees it as a way for everyone to have an opportunity to get involved in the space industry and help startups and businesses earn funds.

So after reading this it looks like such a crazy space coffin?

Space hotels

While NASA works to make long and long distance space travel more convenient, The Gateway Foundation plans to make space exploration more comfortable. They will launch a suborbital artificial gravity space station called the Von Braun Space Station that will become the first hotel in space.

Along with the use of this space hotel, which will have 24 individual units and will accommodate 400 guests, for luxury stays, they hope to also use it for educational seminars. The Gateway Foundation hopes to attract 100 guests to the Von Braun Space Station each week, as well as planning to build a much larger space hotel that can accommodate 1,400 guests.

Space billboards

A Russian startup called StartRocket is working on creating and launching an orbital screen or billboard that will emit ads from space. They would do so using a variety of cubesats, but have been rejected by scientists, researchers, and even advertising professionals. We are not sure that humanity really needs space announcements.

Space urinal

While for-profit companies devise ways to explore space profitably, NASA is giving anyone the opportunity to make space exploration more practical. A few months after the 2020 toilet paper crisis, NASA’s Lunar Loo Challenge gives anyone the opportunity to ensure that astronauts and Astro-tourists never experience an out-of-this-world crisis.

The Lunar Loo Challenge consists of a prize of $ 35,000 to be divided among the three best designs (by individuals or teams of people over the age of 18) for a toilet for the Artemis astronauts. There is a junior division, but they will only receive public recognition and an official NASA article.

To explore space and beyond

With all that we don’t yet know about our own planet, one must wonder how far our exploration of the final frontier of space will extend. Future generations can explore parallel galaxies, discover what’s on the other side of a black hole, and walk on the surfaces of more planets.

For those of you who watched Star Trek, you may remember the opening words of almost every episode, “Space: The Final Frontier. . . . “Captain James T. Kirk said those words at the beginning of all but two episodes of the original Star Trek. In this first century of space exploration, we will see innovation beyond our wildest imaginations as businesses and individuals continue to be pioneers on this last frontier.

And to quote Captain Jean Luc Picard, “things are impossible until they are not.”