Space tourism, within the reach of a few, seeks to democratize

Marbella (Málaga), September 28 (.). Space and underwater tourism, now less accessible and in the spotlight of the luxury sector, is striving to democratize itself, as was revealed this Wednesday in Marbella on the opening day of the international summit “Space and Underwater Tourism SUTUS 2022”.

The goal is to “democratize” the kind of expertise that is currently only accessible to a privileged few, explained Aaron Oliveira, founder and promoter of the project and design of the “Earth 300” science ship, which will allow underwater tourism.

Luxury tourism, which moves between 130 thousand and 170 thousand million euros annually in Europe, according to the consulting firm Bain & Company, has always looked at the depths of the seas and outer space.

Despite the great interest, the options currently available to take a submarine trip or visit places are few and very expensive; But when supply and demand are aligned, it will be essential to have specialists prepared, International Space University (ISU) President Pascal Ehrenfried told EFE.

On the occasion of his participation in this summit, he stressed that space tourism will be another subject that the university will study in the future.

For Ehrenfried, as for the rest of the speakers who took part in this third edition of the meeting, the depths of the seas and outer space arouse public curiosity not only on a scientific, but also on a tourist level.

In this context, unique and ambitious initiatives such as “Orbital Assembly”, a company that developed the first hotel with accommodation for tourists in space, “Space VIP”, which they hope to open in 2027, are framed.

Orbital Assembly head of operations Tim Alatori explained that in an initial phase, the “Pionero” space station will have four rooms and there will be room for two crew and two tourists, but the idea is: go a little expanding capabilities.

Besides the “Orbital Assembly” and “Earth 300” hotel projects, other initiatives were presented at the summit, including “Axiom Space”, which plans to create cities in space and which NASA astronaut Michael Lopez Alegria, together with The recruiter for this project, Simone Jenner.

This summit, to be held at the Les Roches School Hotel, in Marbella, from 28-30 September, may have been interrupted by the lead of the European Space Agency’s “Euro-Moon-Mars” project, Bernard Foing, who made it clear that we are all potential astronauts.

More than 30 companies in the sector are coming together these days to show off their progress in the field, such as the Space Tourism Association, which is working to “make monetize” the growing range of space experiences, including real spaceflights, movies and games in virtual reality. . worlds.

Representatives of major international space agencies such as NASA, from the United States, have their space in the meeting; ESA from Europe; JAXA, from Japan, or the Spanish Space Agency (AEE), whose headquarters are currently disputed in dozens of cities across the country.

Among other speakers, the program is being completed by the Space Training Academy’s Special Instructor for Astronauts, Nancy Vermeulen; Underwater archaeologist Carlotta Perez-Reverte or aspiring European Space Agency astronauts Carmen García Roger or Jorge Bla Garcia.

1011973

/ jmj

(photo) (video)