5 ways to travel to space right now

A suborbital trip on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and Blue Origin’s New Shepard typically costs $250,000 to $500,000. Flights beyond that to actual orbit—a much higher altitude—fetch more than $50 million per seat. A trip to space is very expensive and only affordable to those who can pay a large amount of money. In fact, $200,000 is 3x the median US household income in 2021. So, while space tourism may be an option for the very wealthy, it’s not something the average person could consider. But traveling to space is already possible in various ways. Yes, I am talking about the general public and not astronauts or highly trained individuals. Here are the five ways you can do it:

With a VR setup

You can strap on a VR headset and explore space from the comfort of your home. There are many high-quality VR space exploration games available that can give you a realistic experience. Some VR games even allow you to learn about the stars and planets you are visiting.

Taking a trip to a space-themed amusement park

There are many amusement parks across the globe that have space-themed rides and attractions. These can give you a small taste of what it is like to be in space. Some of these parks even have simulated zero-gravity rides that can give you a brief experience of weightlessness.

By going on a zero-gravity flight

For a more authentic experience, you can book a seat on a zero-gravity flight. These flights create periods of weightlessness by flying in parabolic arcs. This is as close as most people will ever get to experiencing true zero gravity. Experiencing zero gravity and flying through space can be thrilling and is a great way to visit and learn about space.

A trip to an observatory

If you want to see space without leaving the ground, then head to your nearest observatory. Here you can look through powerful telescopes and get an up-close view of planets, stars, and galaxies. Many observatories also offer public tours and educational programs that can teach you more about space and astronomy.

Reading books or watching documentaries

If traveling to space is not possible for you, then the next best thing is to learn about it from books or documentaries. This is a great way to armchair travel and explore the universe from the comfort of your home.

Ways are always emerging for the general public to experience space. Whether it is through VR, amusement parks, zero-gravity flights, or simply reading about it, space is becoming more accessible than ever before. So go out and explore the universe!