Soyuz to test fly Moon Trip before taking tourists

James Cameron to see dark side of Moon

The Russian Soyuz spaceship will make one unmanned test flight round
the Moon before taking on tourists in 2015.

An anonymous buyer bought the first ticket for a trip to the Moon was sold
for 150 million dollars in January this year.

Space Adventures has been selling tickets to space tourists since August
2005 and has organized eight flights to the ISS since then.

Although this has not been officially confirmed, James Cameron, a Canadian
-born Hollywood director and the creator of Avatar, is reported to have
purchased a $150-million ticket for a trip round the Moon in 2015 from the U.S.
Space Adventures company. Only two such tickets have been available.

Cameron, who earned more than $250 million last year alone, is rich enough to
afford a lunar excursion. He is in fact Hollywood's richest director.

Back in 2000, there was speculation that Cameron was considering a space
voyage aboard Russia's former Mir orbital station, but the idea went up in
smoke.

 

The Virginia-based Space Adventures company was founded in 1998. Three
years after, it sent American businessman Denis Tito on a week-long space
flight around Earth for $20 million. The company organized several more
space tourist trips in the following years. But 2015 will be special – tourists will
be able to circumnavigate the Moon aboard Russia's manned Soyuz space ship.
So far, only 24 humans have been lucky to see an Earthrise over the Moon
one of the most amazing moments in their lives.

A lunar excursion plus a visit to the International Space Station will take 17
days. In 2015, it will become clear whether space tourism will be a daily
occurrence or humanity is still not ready for such entertainment.

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