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Space travel.

The path to the Moon, Mars, and beyond requires technologies to get us where we need to go quickly, safely and efficiently. Space travel includes launch and in-space propulsion systems, cryogenic fluid management, and thermal management, as well as navigation and landing systems to get our supplies, equipment, and robotic or human explorers to diverse surface destinations. 

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NASA seeks to improve our ability to access and travel through space; land more mass in more locations throughout the solar system; live and work in deep space and on planetary bodies; build next generation air vehicles, and transform the ability to observe the universe and answer profound questions in earth and space sciences.

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3 predictions for the future of space exploration — including your own trips

Alejandra Marquez Janse

Mary Louise Kelly

Tinbete Ermyas

Peggy Whitson says more widely available space tourism is realistic. Axiom Space hide caption

Peggy Whitson says more widely available space tourism is realistic.

If you've ever traveled somewhere that left you so enthralled that you wanted to go back over and over, then you get how Peggy Whitson feels about space.

She is a seasoned astronaut who has multiple achievements under her belt: She was the first woman to command the International Space Station, and in 2017 broke the record for most cumulative days in space of any American and female astronaut, with a count of 665.

Whitson retired from NASA nearly five years ago, but last month, at age 63, she packed up the necklace she wore on her wedding day, zipped her spacesuit one more time, and took flight in a SpaceX capsule as commander of the Ax-2 mission. It was sponsored by a private company, Axiom Space, where she now works as the director of human spaceflight. Three paying crew members traveled with her.

After returning to Earth, Whitson spoke with All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly and shared a few thoughts about the future of space exploration.

This interview has been edited slightly for clarity and brevity.

The Ax-2 crew in a training session. The group, composed of Whitson (far left) and three paying costumers, spent nine days in space last month. Axiom Space hide caption

The Ax-2 crew in a training session. The group, composed of Whitson (far left) and three paying costumers, spent nine days in space last month.

1. Space exploration will be a mix of public and private money

If you look at even the NASA missions returning to the moon, lots of different private space companies are involved in that process. And that includes Axiom Space, for instance, who are building the spacesuits that will be used by the NASA astronauts as they step on the moon again. So it's exciting to be part of this changing philosophy of space and the efforts of commercial companies like Axiom Space. We intend to build the first commercial space station initially attached to the International Space Station, but to undock before the space station is decommissioned.

I think it's a worldwide relationship between different companies and peoples, and that's what makes it such a special time to be a part of the [Ax-2] mission, because [space exploration] is changing flavor and it's exciting because there are going to be many more opportunities in the future.

The Ax-2 crew returns to Earth. Could this be you one day? Axiom Space hide caption

2. More people will be able to go to space

Obviously some of it will take time to make it not cost-prohibitive, but the fact that we are taking those initial steps is really important now. If you look back at commercial aviation and how that occurred and the development of that process, you know, it also started off to be only a few people could be involved and then later more and more, and so now it's pretty commonplace. I like to think that we're doing some of the same steps in commercial spaceflight now.

3. The goals depend on the person — and the country — that's traveling

Well, the objective of the mission is slightly different, obviously. My personal roles and responsibilities of taking care of the crew and ensuring their safety obviously are very similar. But our objectives were, we had one private astronaut, John Shoffner, who was trying to develop science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) outreach products for educators in the future, as well as doing research. And then we had two government sponsored astronauts from Saudi Arabia – the first female Saudi Arabian to fly in space and go to the International Space Station – and the second male to arrive.

SpaceX mission returns from space station with ex-NASA astronaut, 3 paying customers

So the objectives of the crew weren't all that much different necessarily than a NASA mission, which is outreach and scientific investigations, but these were with the specific goals of expanding outreach in specific areas for Saudi – which hadn't had a person in space for 40 years – and, you know, to inspire their youth as well as inspiring the youth in the United States.

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

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Ramin Skibba

Here’s a Sneak Peek at the Far-Out Future of Space Travel

From Star Trek–like medical scanners to concepts for off-planet agriculture like in The Expanse , science fiction has often inspired actual research at NASA and other space agencies. This week, researchers are meeting at a virtual conference for the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program to brainstorm and investigate sci-fi-like ideas, some of which may very well shape the missions of the next 20 years.

A drone helicopter hopping about a Martian crater or a lunar rover that maps moon ice might have seemed far-fetched a decade ago, but the copter actually flew earlier this year, and the rover is in the planning stages. Now the conference organizers have solicited proposals for more exploratory projects, a few of which the agency might eventually fund. “We invest in long-term, far-out technologies, and most of them probably won’t work. The ones that do might change everything. It’s high risk, high payoff, almost like a venture capital investment portfolio,” says Jason Derleth, the NIAC program executive.

The program isn’t focused on incremental developments but instead seeks game-changing technologies, ones that are 10 times better than the state of the art, Derleth says. He likens it to the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which also explores extremely speculative concepts but developed the precursor to the modern internet, among other innovations.

The annual conference , which continues through Thursday, September 23, is publicly viewable on NIAC’s livestream . Some of the proposals discussed so far—such as for new ways to launch foldable space stations or astronaut habitats, or to extract resources from other worlds—revolve around the understanding that, for lengthy space voyages, you have to make the most of every rocket launch.

The next generation of space travelers will need resources for survival, for protective structures, and to fuel the journey further or return home. “This leaves us with two options: Take everything with us, like if you were going on a hiking trip in the desert. Or find new and creative ways to use whatever is already there,” says Amelia Greig, an aerospace engineer at University of Texas at El Paso, who presented at the conference on Tuesday.

To aid creative reuse of lunar resources, Greig and her colleagues propose a technology called ablative arc mining, which would slurp up water ice and the kinds of metals that could be used as building materials. “It’s like using controlled lightning bolts to mine the moon,” she said during her presentation. Her concept describes a van-sized moon crawler—named after the Jawa sandcrawlers of Star Wars —that picks a spot, and then places a ringed device that it carries on its front end parallel to the ground. Electric arcs zap across the ring, which can be made as large as a meter in diameter, ripping particles from the moon’s surface. Those particles, now charged, can then be moved and sorted by the machine’s electromagnetic fields. That way, rather than scoping just one resource, a single piece of equipment could fill one container with water, another with oxygen attached to other elements, and others with silicon, aluminum, or other metal particles.

Dell Cameron

Andy Greenberg

Julian Chokkattu

Reece Rogers

An artistic representation of the ablative arc mining system deployed into a crater near the lunar south pole.

But, like all early concepts, it faces practical challenges that would have to be overcome: In this case, the moon’s dusty environment could cause problems by getting stuck in the machinery, which would have to be made dust-proof. To hunt for water ice, the crawlers also will have to trundle into permanently shadowed craters, which contain water at about 6 percent by mass but are extremely cold and dark. The crawlers’ electronics would have to be designed to operate in those rugged conditions and with a non-solar power source. It also would be tough for any astronaut to oversee them, though they could monitor the mining from the crater’s rim. NASA estimates that permanent lunar settlements will need around 10,000 kilograms of water per year. That would require at least 20 of these kinds of crawlers roving about, gradually collecting those supplies, unless this technology was supplemented with something else. For now, Greig just hopes to test a smaller demonstration version of the crawler in a few years.

Space mining projects have also prompted ethical questions. For example, scientists and others have raised concerns about lunar mining permanently changing the look of the moon in the night sky. But Greig points out that ablative arc mining wouldn’t look like the environmentally harmful pit mines on Earth; the mining region could be spread out, making some craters only slightly deeper. And as for sustainability issues, she says, “there’s enough water to last human settlements hundreds of years.”

Stop-motion representation of the arc mining process on the lunar surface.

As a potential launching point for moon-goers and expeditions to deep space, NASA has proposed a space station orbiting the moon called the Lunar Gateway . But Zachary Manchester, a roboticist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, argues that the limited size of rockets allows few options for launching large structures for a lunar station. “If you want something that’s bigger than a rocket fairing, which is at most a few meters, it has to get launched in multiple rockets and assembled in orbit, like the International Space Station . Or it has to somehow get scrunched up into that rocket and then somehow expand out,” Manchester says.

At a session Wednesday, he and Jeffrey Lipton, a mechanical engineer at the University of Washington, proposed a space station that would fit into that confined space. Then, once deployed, it would unfold autonomously, like origami, into a full-sized structure, some 150 times bigger than its folded size. Preliminary designs involve a many-jointed structure made of titanium, aluminum, or another metal.

Since future astronauts will likely be on-station for a while, it would need to rotate to generate artificial gravity to avoid the deleterious health effects of prolonged periods in zero-G. But humans are sensitive to spinning; no one wants to live on a merry-go-round. “If you try to build a rotating space habitat, the only way to do it without making people motion-sick is to spin at up to two revolutions per minute,” Manchester says. To produce Earth-like gravity, such a space station needs to be a kilometer across, he argues. Yet squishing such a massive structure into a tiny space until it’s deployed poses a significant engineering challenge. In addition, to make their idea a reality, Manchester and Lipton ultimately need to figure out how to make the unfolding process not get jammed, despite the structure’s thousands of links and joints.

An artist's illustration of the Lunar Gateway in orbit around the moon.

Like packing for the biggest road trip ever, NASA will face similar challenges when fitting everything needed for moon or Mars structures onto rockets. To lighten the load, some scientists have suggested using Martian rocks as material for 3D-printing parts of structures. (A simulated lunar regolith is currently being test-printed aboard the International Space Station.) But Lynn Rothschild, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, has a completely different idea: making structures out of mushrooms—or “mycotecture,” as she calls it. “The humble mushroom can provide an unbelievable building material. It’s completely natural, compostable, and the ultimate green building,” Rothschild says.

Although fungi could be used to grow the material for actual bricks and mortar that astronauts could use for construction, the best kind of space habitat would be assembled before they even arrive. Her team’s proposal involves launching a lander that would include plastic scaffolding and fungal mycelia, white filaments that make the root structure of fungi. (Like yeasts, mycelia can survive for a while without being fed.) The scaffolding would be a lattice of square hollow plastic cells, stitched into layers to make the shape of the final structure. On Mars, it would inflate to perhaps the size of a garage. Using water and oxygen—at least some of which would likely have been sourced or generated on Mars—the fungi would grow along those stitches and fill the cells, eventually turning a tent-like structure into a full-fledged building.

For strength and protection from space radiation, Rothschild thinks some kind of dark fungi could do the trick. “Black fungi—they make you say ‘Blecch,’ they look kind of disgusting. But the black pigment tends to protect from radiation, protecting the fungi and the people inside the habitat,” Rothschild says. She hopes to send a prototype to the International Space Station in the next few years.

Unlike the moon, Mars was once friendly to life . So Rothschild is designing the scaffolding to prevent any chance of renegade fungi escaping beyond the astronauts’ structures. (The last thing NASA wants is for a search for life on other worlds to turn up something that actually came from Earth .) In her team’s design, the fungi are essentially “double-bagged,” with an extra layer in the plastic lattice to ensure they all stay in.

To address those issues, space agencies have “planetary protection” experts like Moogega Cooper, supervisor of the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who spoke at the NIAC conference. “Anywhere you are possibly interacting with liquid water that is inherent to the place, your exploring would definitely catch our attention. Where you find water you may find life,” she says. The United States is one of the original signatories of the Outer Space Treaty, which requires that every space agency or company that wants to send a mission to an alien world make sure the spacecraft and all the equipment aboard are sterilized.

While the NIAC program has a budget of just $8.5 million per year, it supports many exploratory projects. A few of the ideas presented at this week’s conference could go on to the next level, or could get picked up by other agencies or private companies, as in the case of an earlier proposal to propel a smartphone-sized spacecraft to another stellar system with lasers, which inspired Breakthrough Starshot, a privately funded enterprise. Among a few of the topics on the menu for the rest of Wednesday and Thursday: multiple presentations about moon-based radio telescopes , as well as one about personal rovers for astronauts (since Artemis astronauts will be carrying 220-pound packs) and one about planting mushrooms in space regolith to make a more Earth-like growing soil.

“All of the concepts that are awarded are pushing the edge of our understanding, and they really allow us to take science fiction and make it science fact,” Cooper says.

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The future of spaceflight—from orbital vacations to humans on Mars

NASA aims to travel to the moon again—and beyond. Here’s a look at the 21st-century race to send humans into space.

Welcome to the 21st-century space race, one that could potentially lead to 10-minute space vacations, orbiting space hotels , and humans on Mars. Now, instead of warring superpowers battling for dominance in orbit, private companies are competing to make space travel easier and more affordable. This year, SpaceX achieved a major milestone— launching humans to the International Space Station (ISS) from the United States —but additional goalposts are on the star-studded horizon.

Private spaceflight

Private spaceflight is not a new concept . In the United States, commercial companies played a role in the aerospace industry right from the start: Since the 1960s, NASA has relied on private contractors to build spacecraft for every major human spaceflight program, starting with Project Mercury and continuing until the present.

Today, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is expanding on the agency’s relationship with private companies. Through it, NASA is relying on SpaceX and Boeing to build spacecraft capable of carrying humans into orbit. Once those vehicles are built, both companies retain ownership and control of the craft, and NASA can send astronauts into space for a fraction of the cost of a seat on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.

SpaceX, which established a new paradigm by developing reusable rockets , has been running regular cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station since 2012. And in May 2020, the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft carried NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS , becoming the first crewed mission to launch from the United States in nearly a decade. The mission, called Demo-2, is scheduled to return to Earth in August. Boeing is currently developing its Starliner spacecraft and hopes to begin carrying astronauts to the ISS in 2021.

Other companies, such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic , are specializing in sub-orbital space tourism. Test launch video from inside the cabin of Blue Origin’s New Shepard shows off breathtaking views of our planet and a relatively calm journey for its first passenger, a test dummy cleverly dubbed “Mannequin Skywalker.” Virgin Galactic is running test flights on its sub-orbital spaceplane , which will offer paying customers roughly six minutes of weightlessness during its journey through Earth’s atmosphere.

With these and other spacecraft in the pipeline, countless dreams of zero-gravity somersaults could soon become a reality—at least for passengers able to pay the hefty sums for the experience.

Early U.S. Spaceflight

Looking to the moon

Moon missions are essential to the exploration of more distant worlds. After a long hiatus from the lunar neighborhood, NASA is again setting its sights on Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor with an ambitious plan to place a space station in lunar orbit sometime in the next decade. Sooner, though, the agency’s Artemis program , a sister to the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, is aiming to put the first woman (and the next man) on the lunar surface by 2024.

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Extended lunar stays build the experience and expertise needed for the long-term space missions required to visit other planets. As well, the moon may also be used as a forward base of operations from which humans learn how to replenish essential supplies, such as rocket fuel and oxygen, by creating them from local material.

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Such skills are crucial for the future expansion of human presence into deeper space, which demands more independence from Earth-based resources. And although humans have visited the moon before, the cratered sphere still harbors its own scientific mysteries to be explored—including the presence and extent of water ice near the moon's south pole, which is one of the top target destinations for space exploration .

NASA is also enlisting the private sector to help it reach the moon. It has awarded three contracts to private companies working on developing human-rated lunar landers—including both Blue Origin and SpaceX. But the backbone of the Artemis program relies on a brand new, state-of-the-art spacecraft called Orion .

Archival Photos of Spaceflight

Currently being built and tested, Orion—like Crew Dragon and Starliner—is a space capsule similar to the spacecraft of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, as well as Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. But the Orion capsule is larger and can accommodate a four-person crew. And even though it has a somewhat retro design, the capsule concept is considered to be safer and more reliable than NASA’s space shuttle—a revolutionary vehicle for its time, but one that couldn’t fly beyond Earth’s orbit and suffered catastrophic failures.

Capsules, on the other hand, offer launch-abort capabilities that can protect astronauts in case of a rocket malfunction. And, their weight and design mean they can also travel beyond Earth’s immediate neighborhood, potentially ferrying humans to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

A new era in spaceflight

By moving into orbit with its Commercial Crew Program and partnering with private companies to reach the lunar surface, NASA hopes to change the economics of spaceflight by increasing competition and driving down costs. If space travel truly does become cheaper and more accessible, it’s possible that private citizens will routinely visit space and gaze upon our blue, watery home world—either from space capsules, space stations, or even space hotels like the inflatable habitats Bigelow Aerospace intends to build .

The United States isn’t the only country with its eyes on the sky. Russia regularly launches humans to the International Space Station aboard its Soyuz spacecraft. China is planning a large, multi-module space station capable of housing three taikonauts, and has already launched two orbiting test vehicles—Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2, both of which safely burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere after several years in space.

Now, more than a dozen countries have the ability to launch rockets into Earth orbit. A half-dozen space agencies have designed spacecraft that shed the shackles of Earth’s gravity and traveled to the moon or Mars. And if all goes well, the United Arab Emirates will join that list in the summer of 2020 when its Hope spacecraft heads to the red planet . While there are no plans yet to send humans to Mars, these missions—and the discoveries that will come out of them—may help pave the way.

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8 ways that SpaceX has transformed spaceflight

SpaceX has changed the spaceflight landscape during its first 20 years of existence.

• 8) Made big spaceflight dreams mainstream

7) Put billionaires front stage of space exploration

• 6) Awesome launch webcasts
• 5) Brought new style to spaceflight
• 4) Ramped up orbital space tourism
• 3) Returned crewed orbital spaceflight to U.S.
• 2) Reduced launch costs
• 1) Reusing rockets and landing boosters

Falcon. Dragon. Starlink. Starship. Starman.

SpaceX has contributed a lot to our spaceflight vernacular, showing just how far the company has come in its first 20 years. 

Elon Musk founded SpaceX on March 14, 2002, with big dreams of creating reusable rockets, commercial spacecraft and other advanced technology. Musk has said that few believed it was possible, during an era when space agencies still dominated the industry and space hardware was mostly expendable, save for a few examples like NASA's space shuttle and its solid rocket boosters.

Now, 20 years later, SpaceX is a dominating force of its own. The company aims to build out its 2,000-satellite-strong Starlink internet constellation to hold perhaps 30,000 spacecraft. It's ramping up an orbital space tourism program and is the sole U.S. provider for crewed missions to the International Space Station. And as Musk envisioned, SpaceX is now regularly launching and landing rockets while carrying payloads for a wide range of customers, from private companies to NASA and the United States Space Force.

Musk and SpaceX are in the headlines a lot, and the coverage isn't always positive. In 2018, for example, the billionaire entrepreneur sipped whiskey and took a puff of marijuana during his 2.5-hour live  appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience , prompting a NASA safety review of SpaceX practices. That same year, Musk insulted an individual involved in rescuing Thai boys from a flooded cave. The Starlink constellation is causing worries about orbital debris and interference with astronomy observations . And yet Musk persists in being himself, and his company is one of the most powerful in the space industry.

Here are eight ways in which SpaceX rose from relative obscurity to "Saturday Night Live"-level fame .

8) SpaceX made big spaceflight dreams mainstream again

Readers of a certain age may remember German-American rocket scientist Wernher von Braun partnering with entities like Disney to popularize space stations and future crewed space travel in the 1950s, in the years before the Saturn V rocket, whose design he led, launched people to the moon during NASA's Apollo program.

Such big dreaming rapidly became uncool in the 1970s as Apollo faded into history, NASA's budget was slashed and the agency's human spaceflight focus shifted to (supposedly) low-cost missions to low Earth orbit. The space shuttle was a remarkable machine, but it never came through on the low launching costs NASA wanted.

Enter Musk. He had remarkable independence for a spaceflight player, given that he received $180 million in 2002 (roughly $280 million in today's dollars) when eBay bought Paypal. He poured much of this fortune into starting up SpaceX and from the beginning talked about the need for humans to go interplanetary to reduce the threat of extinction. Mars, he said, would be a great place for us to go.

Musk has said that, around 2002, he began researching NASA's plans to land people on the Red Planet and couldn't believe there was no published timeline available. (In more recent years, NASA has suggested the 2030s as a goal.) That's when Musk says he envisioned a Mars mission "to spur the national will,"  Wired  reported. 

Meanwhile, Musk worked on accumulating reputation and contracts closer to home to launch satellites, International Space Station cargo and people. It took years to demonstrate that the reliability of SpaceX could rival that of big companies such as Arianespace and United Launch Alliance, but (as we'll talk about below) Musk's ability to spend a lot of money testing reusable rocket technology helped in that effort.

In latter years, Musk and SpaceX have poured much of their energy into developing Starship , a huge rocket-spaceship duo designed to get people to Mars and other distant destinations. 

Multiple Starship prototypes went boom during high-altitude test flights, but one finally nailed its landing in May 2021. And NASA picked Starship as the first crewed lander for its Artemis program of lunar exploration, which aims to put boots back on the moon in the middle of this decade.

Starship still has a number of hurdles to clear, however. For example, the system has yet to launch on an orbital test flight; SpaceX is awaiting regulatory approvals before making the first attempt, which could come in the next month or so.

Musk isn't the only billionaire playing a large role in the space industry, of course. Jeff Bezos established the spaceflight company Blue Origin in 2001, for example, and the suborbital space tourism company Virgin Galactic is part of Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

But Musk has been in the public eye more than his fellow space billionaires, partly because of SpaceX's many high-profile successes and partly because he's a very active (and sometimes controversial) Twitter user. 

Blue Origin , by contrast, operated in relative secrecy for much of its existence, making few public announcements. (That has changed in recent years, however, as the company has begun flying tourists to suborbital space on its New Shepard vehicle.) Branson is a colorful personality, but Virgin Galactic's suborbital tourist system isn't fully up and running; the company has four spaceflights under its belt but has yet to fly a paying customer. 

Meanwhile, Musk has regularly provided updates about SpaceX's various systems on Twitter, given livestreamed Starship progress reports that quickly became must-watches for space fans and inserted himself into the cultural mainstream in a variety of other ways. For instance, he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 2021, playing the Nintendo supervilllain Wario during his appearance.

Space tourism made a big leap in 2021, with individuals flying to space with SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin . Branson and Bezos themselves flew on their respective company's systems. Inevitably, given that a seat on Virgin Galactic (for example) now costs $450,000 , tremendous wealth is associated with these various opportunities. That means that very wealthy people are the key audience for selling tickets.

There are ethical issues with having the super-rich on spacecraft, to be sure. People have raised questions about what it means to have an industry in which rich people, or people who have received favors from rich people, are the only ones who get to take part. But then there is the example of Inspiration4 , which flew to Earth orbit for three days aboard a SpaceX Dragon in September 2021.

Inspiration4 — the first-ever all-private crewed trip to Earth orbit — was funded and commanded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, who (similar to Musk) made his fortune with a payment system, called Shift4. Isaacman opened the other three seats on his spacecraft to regular folks, two of whom won their opportunities through contests, with the third flying on behalf of a charity: St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

Isaacman wanted to raise millions of dollars for St. Jude, and he achieved that goal, along with a healthy dose of publicity. Isaacman recently announced a set of new private missions with SpaceX, which will be run under the Polaris Program . Isaacman hasn't yet named the crews for all the opportunities, but has said each of these missions will also be charity-focused.

6) SpaceX made launch webcasts appointment viewing

Numerous space companies today run their own spaceflight broadcasts, but SpaceX's tend to stand out. Over the years, millions of people have tuned in to the company's broadcasts to see rocket stages landing on ships at sea and, in one particularly spectacular example, a spacesuit-clad mannequin launching into orbit around the sun.

The mannequin was one of the stars of the debut Falcon Heavy launch in February 2018. The huge rocket lifted off without a hitch, and its three first-stage boosters came back to Earth within view of a huge crowd at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the biggest such group since the space shuttle program ended in 2011.

When the webcast shifted back to an in-space view, the Falcon Heavy's upper stage had a spectacular reveal: a mannequin astronaut, driving a Tesla Roadster . SpaceX began playing David Bowie's "Starman" on the broadcast, dubbing the mannequin with the same name as it began a road trip around the sun. 

The "astronaut" caught tremendous international attention; this reporter received a message about it from an individual in Mariupol, Ukraine, who didn't usually follow spaceflight, for example. But it's just a singular example of what the webcasts have offered to long-time SpaceX fans.

SpaceX has been strategic in offering camera views of staging, high-definition glimpses of its rockets during launches and at-sea landings, and numerous statistics that fans enjoy parsing on channels such as Twitter and Reddit.

In a sense, the company is borrowing from the earliest days of NASA, when the agency was running open television broadcasts during an era when crewed rocket reliability was far less than what is possible today. NASA and SpaceX, in fact, tend to have competing broadcasts during joint launch efforts of the Crew Dragon system, which creates a considerable (but fun) challenge as space fans split their attention among their social media channels and livestreams. 

5) SpaceX brought new style to spaceflight

In 2017, Musk revealed the long-awaited spacesuits that NASA astronauts and others aboard his spaceships would don during future flights. True to his tradition of breaking news on social media, he posted the first images on Instagram (although the link doesn't work today.)

While Musk noted that it was "incredibly hard" to balance aesthetics and function in the spacesuits, right away people began commenting on its movie-star look. The SpaceX suit was so thin, in fact, that Musk  had to reassure his Instagram followers: "It definitely works. You can just jump in a vacuum chamber with it, and it's fine."

The design was no Hollywood coincidence; it came from legendary costume designer Jose Fernandez, who created outfits for blockbusters such as "Wonder Woman," "Wolverine," "Batman vs. Superman" and "Captain America: Civil War."

SpaceX picked flashy opportunities to test its spacesuit in space, along with the usual pressure tests and vacuum chamber tests. One flew with Starman on the Falcon Heavy rocket  in 2018, and another was used on the dummy  Ripley  that flew aboard the uncrewed  SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-1  test flight to the ISS in 2019.

There also are the sleek controls for Crew Dragon, which features touchscreens instead of dials and switches. The Crew Dragon console offered interesting experiences for NASA astronauts  Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley , who were used to the space shuttle's controls (parts of which date from the 1970s, although much was updated as the program evolved.)

"As a pilot, my whole career having a certain way to control a vehicle, this is certainly different," Hurley said during a news conference in May 2020. "But we went into it with a very open mind."

4) SpaceX ramped up orbital space tourism

We've already spoken about Inspiration4's mandate, but other aspects of the orbital space tourism mission are worth mentioning. The Crew Dragon Resilience and its spaceflyers circled Earth for three days at an altitude higher than any human has achieved since a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in 1999. 

At 367 miles (590 kilometers) above our planet, Inspiration4 experienced a much higher view than astronauts receive on the ISS (about 250 miles, or 400 km). The crew also had the advantage of a domed window , rather than the little portholes that previous generations of NASA and Soviet astronauts had in the 1960s and 1970s.

SpaceX's marketing efforts for space tourism also extend to the dearMoon project , for which Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is seeking eight crew members to join him on a trip around the moon using SpaceX's Starship spacecraft. The project received some early negative press, as Maezawa asked for a girlfriend to come with him, but a swift marketing shift had Maezawa instead asking for "people from all kinds of backgrounds to join." The targeted launch date is 2023.

In the nearer term, SpaceX will fly paying customers to the International Space Station for Houston-based company Axiom Space, which has booked several missions using the Falcon 9-Dragon system. The first of those flights, Ax-1 , is scheduled to launch on March 30.

And Isaacman's Polaris Project is providing a unique opportunity for SpaceX to show its stuff in orbital spaceflight. The first mission with four private astronauts will include two individuals from SpaceX highly experienced in crewed and uncrewed missions: Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, who assist in matters ranging from crewed spaceflight development to taking the helm in SpaceX's Mission Control.

It's too early to say yet how SpaceX will position the marketing of its own personnel flying on space missions, but this may be done with some flare given how SpaceX showcased Starman. That said, SpaceX allowed Isaacman to take the lead in promoting Inspiration4, so it may be part of the arrangement to allow Isaacman to handle the work again for Polaris.

3) SpaceX returned crewed orbital spaceflight to U.S.

When NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, the agency was in the midst of supporting several American space companies working to develop the vehicles' replacement, including SpaceX. SpaceX and Boeing won out in 2014, splitting NASA's $6.8 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability award.

At award time, NASA hoped to have SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule flying by 2017, but technical and funding issues pushed the timeline back by several years. In May 2020, SpaceX launched its historic Demo-2 test mission, which sent a Crew Dragon carrying Behnken and Hurley to the International Space Station as the world was in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic, providing some hope and excitement for a captive audience looking for such things.

It was the first crewed orbital liftoff from American soil in nine years, although Florida could not see the usual launch crowds due to safety protocols associated with the pandemic. Still, the livestreams from NASA and SpaceX showed the spacecraft flawlessly sending Behnken and Hurley to the International Space Station for a two-month stay.

The splashdown on Aug. 2, 2020, the United States' first crewed one since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, also went technically well. Unfortunately, however, the area was swarmed by boaters eager to see the procedures up close. (NASA and SpaceX have since changed their protocols to advertise less specifically where the splashdown will occur.)

SpaceX has since run several operational crewed flights to the ISS with few issues, in contrast to Boeing's Starliner. Starliner ran into numerous snags during its uncrewed test flight to the orbiting lab in late 2019 and hasn't had the chance yet to return to space for another try. Numerous issues, including launch windows, the pandemic and technical concerns , mean Starliner likely won't launch until at least May 2022 . Crewed flights may not follow until 2023 or so.

This means that for now, Crew Dragon is the only option for NASA astronauts (or space tourists) to leave for orbital space from American soil. 

After the space shuttle retired and before Demo-2 lifted off, NASA was completely dependent on Russian Soyuz vehicles to take its astronauts to and from the space station. Relations between NASA and Russia have been rocky in recent weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, prompting numerous international sanctions. ISS operations are normal for the time being, but NASA doubtless is breathing a sigh of relief that an American crewed orbital capability is up and running in case, as the relationship with Russia could well deteriorate further.

SpaceX may also be able to replace some Russian services to the ISS, such as reboosting the orbiting complex periodically to avoid drag from Earth's atmosphere pulling the station back to the planet. (Northrop Grumman's Cygnus cargo spacecraft will also test out this capability during its current mission to the ISS, which began in February.)

2) SpaceX helped reduce launch costs

Reusable rocket and spacecraft technology is the backbone upon which SpaceX builds its cost estimates, which tend to be lower than those of its competitors.

For example, the per-seat cost for SpaceX's  Crew Dragon  is around $55 million, NASA's Office of the Inspector General said in 2019 , which is roughly 60% less than both Boeing Starliner (projected at $90 million) and the Russian Soyuz (then $85 million).

For further perspective, SpaceX sells Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches for $62 million and $90 million , respectively, well below the prices of their chief competitors. In late 2020, for example, it cost a little more than $100 million to book a ride on United Launch Alliance's workhorse Atlas V rocket. (The Atlas V is not quite as powerful as the Falcon 9 .)

Launch customers also pay varying amounts for getting aboard Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy depending on the size of their satellite, in line with industry practice. So a fleet of tiny cubesats from different organizations, as an example, may typically pay lower costs for their "rideshare" than the operator of the main satellite that is also atop a Falcon 9 on the same launch.

Low costs may extend to future systems, too. The super-heavy Starship system , for instance, is projected to use only $900,000 worth of propellant to make it to Earth orbit. Operational costs overall could be as low as $2 million per flight, Musk suggested in 2019 . If that's the case, Starship will be truly revolutionary, slashing the cost of access to space like never before.

The caveat with all these costings as that some are theoretical and others may be subject to change with recent supply issues induced by the pandemic. But overall, SpaceX is still pointed to as an example of reliably allowing lower-cost launches than its competition.

1) SpaceX is reusing rockets and landing boosters

In a stunning bit of rocket tech now considered routine, SpaceX recovers and reuses the first stages of both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Indeed, such reuse is key to the company's ability to keep costs down. 

The returning boosters come to the ground for soft vertical landings  about nine minutes after liftoff, either on solid ground near the launch pad or on autonomous "drone ships" mid-ocean.

The company realized its 100th rocket landing in December 2021, six years after notching its first successful touchdown on an orbital mission. SpaceX also seeks to launch frequently, especially with regard to getting its Starlink constellation operational, and stresses that reusable rockets are key to boosting launch cadence as well as lowering costs. 

At the moment, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are only partially reusable; their upper stages are still discarded after launch. The Starship-Super Heavy system, however, will be fully reusable. And the Super Heavy landings will be quite a sight to see. 

"We’re going to try to catch the Super Heavy booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load," Musk  said via Twitter on Dec. 30, 2021. . 

Yes: SpaceX plans to bring the giant Super Heavy back to Earth directly on the launch tower. While Musk has talked about this idea before , the new tweak adds some interesting design challenges. In fact, when you think about it, Super Heavy won't actually be touching down, as it will be caught midair by the tower arm.

What this change would mean is that Super Heavy wouldn't need landing legs. Musk also listed additional benefits to this strategy: "Saves mass and cost of legs and enables immediate repositioning of booster onto launch mount — ready to refly in under an hour," he said in  another Dec. 30 tweet .

Reusability is the key breakthrough needed to make the settlement of Mars economically feasible, Musk has repeatedly stressed. He recently estimated that SpaceX could get people on the Red Planet's surface by 2026 , if Starship development and testing go well. While the timeline is optimistic, his goal to put boots on Mars has not changed in decades and continues to fuel the work that SpaceX does.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter  @howellspace . Follow us on Twitter  @Spacedotcom  or on  Facebook .

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Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, " Why Am I Taller ?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace

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August 27, 2021

Unveiling vehicles and technologies for future space transportation

by European Space Agency

ESA safeguards Europe's guaranteed access to space through its Future Launchers Preparatory Programme, FLPP.

FLPP oversees system studies and research activities to foster new and disruptive technologies which have the potential to reduce cost, improve performance, improve reliability, or on their ability to fulfill the specific needs of an identified service, system, demonstrator or mission.

Within FLPP, demonstrators and studies hone emerging technologies to give Europe's space transportation a valuable head-start as they begin the demanding work of turning the chosen design into reality.

Integrated demonstrators are built by combining multiple technologies into one system or subsystem so that industry can use the technology with confidence.

FLPP carries out projects in propulsion, materials and processes, reusability, structures and mechanisms, avionics and Guidance Navigation Control (GNC), and future end-to-end systems and missions.

From lab to launch

A standardized scale of "Technology Readiness Levels" or TRL describes the level of maturity of a technology. Levels 1–2 denote basic research.

Technologies that have been demonstrated in a laboratory environment at Level 3, are further developed within FLPP and tested on the ground, in flight or in space via integrated demonstrators to raise them to TRL 6.

Once a technology has reached level 6, much of the risk linked to using a new technology in a space environment has been mitigated. It can be quickly incorporated in an operational system (TRL 9) with optimized cost and schedule.

This approach has three key benefits. It offers within a contained budget a pool of options and upgrades for quick spinoffs applicable to existing launch vehicles; it carries out high added-value research and development and it safeguards system integration and technology competencies in Europe.

Future space transportation services and systems are assessed on their competitiveness and economic viability.

ESA's objective is to develop a robust and flexible Space Transportation ecosystem which serves European needs. To achieve this, ESA brings together its various programs and business units, Europe's launch service provider, and industry such as spacecraft manufacturers and innovative start-up companies.

Prometheus is Europe's first ultra-low-cost reusable rocket engine demonstrator fuelled by liquid methane. It will benefit Europe's new Ariane 6 launcher in the near-term and prepare for a new generation of European launch vehicles in the next decade.

This is a 1000 kN class engine; further development will soon bring this up to 1200 kN. It is highly versatile and reignitable, making it suitable for use on core, booster and upper stages, reusable or not. It aims to slash costs through an extreme design-to-cost approach, new propellant and innovative manufacturing technologies.

Additive layer-by-layer manufacturing of Prometheus enables faster production, with fewer parts. Liquid oxygen–methane propellants are highly efficient and widely available and therefore a good candidate for a reusable engine.

A full-scale demonstrator will be fired in France at the end of 2021 to de-risk the Prometheus first test campaign at the DLR German Aerospace Center in Lampoldshausen, Germany, expected in 2022. Prometheus will be used on Themis (a reusable first stage demonstrator developed within FLPP) as part of an incremental inflight demonstration of reusability first in Kiruna, Sweden in 2023, and then in Kourou, French Giuana in 2025.

A Prometheus concept based on liquid hydrogen fuel is also in development to provide an alternative to methane and could be available for use on Ariane 6 as early as 2025.

ETID, an Expander-cycle Technology Integrated Demonstrator, paves the way for the next generation of cryogenic upper stage engines in Europe in the 10-ton class.

Testing of a full-scale ETID demonstrator proved the latest propulsion technologies. The test results were fully analyzed including cross-checks to improve numerical models as well as the full inspection of the tested hardware.

Synergy between the Prometheus and ETID projects has yielded game-changing additive manufacturing techniques for combustion chambers that reduce cost and lead time.

Berta, a 5kN-thrust class, 3D-printed full-scale engine demonstrator for upper stages has performed tests at DLR Lampholdshausen. It uses 'storable propellants," called such because they can be stored as liquids at room temperature. Rocket engines that are powered this way are easy to ignite reliably and repeatedly on missions lasting many months.

Continuing on from this project and considering the environmental impact of the currently used storable propellants, investigations are ongoing to prepare tests with identified new environmentally friendly propellant combinations that remain storable but are much less toxic.

Further hybrid propulsion demonstrations are on-going following the launch of the Nucleus sounding rocket in Norway, which successfully reached space by attaining a final altitude of over 100km. Watch the full videos here.

Materials and processes

FLPP has been validating alternative materials to make rockets lighter. New Composite materials are being used to replace aluminum for lighter upper stage structures and fuel tanks, as well as for rocket fairings that protect the payloads on their way to space.

New insulation materials and jettison systems for rocket fairings will also offer a smoother quieter ride to space.

Closed-cell polyurethane foam material is being sprayed on as external tank insulation for cryogenic upper stages and a new solution for tank bulkheads is currently being developed.

Secondary rocket structures could benefit from improved manufacturing processes such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, or advanced additive layer manufacturing for fracture critical structural parts built in titanium, high strength aluminum alloy and polymer.

Reusability

FLPP is also working on launch vehicle reusability with the first steps towards the in-flight demonstration of a prototype reusable rocket first stage called Themis from 2023. The Themis project will provide valuable information on the economic value of reusability for Europe and prove a selection of the technologies matured within FLPP for potential use on future European launch vehicles.

A successful drop test proved some of the technologies for a reusable first stage of a microlauncher.

Wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics are providing insights into European capabilities to control the descent of a rocket's first stage, back to the ground.

In addition, an ongoing project featuring a 'flying testbed platform' capable of carrying payloads has performed short take-off and landing test flights.

Structures and mechanisms

Various new production methods are improving manufacturing efficiency, for instance, a "Flow forming' technique shapes a metal element in a single step. This has been demonstrated in manufacturing trials co-funded between ESA and NASA Langley.

This technique reduces weld seams making rocket structures stronger and lighter while speeding up production. It is also better for the environment because it saves energy and there is no waste material. A 3 m-diameter aluminum demonstration cylinder that would be used as an interstage was successfully manufactured and tested.

FLPP is investigating electro-mechanical actuators for smoother separation and jettisoning of launcher payloads that would also slash costs for future evolutions of European launch vehicles, as well as advanced low-cost actuation systems for launchers control.

Health Monitoring systems embed sensors in the structural parts in order to monitor the launcher environment for further optimisation.

Avionics and GNC

Technologies in this domain evolve rapidly. Focus is given on increasing automation to reduce the level of Guidance Navigation Control (GNC) effort required during a mission and to provide responsive launch capability. FLPP is currently investigating On-Board Real-Time Trajectory Guidance Optimisation technology for future reusable launchers.

A new low-cost avionic system heavily benefiting from COTS components and rapid and effective GNC design, verification and validation will be demonstrated with a sounding rocket launch later this year. This will also serve as a useful testing platform to address new technologies in the launcher domain.

Future wireless communication will reduce the need for wiring on launch vehicle structures and increase flexibility.

Future systems and missions

Future systems and missions are intrinsically complex, with some needing long development cycles of up to a decade. ESA therefore seeks early insights into long-term trends and potential evolutions through its New European Space Transportation Solutions (NESTS) initiative. In this context a number of space transportation service and vehicle studies are contracted in open competition with industry, to prepare solutions for the next decade.

Shifting to space logistics, space transportation beyond Low Earth orbit towards higher energy orbits, to the Moon and Mars will require extended capabilities from Ariane 6 and future rockets to deliver end-to-end transportation service. Space Logistics approach of transportation service includes for example extended kick stage concepts to deliver end-to end service beyond access to space alone. Interface with ESA's Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration for exploration missions will identify future space transportation needs for a post International Space Station vision.

Provided by European Space Agency

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More From Forbes

The five biggest space technology trends for 2022.

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The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in space travel and the technological innovation driving it. Billionaire space tourists Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson made the headlines in 2021, while Elon Musk has his sights set on the colonization of Mars.

The Five Biggest Space Technology Trends for 2022

However, it's worth remembering that these high-flying schemes often end up affecting our lives in more down-to-Earth ways – scratch-resistant glass, GPS, LEDs, memory foam, and heat-resistant metals have changed the way we live and were all developed thanks to space exploration. Many of the principles of remote medicine – which has surged in popularity during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic – were initially conceived to assist with space travel. And there’s no telling how many lives have been saved by smoke and carbon monoxide detectors – also first conceived as space technology!

So, where will space travel take us in 2022? Let's take a look at some of the most exciting implications of humanity continuing to venture beyond the final frontier …

Reusable rockets

Something of a holy grail for space travel at the moment, reusable launch systems for orbital vehicles are set to dramatically lower the cost of leaving Earth’s atmosphere, opening the doors to many exciting space initiatives which, while theoretically possible, are currently too expensive to be practical. It will also make routine space missions, such as launching satellites and resupplying the International Space Station, far more economical. SpaceX’s SN20 will attempt to launch the first successful orbital flight using a reusable rocket in early 2022, pending approval from the US FAA. SN20 is the most powerful rocket ever built, and is the craft that SpaceX hope will eventually take humans to Mars

Later in the year, Blue Origin will attempt to launch its reusable two-stage New Glenn rocket into low Earth orbit – this rocket is designed to be used up to 25 times and eventually will carry humans as well as cargo.

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Back to the moon!

Travel to the moon has not been top of the space exploration agenda for the past few decades, but that has changed as a number of strategic reasons to resume lunar landings have been identified in recent years. Mostly these will not call for humans to visit the barren satellite and will be conducted by autonomous landers and exploration vehicles. One key reason for the renewed interest is that it is thought it will be a good testbed for many technologies that will eventually help us make our way to Mars.

The focus of these missions will be on sending "small payloads," mainly autonomous instruments designed to locate, extract and process elements from the lunar surface. As well as the US, which is planning to launch its Commercial Lunar Payload Services mission – a collaboration between NASA and Astrobotic Technology, Russia, Japan, and India all plan to deliver robotic landers to the lunar surface during 2022.   

Satellite launches make up the majority of commercial space activity, and that won't change as we go into 2022. The big drivers of increased activity in this field are the ever-falling cost of putting satellites into orbit and the growing number of use cases for the data they can provide. GPS and satellite imagery is an essential tool for many aspects of day-to-day life, and new uses – for example, tackling pandemics – are emerging all the time.

Satellites are becoming smaller and lighter, meaning that even start-ups can now take advantage of the technological capabilities. In fact, reports in recent years have found that the cost to a business of launching a satellite is becoming comparable to launching an app . China's Galaxy Space has developed and launched 1,000 small satellites into space for its customers in industries including aviation, marine, and vehicle manufacturing. Meanwhile, another Chinese company, ADA Space , is planning a network of 192 satellites that will use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide live streaming satellite imagery of the Earth.

Another sign that satellites are becoming cheaper and more accessible can be seen in the world’s first fully 3D-printed satellites , that Australian manufacturer Fleet Space Technologies says it will launch into orbit in 2022. These satellites are primarily designed to provide communications and connectivity solutions for the internet of things (IoT) devices that are quickly being adopted in homes and businesses around the world.

Cleaning up our mess

One worrying side effect of space exploration is that we might end up making as much of a mess of the rest of the universe as we have done of our own home planet. It’s estimated that there are already up to 8,000 tons of debris from previous space missions and now-defunct satellites floating in Earth’s orbit. These potentially pose a hazard to future space missions, where collisions could be catastrophic, but also threaten to interfere with many of the space services we rely on, such as weather forecasts and GPS.

With that in mind, it’s reassuring that we are already starting to think about clearing up after ourselves as we explore beyond the boundaries of Earth’s atmosphere. Launched this year, the ELSA-d (End Of Life Services by Astroscale-Demonstration) mission aims to clean up debris that will be left in space by future space missions. It does this using magnets to grab floating debris and push them towards Earth, where it will burn up in the outer layers of the atmosphere. Another waste disposal spacecraft, called RemoveDebris, will use nets to capture floating junk, while the European Space Agency is working on plans to launch a “ self-destructing robot ” with the specific aim of destroying a 100-kilogram piece of space debris left behind from a previous mission.

Space technology vs. climate change

Space technology is specifically recognized as one of the keys to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 set out by the United Nations. A great example is the reflective materials originally developed to conserve heat in spacecraft, which are now commonly used to insulate buildings on Earth. This means that world governments are increasingly investing in space innovation with the primary purpose of tackling challenges caused by climate change on Earth. And with a growing awareness of the importance of decarbonization and limiting global warming among businesses, it's becoming an active focus of enterprise activity too.

One of these initiatives is MethaneSat , designed to identify and track sources of methane emissions on Earth. This is vital, as according to the IPCC, methane emissions alone are accountable for around half of the rise in global temperature since the start of the industrial era.

The UK space agency has recently announced funding for a number of projects that will get underway next year, including one spearheaded by Global Satellite Vu aimed at using infra-red cameras on satellites to monitor the level of thermal emissions from homes and businesses. Another project named TreeView , established by the Open University and funded by the UK Space Agency, will use satellite imagery to map tree cover and track deforestation, in relation to the ability of trees to assist with carbon sequestration and storage.

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Could This Be Our Future In Space?

How NASA’s NIAC Program Creates Futuristic Space Technology

Fungus-driven Martian habitats? They could become reality. So could a space telescope with liquid mirrors. Here’s how avant-garde ideas—like the Mars helicopter—take shape.

The NIAC program has a relatively tiny budget, just a few million dollars per year. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to NASA’s entire expenditure (which is itself just a fraction of a percent of the entire federal budget). But the purpose of NIAC isn’t to build the next rocket or design the next mission. It’s here to look 20, 30, 40 years into the future, and provide seed funding to anyone with a crazy, but still plausible, idea that can radically change spaceflight as we know it.

If you want a peek into the future of humanity in space, then NIAC is your window. (Full disclosure: I have served in NIAC review committees for several years, and recently joined the external advisory council. So if this reads like I’m a big fan of the program, it’s because I am .)

A Telescope With Liquid Mirrors

As an example of the game-changing possibilities NIAC investigates, take FLUTE, the fluidic telescope . The largest telescope flown into space is the James Webb , a massive array with a width of 6.6 meters (21.7 feet). That sounds impressive (and it is), but ground-based telescopes dwarf it—the largest one stretches more than 30 meters (98.4 feet) across. And with telescopes, you care more about the total surface area than the diameter. Placed on Earth, the James Webb would be a decent, but not groundbreaking or world-class, telescope.

But space offers so many advantages for astronomers. It gets you away from light pollution, and, more importantly, from the distorting effects of Earth’s atmosphere . That’s why the James Webb is able to deliver such spectacular results . However, the telescope was also the most expensive scientific mission ever flown into space, because that large of a mirror couldn’t fit within existing rockets. The engineers behind the James Webb devised a clever origami-like folding mechanism, something that had never been tried before with a telescope.

In astronomy, bigger is always better. Larger mirrors allow us to see further into the reaches of the distant universe, and they give better resolution of closer objects. If we want to go bigger, we don’t have a lot of options … unless we get clever. The FLUTE design envisions a radical new kind of telescope mirror, one made from liquid. The idea is to launch the observatory with tanks of some highly reflective compound. Once in space, the telescope would unfurl its support beams and begin rotating, allowing its own spin to stabilize the liquid in the shape of a mirror. The best part is that the only design limit is how much liquid you can pack on board. The reference design is for a jaw-dropping, 50-meter (164-foot) telescope, which would make the James Webb look like a hobbyist’s toy in comparison.

Fungus-Powered Martian Habitats

If astronomy isn’t your main focus, the creative people NIAC funds have some other ideas for you, like utilizing fungi to build habitats on Mars . That’s right: fungi. Known as mycotecture , the project’s aim is to solve one of the most basic problems facing any future Martian mission : building structures.

We take our building materials for granted. Cement, bricks, wood, plaster, drywall, all of it is readily accessible and relatively cheap. When you want to build something on Earth, you just grab your tools, load up your materials, and go for it. But on Mars there is no wood, no drywall, no plaster, no bricks. Just a lot of red dust and pavement-like desert floor, all at temperatures usually well below freezing. For the near term, NASA and other space agencies envision bringing all our building materials along with us for the ride, which increases the cost and complexity of any crewed mission to the Red Planet.

But what if we could build our habitats directly on Mars ? Unfortunately, the Martian soil isn’t a great building material on its own, and it’s not like we’ll have easy access to quarries. Enter the radical NIAC idea to use fungi instead. In this project, the researchers are developing specialized strains of fungi that grow tight, interwoven webs of material. The hope is that we just need to bring along the basic foodstuffs; we can grow the walls, ceilings, and even plumbing pipes that will enable the rapid infrastructure expansion needed to maintain a long-term presence on Mars.

Blowing Up an Asteroid

Even if you just want to stay warm and cozy on planet Earth, NIAC is funding a project to help you—literally to save your life from a catastrophic asteroid impact. Simply called PI , the plan is to avert disaster by blowing up an asteroid before it ever reaches our planet.

Earth is constantly under cosmic bombardment. Thankfully, most of the material crossing our orbit is small, making no more than a delightful meteor shower. About every year or so, however, a large enough rock impacts our atmosphere with a velocity of 50–70,000 mph. That releases enough pure kinetic energy to be the equivalent of a nuclear weapon, but usually these detonate safely in the atmosphere over some random patch of ocean. And then there are the big ones, like the asteroids that ended the reign of the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. Those come every few million years, and it’s been a while since the last one.

If we are to last as a species into the long term, then we need to protect ourselves. One way will be to settle on other worlds, giving us backup options. But even if we leave Earth, we’re still going to be nostalgic for it, and we’ll probably want to prevent large space rocks from messing up the place.

Recently, NASA demonstrated the DART mission , which nudged the orbit of an asteroid. This can work for planetary defense, but only if we see the asteroid from far enough away that we can effectively deflect it. With PI, however, the game plan is different. The idea is to send a swarm of small, hypervelocity impactors straight for an incoming asteroid. Instead of trying to nudge it off course, the colliding objects would burrow themselves into the body of the asteroid, tearing it to shreds.

The resulting fragments would still be headed toward Earth, but our atmosphere is great at taking a punch. If we get the pieces small enough, we can all celebrate as we enjoy the fireworks in the sky.

The Takeaway

All of these ideas, along with the dozens of other projects NIAC funds, are only in their initial stages of development, and have no guarantee of success. In fact, most of these projects will not pan out. But, if we want to take big swings, we’re going to have to accept some misses, because when we hit, we really hit! Take the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, which is currently setting records and laying the groundwork for an entirely new class of planetary exploration; NIAC inspired that project.

The best part: anyone can apply, from an established player in the space industry to a garage tinkerer. If you have an idea for the future, and you have a plausible path to getting there, then NIAC wants to hear from you. It’s the only way we can make the science fiction dreams of the future become reality.

Paul M. Sutter is a science educator and a theoretical cosmologist at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University and the author of How to Die in Space: A Journey Through Dangerous Astrophysical Phenomena and Your Place in the Universe: Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence. Sutter is also the host of various science programs, and he’s on social media. Check out his Ask a Spaceman podcast and his YouTube page .

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Outer space in 2030

Humans have been fascinated by the mysteries of the cosmos for thousands of years, and we’ve been venturing into space for more than six decades. The desire to discover more about outer space continues to create new opportunities as well as new challenges. Hear three McKinsey experts’ views on the future of the space sector.

What might space travel look like?

Jess Harrington: Space tourism is still in its infancy, and as of right now there’s not a whole lot to do in space. It’s like a very expensive rollercoaster.

Chris Daehnick: We’re a long way, I think, from having people who are basically untrained astronauts go out and do extravehicular-type activities. Also, long-term stays in space are not easy on the body.

Jess Harrington: Beyond 2030, maybe you do see space hotels where you have the ability to do a moon walk.

Chris Daehnick: Who knows, if there was a colony on Mars, that might be a place where you go for a year.

Jesse Klempner: The most important thing that I think we have to keep in mind is that despite the fact that 600 or 700 individuals have actually gone into space, space should exist within an industrial concept to support the people on Earth. I do believe that point-to-point transport is a use case that is not explored or thought about enough today. Point-to-point transport is the idea that I can launch a rocket from New York and land in Paris in 30 minutes.

The future of space: It’s getting crowded out there

Many more satellites in space.

Thousands of tourists aren’t yet going into space, but thousands of satellites are already out there, helping us communicate, predict the weather, and understand our planet. Thousands more are on the way.

Jess Harrington: If every single concept were to launch in full, we’d have probably 8,000 to 12,000 satellites go up every year for the next ten years: this will help bring internet to people who don’t have access right now. It will be able to track emissions. It will be able to give you a better read of certain storm systems, and you’ll be able to track them earlier.

If every single concept were to launch in full, we’d have probably 8,000 to 12,000 satellites go up every year for the next ten years. Jess Harrington

Chris Daehnick: The idea of being able to connect to the internet from anywhere—whether you’re flying on an airplane over the poles or in the wilderness in Alaska—is something that these new types of capabilities are going to enable.

Jesse Klempner: The more mass that we can put in space, the more likely we’ll be able to find something interesting to do with it, whether that is ultimately manufacturing or assembling in space or moving beyond cislunar space.

Jess Harrington: The cislunar economy could be several different things; there have been a lot of different proposals. It could be mining asteroids, or it could be manufacturing in space.

A rise in space junk

While satellites and rocket launches represent great technological advancement, more activity in space also means more space debris—which could become a big problem.

Chris Daehnick: The likelihood of a collision is much bigger than if satellites were just static objects.

Jess Harrington: Something as small as a little fleck of paint can cause real damage to something like the International Space Station, so being able to track every space object is going to be really critical: knowing where things are so that you can maneuver your satellite out of the way.

Jesse Klempner: The more things that we put up there, the more coordination is required, the more intentionality is required, and the more transparency is required. And if we’re able to meet all of those requirements, hopefully space debris will not be a terrible problem.

Learn more about our work in the space sector

Shoot for the moon—and beyond.

It’s an exciting time to be in the space industry. Opportunities abound for both governments and the private sector. But of course, success in space isn’t guaranteed. If you’re shooting for the moon, you can’t have your head in the clouds.

Jesse Klempner: I think the most important message to any CEO, investor, or interested party in the space industry today is, “If you don’t think you’re going fast enough right now, you’re not. You should be spending as much time removing roadblocks to speed as you are creating new processes or coming up with new ideas.”

Chris Daehnick: You need to balance the dreamers and the hard-edged practical people. The space industry is a very inspiring place to be. It drives a lot of innovation, and you can attract hugely talented individuals to work for you. But if you’re a CEO and you run a business, at some point you need to turn a profit.

Jess Harrington: I would push people with visionary ideas to make sure that those ideas also align with a clear market need. Just because something is really cool does not necessarily mean that you’ll be able to fund it.

Chris Daehnick , an associate partner in McKinsey’s Denver office, is the senior leader of Radar, McKinsey’s analytics platform for the aerospace and defense market; Jess Harrington is a consultant in the Washington, DC, office; and Jesse Klempner is a partner in the Chicago office and a leader in McKinsey’s Aerospace & Defense Practice.

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Future of space travel: What will it be like?

More than 60 years have passed since the first human space flight, but the future of space travel is still being written since only about 600 people have been in orbit so far. For most people willing to experience space travel, this wish remains an unattainable dream. But let’s remember that cars, planes, and trains, available to everyone today, seemed a fantasy once. So will space tourism ever be a reality? It already is. More than that, it has been around for 20 years. Orbital Today will shortly remind you of the story and try to look into the future of space travel.

How it all started

A 37-year-old American English and biology teacher Sharon McAuliffe could become the first space tourist, on winning the “Teacher in Space” competition in 1984. By that time, US astronauts had made 55 successful space flights, and their safe return to Earth had become commonplace. to increase public’s interest in the industry and demonstrate space flight reliability, NASA decided to send the first civilian into space. But it all ended in tragedy. On 28th January 1986, 73 seconds after launch, the Challenger’s fuel tank exploded, killing all seven crew members, including McAuliffe. The practice of sending amateurs into space has been abandoned for many years, and the space tourism future was put on hold.

The second attempt took place in April 2001. American businessman Dan Tito paid Space Adventures a whopping $20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz rocket to go to the ISS. The journey lasted ten days, eight of which Tito spent at the station in zero gravity at an altitude of 400km from the Earth in the company of professional astronauts. From 2002 to 2009, another 7 millionaires and billionaires followed his example, but after that, no one wanted to part with a significant sum for years.

The tipping point occurred in the summer of 2021 when private aerospace companies Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin sent their first tourists into space, and while these flights were suborbital, they still determined the future of space tourism trends.

Unlike the $20 million eight-day trip to the ISS, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson’s companies offer to spend only three minutes in zero gravity, but the fare is also way lower – $200,000. At the same time, Virgin VSS Unity flight takes 2.5 hours, and Blue Origin New Shepard’s – 11 minutes. This time difference is explained by different launch technologies. Virgin uses an air-launch system (similar to an aeroplane), while Blue Origin uses a classic vertical rocket launch. One thing these two have in common is that both offer to enjoy the view of Earth and starts from space, through panoramic windows from a height of more than 60km.

Virgin has made only one tourist launch so far, while Blue Origin carried out three. The pricing policy has fully justified itself. Seats in the suborbital shuttles of both companies are sold out several years in advance.

As the era of suborbital flights officially began, the interest in orbital flights rekindled. Unwilling to lag behind its main competitors, in September 2021, Space X hastened to launch the first Inspiration 4 orbital mission. The mission implied that four tourists stay on the Crew Dragon ship in orbit for three days. Following in Elon Musk’s footsteps, the Russian Soyuz MS 20 delivered Japanese billionaire Yusaka Maezawa and his assistant to the ISS. This marked an important milestone for space tourism in the future.

What is the future of space tourism?

A study by Northern Sky Research (NSR) analysts suggests that over the next 10 years, about 60,000 passengers will go into space, and the total income from space tourism will be about 20 billion US dollars. What will the future of space travel look like?

Suborbital transportation

Private companies will continue to improve suborbital flight technologies, reducing their cost and improving the quality. However, despite this, interest in suborbital tourism is unlikely to last long due to limited supply. The Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic spacecraft can carry a maximum of six people (including two Virgin pilots) and offer only three minutes in zero gravity. Besides, the ships do not cross the Karman line (100km), beyond which real space begins. However, there is hope.

Experts believe that future space travel technology will be able to replace long air flights. In 2020, SpaceX announced its Starship rocket currently in development will be able to take up to 100 passengers on board and deliver them from one continent to another in less than an hour. More specifically, a 15-hour flight to Shanghai from New York on Starship will take only 40 minutes. If Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic follow the same path, while providing adequate service costs, the demand for suborbital flights will grow steadily.

Orbital vacation

As more companies consider space tourism, orbital vacations will become one of the future space tourism trends. Orbital infrastructure for recreation, including hotels in orbit and on the moon, could become profitable. Interest in the ISS in this regard is already reemerging. In addition, Orion Span and Blue Origin are developing luxury space hotel concepts called Aurora Station and Orbital Reef . Of course, vacations in space are still far away, but many tourists can already visit space themed hotels on Earth. The best of them are located in China, the USA, Canada, and Switzerland.

Will space tourism ever be affordable?

No doubt, only multi millionaires can afford such trips today. Paying 200 thousand dollars for 3 minutes in weightlessness or 20 million for 8 days in space is not something everyone can easily afford. A century ago, ordinary people could hardly pay for a ticket across the Atlantic, and flying on planes was even more expensive. Today, such trips no longer surprise anyone. Once space tourism becomes mainstream, it will also have a positive impact on many socio-economic processes on Earth: job creation, development of new energy infrastructure based on solar energy, etc. This will increase the scale of opportunity and innovation, boost competition, and ultimately make space travel available for ordinary citizens.

Is space tourism a good idea after all?

Every industry has positive and negative aspects, and space travel is no exception. Despite the prospects and benefits, this industry calls for careful risk assessment. Let’s take a look at the main facts about future space travel.

1. High expenses

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic flights require huge investments in infrastructure and technology that are not paying off at this stage. How much does it cost for space tourism? It is difficult to say, but the costs are in the tens of billions. In fact, these are very expensive toys of billionaires. Of course, they can afford such a luxury at the expense of other, highly profitable businesses, but imagine if this money was spent on more pressing issues, i.e., fighting poverty, hunger, medicine, etc.

2. Passenger health

While astronauts take years to prepare for flights, private individuals will fly with minimal instruction. However, heavy workloads and zero-gravity conditions greatly affect health. According to a recent study involving British astronaut Tim Peake , space travel causes more than a third of astronauts to experience temporary anemia due to the destruction of large numbers of red blood cells. While astronauts remain in a state of weightlessness, this does not cause any problems, but the symptoms appear on Earth, under the influence of gravity. This threatens not only the development of space tourism but also the idea of ​​colonising planets since it creates an increased risk for passengers experiencing conditions exacerbated by anemia. Here, we are, first of all, talking about cardiovascular pathologies, which, according to WHO, top the list of common diseases. In other words, you need to be not only rich but absolutely healthy to fly into space. The combination of these factors significantly reduces the number of potential space tourism customers.

3. Environmental impact

A rocket burns hundreds of tons of fuel to overcome the Earth’s gravity and leave the atmosphere. Of course, humanity is inventing ever-more environmentally friendly fuels, but emissions in the upper atmosphere still destroy the ozone layer and provoke global warming. And although the level of emissions from rockets is less than 1% compared with cars, the development of space tourism will inevitably lead to a significant increase in the number of rocket launches, which means an increase in environmental impact risk.

In addition, emissions are not the only problem with a rocket launch . While technology does not yet allow a full transition to a reusable rocket, there remains a high risk of an uncontrolled fall of the first stages to Earth, spills and fuel leaks during transportation, which inevitably destroys the environment.

And yet, despite all cons, the future of space exploration looks quite promising. Rapid technology development can no longer be stopped. In another 5-10 years, getting from London to Sydney by a rocket in half an hour or spending a vacation in orbit could become as commonplace as ordering a taxi or a hotel room today.

Emma joined the team in 2020 as an Editorial Assistant. She is currently on an internship with us while going through her further education. She is enthusiastic about Science and about Space in particular.

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NASA Picks 3 Companies to Help Astronauts Drive Around the Moon

The agency’s future moon buggies will reach speeds of 9.3 miles per hour and will be capable of self-driving.

By Kenneth Chang

NASA will be renting some cool wheels to drive around the moon.

Space agency officials announced on Wednesday that they have hired three companies to come up with preliminary designs for vehicles to take NASA astronauts around the lunar south polar region in the coming years. After the astronauts return to Earth, these vehicles would be able to self-drive around as robotic explorers, similar to NASA’s rovers on Mars.

The self-driving capability would also allow the vehicle to meet the next astronaut mission at a different location.

“Where it will go, there are no roads,” Jacob Bleacher, the chief exploration scientist at NASA, said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Its mobility will fundamentally change our view of the moon.”

The companies are Intuitive Machines of Houston, which in February successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon ; Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colo.; and Venturi Astrolab of Hawthorne, Calif. Only one of the three will actually build a vehicle for NASA and send it to the moon.

NASA had asked for proposals of what it called the lunar terrain vehicle, or L.T.V., that could drive at speeds up to 9.3 miles per hour, travel a dozen miles on a single charge and allow astronauts to drive around for eight hours.

The agency will work with the three companies for a year to further develop their designs. Then NASA will choose one of them for the demonstration phase.

The L.T.V. will not be ready in time for the astronauts of Artemis III, the first landing in NASA’s return-to-the-moon program , which is currently scheduled for 2026 .

The plan is for the L.T.V. to be on the lunar surface ahead of Artemis V, the third astronaut landing that is expected in 2030, said Lara Kearney, manager of the extravehicular activity and human surface mobility program at the NASA Johnson Space Center.

“If they can get there earlier, we’ll take it earlier,” Ms. Kearney said.

The L.T.V. contract will be worth up to $4.6 billion over the next 15 years — five years of development and then a decade of operations on the moon, most of it going to the winner of this competition. But Ms. Kearney said the contracts allow NASA to later finance the development of additional rovers, or allow other companies to compete in the future.

The contract follows NASA’s recent strategy of purchasing services rather than hardware.

In the past, NASA paid aerospace companies to build vehicles that it then owned and operated. That included the Saturn V rocket, the space shuttles and the lunar roving vehicles — popularly known as moon buggies — that astronauts drove on the moon during the last three Apollo missions in 1971 and 1972.

The new approach has proved successful and less expensive for the transportation of cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA now pays companies, notably Elon Musk’s SpaceX, fixed fees for those services, more akin to plane tickets or FedEx shipments.

For the company chosen to build the L.T.V., the vehicle will remain its property, and that company will be able to rent it to other customers when it is not needed by NASA.

“It’s commercially available for us as a commercial business to sell capacity on that rover,” said Steve Altemus, the chief executive of Intuitive Machines, “and do that for international partners and for other commercial companies and space agencies around the world.”

The competition created alliances between small startups and larger, more established aerospace companies, as well as car companies. The Intuitive Machines team includes Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Michelin, the tire maker. Lunar Outpost added to its team Lockheed Martin, Goodyear and General Motors, which had helped design the Apollo moon buggies.

Astrolab is working with Axiom Space of Houston, which has sent private astronauts to the space station and is building a commercial module to the International Space Station. Astrolab announced last year that it had signed an agreement to send one of its rovers to the moon on a SpaceX Starship rocket as early as 2026. That mission is independent of whether it is selected by NASA, a company spokesman said.

While Lunar Outpost is competing with Intuitive Machines on this contract, it plans to work with the company separately, sending smaller robotic rovers to the moon on the company’s lunar landers.

Kenneth Chang , a science reporter at The Times, covers NASA and the solar system, and research closer to Earth. More about Kenneth Chang

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What are the future propulsion systems for interplanetary travel?

In a few decades, enhanced versions of current propulsion technology could reduce travel time to Mars from about a year to a few months…

The current methods for space travel haven’t changed much in the four decades since we landed on the moon, says Paulo Lozano, H.N. Slater Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics—though they continue to work well enough to send satellites into space, and take humans 300-400 kilometers above Earth in relative safety.

Current spaceflight depends on a rocket that burns fuel and oxidizer, which turns out to be both expensive and deficient as a means of propulsion for long-distance space travel, explains Lozano. Chemical-based rockets get terrible fuel efficiency, achieving very little thrust per kilogram of propellant used, and their exhaust velocity can’t exceed 5,000 meters per second. Using these tools, Lozano adds, it would take at least nine months to get to Mars (if your timing and the planets’ alignment are just right), and “the rockets would be huge compared to the payload.”

An alternative is on the horizon, though: the plasma rocket. “Instead of burning fuel, we ionize it, ripping electrons from atoms in the propellant,” says Lozano. The rockets use gases like xenon or krypton—the ones on the right side of the periodic table—and an electrical source accelerates the ions in the gas to create plasma. In this scheme, the higher the voltage exciting the plasma, the more velocity a rocket can achieve.

NASA has begun using a version of this kind of propulsion system for non-human space exploration, with solar arrays providing a limited but steady source of electricity for space missions that last years. But future generations of ion engines could deliver the goods for the kind of space voyages humans have long imagined, says Lozano. “There’s no impediment to applying thousands of volts to charged particles, and instead of moving five thousand meters per second, we can now have an exhaust moving at several tens of thousands meters per second, or more.” Compact and efficient nuclear reactors on board could provide the electric juice for ion engines propelling cargos swiftly from point to point in our solar system.

We’d still need the power of a chemical rocket to break the bonds of Earth, though. Ultimately, we might “take a chemical rocket taxi to low earth orbit,” says Lozano, and then “get on the high speed train, the rocket with the ion engine” to other planets.

At MIT’s Space Propulsion Lab, Lozano is working on small-scale, super-efficient thrusters for satellites. He credits the movies in part for his fascination with space travel, and specifically, with propulsion: “I saw in Star Wars that the rocket was the most important part. To escape the bad guys or explore new worlds, you needed rockets.” Personally, Lozano leans toward a combination of robotic and human discovery missions, and looks forward to a time when new propulsion systems “bring huge robotic space craft to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and explore these fascinating and quite exotic worlds.”

Posted: March 24, 2010

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The Future of Space Travel: Advancements in Propulsion Technology

Introduction.

Propulsion technology is critical to space travel, powering rockets and spacecraft as they journey through space. However, current propulsion technologies have limitations that make interplanetary and interstellar travel difficult and costly. Fortunately, advancements in propulsion technology could significantly enhance space travel capabilities, making space exploration more accessible and efficient. In this post, we’ll look at some current and future propulsion technologies that could change the way people travel to space.

Electric Propulsion

Electric propulsion is a form of propulsion in which electric power is used to accelerate propellant particles and generate thrust. Electric propulsion is more efficient and provides longer-lasting thrust than chemical rockets, making it ideal for long-duration missions. However, electric propulsion has limitations, such as lower thrust levels, which can reduce its effectiveness for launch applications. Scientists are looking into new ways to move spacecraft, such as ion engines, Hall thrusters, and pulsed plasma thrusters, to overcome these challenges.

• Ion engines are a form of electric propulsion that generate thrust by accelerating ions. They function by ionizing a gas, typically xenon, and using an electric field to accelerate the ions out of the engine. This generates a very low but constant thrust that can be maintained for extended periods, making it ideal for deep space missions. Ion engines have been used on several spacecraft, such as Deep Space 1 , Dawn , and Hayabusa .
• Hall thrusters are another form of electric propulsion that use a magnetic field to accelerate ions. They can produce higher thrust levels than ion engines and are more efficient at higher power levels, but they are more difficult to operate. Hall thrusters have been used on several spacecraft, such as SMART-1 , TGO , and BepiColombo .
• Pulsed plasma thrusters use a series of high-powered electrical pulses to ionize a gas and generate thrust. Although they can generate greater thrust levels than ion engines, they are less efficient and have shorter lifespans. Pulsed plasma thrusters have been used on several spacecraft, such as EO-1 , TacSat-2 , and DART .

Ongoing research aims to enhance the performance and efficiency of electric propulsion systems. The development of new propellants with a higher specific impulse, a measure of the efficiency of a propulsion system, is one area of focus. Improving the durability and longevity of electric propulsion systems is another area of research, as many of these systems have limited lifetimes due to factors like erosion and contamination. Electric propulsion has become an increasingly popular technology in recent years, despite its challenges. In fact, the vast majority of scientific spacecraft currently in orbit use some form of electric propulsion, and electric propulsion is already anticipated in the development of deep space exploration vehicles such as NASA’s Orion spacecraft , which is designed to transport astronauts to the Moon and beyond.

Another area of research is developing new types of electric propulsion systems that can use alternative sources of propellant or power. For example, an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system could use air molecules from the upper atmosphere as propellant instead of carrying its own supply. This could reduce the mass and cost of low Earth orbit satellites and extend their lifetimes. Another example is a solar electric propulsion system that could use solar energy to power the thrusters instead of relying on batteries or nuclear reactors. This could increase the available power and reduce the complexity and risk of the system.

Nuclear Propulsion

Nuclear propulsion presents an extraordinary opportunity to increase the speed and range of space exploration beyond what is possible with conventional propulsion systems. In contrast to conventional rockets, which rely on the combustion of chemical fuels to produce thrust, nuclear propulsion uses the energy released by nuclear reactions to heat a propellant and generate thrust. This technology has been studied and tested for decades, and many ideas for nuclear propulsion have been put forward, such as nuclear thermal rockets, nuclear pulse propulsion, and electric nuclear propulsion.

• Nuclear thermal rockets use a fission reactor to heat hydrogen propellant, which is then expelled through a nozzle to generate thrust. This technology has more thrust and specific impulse than chemical rockets, but it also has technical and safety challenges. For example, materials inside the reactor must be able to survive temperatures above 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit and high radiation levels. Nuclear thermal rockets have been tested on the ground but never flown in space. NASA and the Department of Energy are currently working on developing and demonstrating this technology for future crewed missions to Mars. NASA's Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Project provides more information on this topic.
• Nuclear pulse propulsion uses a series of nuclear explosions to propel a spacecraft forward. This technology could potentially achieve very high speeds and specific impulse, but it also poses significant environmental and political risks. Nuclear pulse propulsion has never been tested in space, but it has been studied theoretically for various applications, such as interplanetary or interstellar travel. Some examples of nuclear pulse propulsion concepts are Project Orion, Project Daedalus and Project Longshot .
• Electric nuclear propulsion uses a fission reactor or a fusion reactor to provide electric power for an electric propulsion system, such as an ion engine or a Hall thruster. This technology combines the advantages of both nuclear and electric propulsion, such as high efficiency and long duration. Electric nuclear propulsion has not been demonstrated in space yet, but it has been proposed for various missions .

Using nuclear power in space requires the development of radiation shielding and safety measures to protect the crew and spacecraft from the dangers of ionizing radiation. The cost and availability of nuclear materials, as well as concerns regarding nuclear proliferation and weaponization, are also among the challenges of developing and using nuclear propulsion technology. Despite these challenges, nuclear propulsion technology has the potential to enable faster and more efficient space travel, and continued research and investment in this field could result in significant future advances.

Antimatter propulsion

Antimatter propulsion is another emerging technology that involves using the annihilation of matter and antimatter to generate thrust. Antimatter is a type of particle that has the same mass as ordinary matter, but has an opposite charge. When antimatter and matter come into contact, they annihilate each other, releasing energy in the process. This energy can be used to create thrust for a spacecraft. Antimatter propulsion has the potential to provide even greater speed and efficiency than fusion propulsion, but it is also much more challenging to develop.

One of the main challenges is producing and storing large quantities of antimatter, which is extremely rare and difficult to create. According to NASA , producing one gram of antimatter would require 25 million billion kilowatt-hours of energy and cost over a trillion dollars. Another challenge is developing a propulsion system that can harness the energy released by antimatter annihilation and convert it into usable thrust. There are different types of antimatter propulsion systems that have been proposed, such as:

• Direct antimatter propulsion uses the products of antimatter annihilation, such as gamma rays or charged particles, for propulsion. This type of system would have very high specific impulse, but it would also require very high power and shielding to protect the spacecraft from radiation damage.
• Thermal antimatter propulsion uses a working fluid or an intermediate material that is heated by the energy released by antimatter annihilation and then expelled through a nozzle to generate thrust. This type of system would have lower specific impulse than direct antimatter propulsion, but it would also require less power and shielding.
• Electric antimatter propulsion uses a working fluid or an intermediate material that is heated by the energy released by antimatter annihilation and then used to generate electricity for an electric propulsion system, such as an ion engine or a Hall thruster. This type of system would have lower thrust than thermal antimatter propulsion, but it would also have higher specific impulse and efficiency.

Using antimatter propulsion in space requires the development of safety measures to prevent accidental or intentional detonation of the antimatter fuel, which could cause catastrophic damage. The cost and availability of antimatter, as well as concerns regarding ethical and environmental issues, are also among the challenges of developing and using antimatter propulsion technology. Despite these challenges, antimatter propulsion technology has the potential to enable faster and farther space travel, and continued research and investment in this field could result in significant future advances.

Advancements in propulsion technology have the potential to revolutionize space travel, making it more accessible, efficient, and safe. Electric and nuclear propulsion, as well as emerging technologies like fusion and antimatter propulsion, offer significant advantages over current propulsion technologies. To realize these benefits, continued investment and research in advanced propulsion technologies are needed. As we continue to explore the cosmos, it is essential that we continue to innovate and push the boundaries of propulsion technology to unlock the full potential of space travel.

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Amplifying space’s

Potential with quantum, the uk’s space economy soars to newer heights, propelled by growing government support for emerging technologies like quantum computing..

The stars are aligned for accelerated growth in the UK’s space economy, thanks to an active venture capital community, close collaboration, and a government that’s increasingly cognizant of quantum computing’s potential. Already, startups in the home-grown space industry are pioneering research that demonstrates the sector’s cutting-edge and world-leading capabilities.

Just take aerospace Space Forge . The firm is developing a manufacturing hub that will travel in and out of Earth’s atmosphere to enable the novel production of semiconductors and alloys in microgravity. By working in space, it can benefit from a purified environment, lower pressure, and extreme temperatures. According to a BBC article , Space Forge is one of a number of companies worldwide vying to make valuable products in the weightless conditions experienced in space.

There’s also Eutelsat Group , which is the newly combined company of geostationary orbit (GEO)-operator Eutelsat and low-earth orbit (LEO)-operator OneWeb. The company operates the second-largest fleet of satellites in the world, making up 85% of all UK satellites in orbit. The company “is the world’s first GEO-LEO satellite operator with a satellite and ground network operations center based in London,” says Gareth Alston, director for UK government affairs at Eutelsat OneWeb.

To fuel growth of companies like Eutelsat Group in its space sector, the UK has committed £2.5 billion to developing quantum technologies, doubling its current investment as part of its new quantum strategy from 2024 to 2034. With quantum’s ability to exponentially increase computing power and revolutionize industries from health care to space, it offers countless possibilities that are yet to be explored.

The UK government has placed quantum technologies at the core of its mission to become a science and technology powerhouse. In its policy paper, National Space Strategy in Action , the government says it wants to build “one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world.”

The weight of space

Space technologies are critical in our everyday existence. Satellites orbiting 160 km above the Earth keep people connected, ensure national security, and allow scientists to analyze and forecast the impacts of climate change.

With the global space economy projected to reach £490 billion by 2030, the UK published its National Space Strategy in 2022 and the aforementioned National Space Strategy in Action in 2023. Both policy papers provide details of deliverable policies and products to nurture long-term confidence among commercial business and investors in the UK’s space industry.

Space: An ideal environment for quantum technologies

What can space offer quantum computers that earth cannot.

Compiled by MIT Technology Review Insights based on data from the Forbes Tech Council and NASA.

Worth over £16.4 billion per year, the space sector is a vital part of the UK’s economy, employing over 45,000 people across 1,590 companies. Its history stretches back to the 1940s when British engineers started exploring plans for a suborbital spacecraft. The UK is now globally renowned for its strengths in space manufacturing technologies, particularly spacecraft, highly complex payloads, and small satellites.

The UK’s space industry is backed by a strong scientific and academic community, with 23% of graduates in the country coming from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Space research is a dynamic, multidisciplinary area, and having graduates with diverse expertise—from robotics to physics and semiconductors —is crucial, given the vast applications this sector covers.

A matter of social equality

Beyond its ability to boost the UK’s economic and technological power, the space industry also plays a crucial, societal role. “Satellite internet connections enable people in rural or isolated regions to access online education, telemedicine, and employment opportunities,” Alston says. “By effectively shrinking the digital divide, satellite technology ensures that individuals in previously disconnected areas can join the digital age, fostering economic growth, social development, and improved quality of life for countless communities.”

Being the world’s first GEO-LEO satellite operator, Eutelsat OneWeb’s technologies are being used to drive connectivity around the world. “From connecting the previously unconnected locations like Papa Stour, Scotland, and Lundy Island, Devon to launching LEO-enabled banking services in South Africa, the company’s LEO services are helping bridge the digital divide in some of the hardest to reach locations,” Alston explains.

Quantum boost

As companies like Eutelsat Group continue to push boundaries in the space sector, advancements in quantum computing could act as an accelerant. In the near term, quantum technologies could assist space R&D efforts such as mission scheduling, materials discovery, and studies on how space travel affects the space environment. It could also crunch vast datasets simultaneously to evaluate and forecast multiple scenarios, such as analyzing data from telescopes or the properties of black holes.

The UK is well-positioned to convert such possibilities into reality. It is home to a thriving quantum industry with companies working across the spectrum of technologies. It has the most quantum startups in Europe and recorded US$ 979 million of investment from 2001 to 2021, placing second behind the U.S.

All support systems engaged

The UK government has bolstered the space and quantum industries with strong financial support. It pledged £1.84 billion in 2022 to fund space programs and initiatives, such as the UK-built Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover, scheduled to launch in 2028. A collaborative initiative led by the European Space Agency , the UK has played an integral role beyond funding the project to search for life on Mars. According to a November 2023 report by the BBC, a scientific instrument built in Wales will be fitted to the rover to identify the most promising rocks to drill and test for evidence of ancient biology.

Various government departments also offer backing to companies looking to innovate in the UK. For example, UK Research and Innovation facilitates fellowships, grants, and loans for companies engaged in space science and quantum technologies. In addition, the Department for Business and Trade’s sector specialists and investment experts are tasked with helping investors seamlessly expand their businesses in the UK—they even offer support after landing.

Raising the quantum factor

The National Quantum Technologies Programme , a £1 billion partnership between government, academia, and industry, was established in 2014 to nurture and commercialize quantum technologies. The initiative has four hubs based in universities across the UK, specializing in different areas, including communications, sensors and timing, enhanced imaging, and computing. So far, it has funded over 470 PhDs, attracted 120 industrial partners, and supported over 50 quantum startups.

In 2023, an additional £2.5 billion was allocated to support quantum technologies for the next decade as part of the National Quantum Strategy. Under the strategy, the government plans to create a network of research hubs, nurture accelerator programs to spur development and commercialization, and drive investment toward talent and training schemes.

Government support in the UK is helping the space and quantum industries thrive. At the same time, a well-developed startup ecosystem enables investors to contribute to scientific advances and breakthroughs. Such innovations could reverberate across other industries, given that breakthroughs in both sectors have historically led to progress in others.

With a strong scientific community, a track record of collaboration, and a globally renowned manufacturing base added into the mix, the UK’s burgeoning space and quantum industries have a solid foundation in place to ensure its continued success.

Now is the time to invest in the UK. Find out about opportunities today.

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The future of travel: 10 concepts that will change the way we experience the world

T ravel has come a long way since the age of Silk Road caravans, daunting sea voyages and steam locomotives -– and will continue to transform in years to come.

Concepts that feel plucked from sci-fi novels and films are quickly making their way into mainstream travel, shaping every step of the journey.

Sooner rather than later, we could be piloting passenger drones around Singapore or rocketing into Earth’s orbit to admire the world from the edge of space.

From autonomous taxis to passenger drones, biometric immigration tunnels, instant translation and hotels, here’s a peek at what’s coming down the runway.

The end of airport lines

Although controversial , biometric identification (automatically verifying one’s identity via fingerprints, facial recognition or iris scans) is quickly becoming the technology of choice at airports worldwide.

Considered a faster and more accurate way to screen passengers, biometrics can cut processing time for typical airport procedures – think baggage check-in, lounge access, boarding and immigration control – in half.

For example, in 2018, Dubai International Airport introduced biometric “Smart Gates” tunnels , which use facial recognition to verify travelers’ identities in as little as five seconds.

It’s as simple as it sounds: after deplaning, travelers walk into a tunnel, look at a green light, and then continue to baggage claim without waiting in line or interacting with an immigration officer.

Elsewhere in the world, facial recognition technology is already in use to some extent at Hong Kong International Airport , Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, Indira Gandhi International in Delhi, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle, among other airports.

Meanwhile, the European Union plans to roll out an automated entry-exit system in 2024 that uses fingerprints and facial images to identify foreign travelers and streamline border control checks.

Airlines are also adopting biometric identification.

Emirates has created a “ biometric pathway ” at Dubai International Airport that enables passengers to pass through immigration and boarding without presenting their documents.

And in the US, major airlines like American Airlines, United and Delta have been experimenting with biometric check-in, bag drops and boarding gates at select airports for the last couple of years.

Less lost luggage

Have you arrived in a foreign country only to spend the first day of vacation stocking up on underwear, toiletries and essential clothing while your luggage takes an unexpected detour?

Given the millions of mishandled checked bags every year , it’s no wonder people are yearning for tech-savvy solutions to this common travel headache.

Some are turning to devices like SmartTags, Tile Pros and AirTags to keep track of their belongings. Others opt for sophisticated suitcases like the Samsara’s Tag Smart, which includes an integrated AirTag that syncs with Apple’s Find My app and uses Bluetooth to track the bag’s location.

Looking ahead, we’ll likely see digital bag tags containing RFID transmitters replace conventional paper tags – an evolution that would save time at check-in while simultaneously making tracking and identifying luggage easier for airlines.

Alaska Airlines, Lufthansa and Qatar Airways, among others, are ahead of the game, having partnered with Dutch digital bag tag pioneer BAGTAG. Such products enable travelers to register and activate their luggage tag at home, then drop luggage at a self-service kiosk and track it via an app.

Since tagging errors are just one reason for delayed or lost luggage , airlines and airports are also looking to solve common issues such as transfer mishandling, failure to load, ticketing errors and weather delays.

In the future, don’t be surprised if we see automated baggage handling, AI-powered bag recognition programs, AI security scanning and perhaps even an AI global database that links travelers with their bags – all solutions that could lead to fewer lost bags in the long run.

Next-level augmented reality

On a future trip to Europe, imagine exploring the Accademia Gallery in Florence guided by a talking “David” sculpture or embarking on a digital treasure hunt through the streets of Paris.

Requiring only a phone and internet connection, augmented reality (AR) can add another layer of intrigue to our travel experiences.

Specterras Productions , which strives to make the world’s natural and cultural wonders more accessible via technology, is already bringing such experiences to life.

“With AR, you can create animated busts at a museum – in the future, you’ll be able to walk up to a sculpture of Alexander the Great or Herodotus and interact with the art via your mobile phone, kind of like ‘Night at the Museum,” Michael Breer, chief creative officer at Specterras, tells CNN Travel.

AR and virtual reality (VR) became more mainstream during the Covid-19 pandemic when museums and destinations introduced interactive virtual experiences for would-be travelers.

What’s more, experimental artists like KAWS – known for his toy-like sculptures and collectables – famously embraced the technology in his “Expanded Holiday” project , which saw giant AR sculptures levitating in 12 cities around the world in 2020.

Breer says these technologies also enable people to explore parts of the world they might not be able to see in person.

“Economically, visiting places like Pompeii, Palmyra, Machu Picchu or the Great Barrier Reef is very difficult. So, for many people, VR and AR will provide a good substitute for these experiences,” Breer adds.

And in terms of planning, VR may also play a more vital role in decision-making in the future.

If travelers can explore a destination, hotel, restaurant or excursion via VR first, they will likely have more confidence when making reservations.

The rise of flying taxis

You’ve probably seen videos of passenger drones and eVTOL – electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft that don’t require a runway – taking over the internet.

These futuristic aircraft tend to be electric, ultralight and kitted out with autopilot software that makes it possible for everyday people to hop in the pilot seat – after an orientation session and VR flight simulation, of course.

That’s the strategy at LIFT Aircraft, which says that anyone can fly its amphibious HEXA aircraft in the US without a pilot’s license since it qualifies as an “ultra-light” vehicle under federal regulations. (That said, the Federal Aviation Administration recently proposed  a comprehensive rule  for training and certifying pilots of power-lifted aircraft.)

The aircraft offers many automated safety precautions like a collision-avoidance system, a triple-redundant flight computer and a ballistic parachute for the whole aircraft.

On track to start offering commercial flights in 2023, the company plans to let travelers fly the aircraft on short, scenic rides – about 8-15 minutes at a time – during a 25-city roadshow across the US.

In the future, customers will be able to find and book LIFT flights via a mobile app that provides flight simulation training, a proficiency test, a pre-flight checklist and ground crew support.

Other companies, like Ehang in China, are on a mission to alleviate traffic jams with flying taxi drones.

At the same time, New York-based Kelekona plans to offer flights on its battery-powered, 40-passenger drone bus as an eco-friendly alternative to mass transit.

Another notable company is Volocopter, which is on its way to bringing a fleet of electric air taxis to Singapore and Paris in 2024.

Then there’s the Jetson ONE – a single-person, all-electric eVTOL with auto-hover, stable flight and landing capabilities – which can fly for about 20 minutes up to 63 mph.

“A first application for a future flying car is to replace taxis in large cities,” Jetson co-founder Peter Ternstrom tells CNN Travel. “This will free up ground-level space and provide a much faster service for the passengers. The same goes for shuttle services from city centers to airports.

“Electric personal flying cars will revolutionize adventurous travel. Safaris, mountain tops, visiting Machu Picchu – all places that are currently difficult to get to will suddenly be possible.”

Robotaxis gain momentum

While some taxi services head into the clouds, others will stay firmly on terra firma – but with some serious upgrades.

Boston-based Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and global tech company Aptiv, has seen some early success.

Available to public passengers in Las Vegas, Motional provides autonomous robotaxis (via Lyft and Uber apps) that can drop passengers at popular destinations on the Las Vegas Strip.

A person is still present in the robotaxi at the moment, but the cars are expected to become fully driverless later this year, the company tells CNN Travel.

Another company seeing momentum is Waymo (a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc.), which has operated the first fully autonomous ride-hailing service in parts of Phoenix since 2020.

Available via the Waymo One app, the service has since expanded to downtown Phoenix, San Francisco and, next up, Los Angeles.

Of course, major players like Amazon, Tesla and Cruise are speeding forward in North America.

Amazon’s self-driving vehicle unit known as Zoox is being tested in San Francisco; an update to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta software became available in mid-March, addressing the safety risks associated with an earlier recall ; and Cruise has operations underway in San Francisco and Austin.

On the other side of the world, in China, tech giant Baidu began operating a fully autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, in cities like Beijing, Chongqing and Wuhan in 2022 and plans to expand rapidly in 2023.

“Autonomous ride-hailing service is gradually becoming part of people’s everyday lives,” a Baidu spokesperson tells CNN Travel. “In cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, each robotaxi on Apollo Go can complete more than 15 rides per day on average.”

Net-zero flights on the horizon

As passenger drones and eVTOLs become commonplace, you may wonder: what’s next for good old-fashioned airplanes?

The future of travel is inextricably linked to climate change – a reality that led the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to announce a long-term goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 .

Thanks to a mix of emerging technologies ranging from sustainable aviation fuel to hydrogen-powered engines to all-electric planes, it’s certainly possible, though critics have expressed considerable doubt .

US-based Eviation Aircraft is leading the way, providing a peek into the future with its sleek, all-electric “Alice” plane.

Set to enter service in 2027, the nine-seater commuter plane aims to reduce the environmental impact of regional hops. So far, over 300 Alice aircraft have been ordered by the likes of Aerus airline in Mexico, DHL, Air New Zealand and more.

We may also see a supersonic comeback within the next decade. Denver-based Boom has been working on an updated version of the Concorde that aims to make supersonic travel much quieter, greener and more affordable.

According to the company, Boom’s “Overture” aircraft can carry up to 80 people at Mach 1.7 speeds (or about twice as fast as traditional airlines) while emitting zero carbon emissions.

Meaning, a flight from New York City to Frankfurt could take four hours instead of eight, or you could go from LA to Sydney in eight hours instead of 14.

And since Overture will fly at a higher altitude than today’s aircraft – up to 60,000 feet – travelers would get to see the curvature of the Earth through the windows.

So far, several major airlines, including American Airlines, United and Japan Airlines, have placed orders for Overture, signaling industry confidence in the future of supersonic.

We’ll have to be patient, though – Boom plans to commence aircraft production in 2024, conduct test flights in 2027, and achieve certifications to carry passengers as early as 2029.

Eco-fabulous hotel stays

Like air travel, eco-conscious hotels are paving the way for more sustainable travel in the future.

When room2 Chiswick opened in London in 2021, it became the world’s “whole life net-zero” hotel.

In other words, the property has offset its entire carbon footprint, from production and construction, materials, maintenance, electricity and so on.

Compared with a typical UK hotel of a similar size, room2 uses 89% less energy per square meter thanks to ground source heat pumps, solar panels, water-saving fixtures, sustainable procurement policies, a biodiverse green roof and a zero-waste policy.

In the US, Bauhaus-style Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton , is on track to become the first net-zero hotel in the country after revitalizing a heritage building designed by Hungarian-born architect Marcel Breuer.

Opened in May 2022, the hotel’s day-to-day operations are fully solar-powered by 1,000 PV panels on the roof, and, as a result, the property emits zero carbon emissions.

It also features triple-glazed windows, an electric shuttle van, and a carport full of electric car chargers, including 12 Tesla Superchargers – enhancements that have earned the property LEED Platinum certification.

Looking ahead, the Six Senses Svart aims to be the world’s first energy-positive hotel when it opens in 2024 within the Arctic Circle in Norway.

With its low-impact overwater design inspired by local fish-drying structures, a solar power system, a zero-waste restaurant and efficient waste and water management systems, the hotel aims to help eco-minded travelers responsibly explore the polar region.

Also coming up in 2024 is Sheybarah Resort , an entirely off-grid resort in a protected marine park in the Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia known for its dense mangroves, pristine coral reefs and sea life.

The LEED-Platinum property plans to minimize its footprint in many ways, from suspending pod-like hotel rooms above the water (so as not to disturb marine life) to installing a solar farm, a solar-powered desalination plant for fresh water and on-site recycling facilities.

Say goodbye to language barriers

There’s nothing wrong with playing charades, but wouldn’t it be amazing to have deeper conversations with the people you meet while traveling?

Suppose language barriers became a thing of the past. In that case, we could connect across cultures, work and live abroad, discover new business opportunities and relate to far-flung family members.

The good news is that real-time translation is growing more sophisticated by the day.

Google’s Pixel Buds can either translate what’s being said directly into your ear or share a transcription so you can follow along.

The company has also been working on wearable augmented-reality glasses that display translated text on the lenses in real-time.

Another company, Mymanu , also offers auto voice translation via its CLIK S earbuds.

Currently used in the hospitality industry and soon to be rolled out to help asylum seekers in the UK , the headphones sync with the company’s MyJuno translation app to help users communicate with people in over 37 languages.

The company says it will soon be launching the world’s first voice-controlled, eSIM-enabled earbuds. Called “Titan,” they can be used like a screen-less phone, and they also offer live translation without the need for a phone app.

The space race rockets forward

We’re well on our way to exploring the final frontier with a flurry of space tourism initiatives available now – or very soon – to the most affluent explorers.

According to SpaceVIP , which bills itself as the only aggregator of space-related experiences, roughly a dozen types of expeditions are available in 2023, with many more to follow.

For starters, Blue Origin offers excursions past the Kármán Line – a boundary 62 miles above sea level that marks the beginning of outer space.

Meanwhile, S paceX has successfully launched commercial orbits around the Earth, missions to the International Space Station (ISS), and plans to take Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and an international crew of artists, actors, musicians and athletes on the first civilian mission around the moon in 2023. 

Those seeking a leisurely and luxurious experience can soon travel to the edge of space in a pressurized Spaceship Neptune capsule, propelled by a SpaceBalloon (the same used by NASA), with Space Perspective .

During the six-hour journey, due to launch in 2024, travelers will enjoy panoramic views of the Earth, a gourmet meal and cocktails before a slow descent and water landing.

Virgin Galactic, meanwhile, plans to launch 90-minute joyrides into the upper atmosphere this summer .

If they do go ahead, the $450,000 suborbital flight will reach about 50 miles above the planet, where passengers will have about a minute to enjoy astounding views and experience zero gravity.

Meanwhile, several companies, including Hi-Seas, Space Training Academy, Nastar Center and Air Zero G, provide Earth-bound training programs so you can experience various levels of gravity, learn astronaut maneuvers and enjoy simulator experiences like a moon launch or ISS docking.

Hyperloop coming down the pipeline

US entrepreneur Elon Musk has been talking about hyperloop technology – an ultra-high-speed transport system in a low-pressure vacuum tube – for years.

As the pitch goes, with hyperloop networks, we could travel in pods up to 760 mph from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes, Beijing to Shanghai in 60, and Paris to Amsterdam in 90.

In addition to saving time, proponents claim hyperloop also has the potential to provide a cheaper, faster, safer and more sustainable alternative to conventional mass transit.

Over the past decade, early movers like Musk’s The Boring Company, Virgin Hyperloop (now Hyperloop One) and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) made some impressive headway but encountered regulatory, funding and infrastructure challenges.

Despite an unsuccessful IPO attempt earlier this year , HyperloopTT is reportedly working on potential projects, including a “Great Lakes” link between Chicago, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, according to Bloomberg .

While thoroughly tested hyperloop transit networks may still be a decade, if not decades, away, many innovative companies are pushing the technology forward.

According to the South China Morning Post , the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation completed a few successful hyperloop test runs in Shanxi province in January 2023.

In addition, Hardt Hyperloop in the Netherlands demonstrated its technology at low speeds and is now constructing the European Hyperloop Center for high-speed demonstrations and testing.

Meanwhile, Toronto-based TransPod hopes to bring hyperloop technology to Canada with its eponymous tube-based transportation system powered by renewable energy.

By 2025, the company plans to build a 620-mile-per-hour TransPod link between Calgary and Edmonton, connecting the two cities in 45 minutes.

Maybe it’s a pipedream – or maybe it will transform travel as we know it.

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