A trip to space could cost the same as an Antarctica holiday

A trip to space could cost the same as an Antarctica holiday

Space tourism will become added affordable in the advancing years as an aberrant bulk of basic gets channeled appear the sector, according to a aloft NASA astronaut.

"In a decade or two, traveling to amplitude will be like traveling on an alien vacation to Antarctica," said Don Thomas, who has catholic on four amplitude shuttle missions during his 20-year career at NASA.

A attending at accepted bout agencies such as G Adventures reveals prices to Antarctica alpha from $5,699 for an 11-day journey, excluding air fare.

"As added companies access the amplitude tourism business and as we advance new technologies, prices will appear down," added Thomas, who is currently a physics assistant at Towsen University.

That action is already underway.

A attending at contempo abstracts indicates clandestine investors are appreciably bullish on amplitude tourism, which could aftereffect in the commercialization and development of cheaper technologies.

"Nearly alert as abundant adventure basic ($1.8 billion) was invested in amplitude in 2015 than in the above-mentioned 15 years, combined. Added than 50 adventure basic firms invested in amplitude deals in 2015, the a lot of in any year during the 15-year abstraction aeon (2000-2015)," U.S. consultancy The Tauri Group said in a February release.

66 percent of investors in amplitude companies are based in the U.S., with California home to bisected of these investors, it added.

This anniversary abandoned saw cogent advance in the approaching of amplitude tourism. On Sunday, Elon Musk's SpaceX-operated Dragon abridged auspiciously delivered an "expandable habitat" that could serve as a approaching amplitude auberge to the International Amplitude Station.

Called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, the abode will be abounding with air to aggrandize to four and a bisected times to become 4 meters advanced and 3.2 meters tall, NASA explained.

"Expandable habitats abundantly abatement the bulk of carriage aggregate for approaching amplitude missions. They are failing and crave basal burden aggregate on a rocket, but aggrandize afterwards getting deployed in amplitude to potentially accommodate a adequate breadth for astronauts to reside and work. They aswell accommodate a capricious amount of aegis from solar and catholic radiation, amplitude debris, diminutive oxygen, ultraviolet radiation and added elements of the amplitude environment," the alignment said.

NASA estimates the all-around amplitude abridgement already generates added than $300 billion a year.

Low-cost solutions for amplitude biking are already getting developed, Thomas noted.

"In just a few abbreviate years ahead, I anticipate companies like Amplitude X and Blue Origins will be ablution humans on mini-shuttles. They will go up to 85 afar aloft the earth, and these flights will be in the ballpark of $150-200,000."

There are aswell companies alive on a cheaper solution: top distance balloons.

In October, Arizona-based World View Enterprises appear that it developed a pressurized abridged absorbed to a behemothic helium-filled airship that can yield six barter and two aggregation associates to an distance of 30,500 meters.

The amount tag? $75,000 per seat.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.

About JULIA

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.