Everest – Mount Everest by climbers, news: ”
The Space Monopoly Game Plan: Get big fast and Buy the Spaceports Sharing half a billion in investments on Space (sort off) Tourism – Virgin Galactic has only collected $13 million in cash from tourists, while Eric Anderson just signed up his first customer. Yet the race is on for a piece of the $1 billion pie, a space tourism revenue estimate resting largely on polls showing that up to 40 percent of us would go into space if it were possible, and the fact that there are more than 20 million millionaires in the world. In this Space version of a Monopoly game – rockets are good props to buy while Spaceports seems the most sought after (and expensive) real estate to own. ”
I guess this is it. Get your spot while you can–Space calls!
So, class, a few questions:
1. What would it take to get you to sign up to go to space?
2. Many have argued that government funds would be better spent on purely earthbound endeavours (ignoring, often times, that the only place to actually spend dollars is “on Earth”). How do you feel about private enterprise funding these businesses designed for “vacations” to space?
I look forward to your answers. I have enjoyed all the others!
The Prof
1.) It wouldn’t take much for me to go to space? A decent amount of proven safety measures and a relatively low price. (And as NASA has shown, there are no guarantees, even with a ‘strict program of safety’. Thus, even the first requirement is a bit loose.) A million plus for travel is out — but a thousand? Sign me up! Space is one of the last frontiers. Oh sure, there is the ocean which is largely unexplored. But who wants to see a bunch of glow in the dark, ugly looking skeleton-like fish, when you can see space, up close and personal?
2.) US involvement in space may have been spurred by Cold War tensions, but that doesn’t make it any less important to explore. (The race for nations to be viewed as advanced enough obtain the ability to travel to space still seems to be pervasive today. Why else would Brazil be so eager to send an astronaut into space? Prestige, of course.) It can be difficult to know where you are going, if you don’t know from where you came.
1) money
2) As I understand it, the space tourism is just being used as a revenue device for bigger and better things.
Have we even reached the moon? I haven’t even reached Mexico. Going on the ride to the moon, you would have to leave your logical realities at home. Space travel is for aliens. Let them come to us. In the meantime, I would prefer to be able to say, “Please don’t kill me. Lets live together in peace.” in all alien languages…including French.