Jealous of NASA people for being able to challenge limits and explore the Universe? Well, here’s your chance to do the same! All you need is a small fortune. More exactly, if you’ve got £100 million (approx. $156 million) to spare, you can fly to the moon and back, in a journey that will last for four unforgettable months.
The offer comes from an international commercial space transportation company called Excalibur Almaz Limited (EA). The wealthy adventurers who are willing to pay the price of the literally “out-of-this-world” experience will be the first humans to go to the moon after the Apollo 17 crew, who lived the adventure of their lifetime in 1972.
The founder of the company, Art Dula, stressed the fact that this will not be a leisure expedition, and that EA does not intend to offer space tourism for the sake of adventure alone. This is why EA is very different from Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin offer. Mr. Dula calls this a “real scientific expedition – they [people onboard] would go further than anybody has gone before in space”.
Being a British company, located on the Isle of Man (of the British Isles), Excalibur Almaz is bound to restore “the same kind of tradition that Britain had in the 16th and 17th centuries, when its explorers went to the ends of the earth seeking knowledge and information and bringing back wealth. I don’t know how much wealth they will bring back, continued Mr. Dale, but the first person to fly it will earn a place in the history books.”
If everything goes according to plan, the memorable journey could take place in 2015, and anyone who has the money will be allowed to embark on this mission. This includes researchers sponsored by the government, space agency scientists, or regular billionaires (if there is such a thing as a regular billionaire) with a need for extreme adrenaline rushes. The three crew members who will be on the ship will go through an intense training program for a year before the grand launch.
