Reed Paltrow, Grade 12

The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite in 1957, the starting pistol that began the Space Race. Sputnik was the launch heard ‘round the world, an unprecedented milestone that sparked a frenzy of competition between the United States and the USSR for dominance over the final frontier. Twelve years and $30 billion later, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, but his “giant leap for mankind” still had hardly crossed the finish line (1).

Much like our 93 billion light year-diameter-observable universe, space research and exploration have only expanded (2). Space has become a vital topic of study that supports not only our understanding of the universe and Earth’s role within it, but also contributed to advancements instrumental to life on earth. Space research and exploration have yielded inventions including artificial limbs, the insulin pump, water filtration, and CAT scans (3). Studying distant planets like Mars has revealed insights about human survival in extreme conditions, while tracking approaching asteroids keeps our planet safe.

The explosion of space exploration has also yielded new industries, and one gaining global attention is space tourism. Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have all invested billions into their respective space tourism companies, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX (4). This rise in space tourism’s visibility thanks to uber-wealthy sponsors has fostered excitement regarding its future (5). However, what goes up must come down: space tourism has many financial and environmental drawbacks that make it a far less worthy investment than space exploration.

The greatest downside to space tourism is its astronomical cost. Would you pay $55 million to ride a roller coaster? That is the ticket price of the first SpaceX commercial rocket launch in April, 2022 (6). A recreational visit to space allows the ultra-rich to flaunt their wealth while providing no insights that benefit the public. Some argue that as the space tourism industry develops, it will become more affordable, just like the airline industry did. However, even optimistic projections that future fares may drop to $125,000 would still price out the vast majority of Americans (7). Furthermore, the cost and preparations necessary for space travel reduce the likelihood of its wider accessibility. The aircraft developed quickly in its first few decades of existence, thanks to the millions of flights that occurred (8). Meanwhile, the number of space tourism launches that have taken place to date are scarce: Blue Origin has had four and SpaceX has had two (7). A greater supply of tourism providers would be required to create a drop in demand and price, not to mention the many test flights that would need to take place before customers would feel safe climbing aboard. The costliness and time-consuming nature of space travel prohibits its timely industrial development, indicating that it will remain a luxury exclusively enjoyed by the rich.

Still, advocates of space tourism ignore these harsh realities, choosing instead to highlight the industry’s potential for economic growth. Space tourism enthusiasts cite economic analysts’ predictions that global space tourism could grow to $1.7 billion by 2027, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.2% over this forecast period (9). While this does foreshadow massive profit potential, it neglects the even greater economic impact made by the far more practical field of space exploration. The space exploration and technology market is projected to reach a whopping $630 billion in 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.3% over this forecast period (10). Furthermore, while some argue that space tourism will create new jobs, the same can be said for space exploration and research. In fact, NASA generated over $64 billion in total economic output and more than 312,000 jobs in 2019 (11). Given space exploration’s triumph in market size but space tourism’s comparable predicted growth rates and economic impact, other considerations must be made to determine the best use of finite space resources.

The price of space tourism exceeds money alone–its environmental cost also cannot be ignored. The carbon footprint of a single rocket ship is 100 times more than a plane flight, per passenger, and because rocket ships pollute the stratosphere directly, studies show that a buildup could deplete the entire ozone layer (12, 13). Additionally, building rockets like Elon Musk’s 164 ft. tall Starship MK1 requires a substantial amount of steel, which when forged, emits 1.9 tons of carbon dioxide per ton (14,15). While both space tourism and space research damage the environment, the growth of the space tourism industry would speed up Earth’s environmental collapse at an unprecedented rate.

In addition to space tourism’s detrimental environmental drawbacks, the key to deciding the best allocation of the government’s and space agencies’ finite resources also lies in determining both industries’ applications in benefiting society. The truth is that humanity profits far more from the findings gained from space exploration than space tourism. Space tourism is not only devouring capital and destroying our planet; it isn’t even advancing our knowledge of space or technologic innovation. Tourist flights to date have only reached suborbital space, a feat achieved in the 1960s (16). While some say the growth of such a complex industry will promote improvements in technology, there is nothing the space tourism industry can do that the space exploration and research field–an industry with a 370 times greater market size–can’t do better. (9,10).

Looking at the big picture shows us that space tourism is simply a luxury for the ultra-wealthy to seek entertainment and showcase their excess at great cost to our planet. Space tourism and exploration are both costly pursuits with the potential to cause environmental damage; however, in the context of what they have to offer the world, there is little comparison. Humanity profits far more from the insights gained from space research than space tourism. It is therefore advisable that crucial resources necessary for space travel remain firmly within those agencies using them for research, not tourism.

(1) B. Domitrovic, J. Broadwater, Was Federal Spending on the Space Race Justified? Bill of Rights Institute, (2022).

(2) How Big is the Universe? The Nine Planets, (2022).

(3) J. Green, Inventions we use every day that were actually created for space exploration. USA TODAY, (2019).

(4) Factbox: Branson, Bezos and Musk – three space tourism pioneers. Reuters, (2021).

(5) L. Pfalz, The Future of Space Tourism Continues to Look Bright. TravelPulse, (2022).

(6) L. Chang, Private Astronauts Launching to Space Station Don’t Want to Be ‘Tourists’. The New York Times, (2022).

(7) D. Kamin, The Future of Space Tourism Is Now. Well, Not Quite. The New York Times, (2022).

(8) A. Globus, Space Tourism Leads to Space Settlement. National Space Society, (2018).

(9) Global Space Tourism Market Trajectory Report 2020-2027: Suborbital Tourism is Projected to Account for $1.5 Billion of the Total $1.7 Billion Market. Business Wire, (2021).

(10) Deep Space Exploration and Technology Market Size to Reach USD 630.23 Billion in 2028. Emergen Research, (2022).

(11) National Aeronautics and Space Administration & Moon to Mars Program: Economic Impact Study. NASA, (2022).

(12) Climate sacrifices undermined by space tourism, says Dr Eloise Marais. UCL Department of Geography, (2021).

(13) D. Noor, Space Tourism Is a Waste. Gizmodo, (2021).

(14) K. Beck, Space tourism sounds fun. But it could be terrible for the planet. Mashable, (2021).

(15) D. Mosher, SpaceX just built a shiny 164-foot-tall rocket prototype in South Texas that looks like it came from Mars. Business Insider, (2019).

(16) R. Heilweil, How bad is space tourism for the environment? And other space travel questions, answered. Vox, (2021).