Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to let tourists take a vacation around the moon

At the end of 2018, Elon Musk plans to fly rich tourists around the moon on a trip of a lifetime.

UPDATE: As of January 2024, the SpaceX plan to fly tourists around the Moon, initially scheduled for 2018, has been indefinitely delayed. The delay is due to the ongoing development of the Starship spacecraft, which is intended to be used for the mission.

SpaceX, already known for its pioneering initiatives like colonizing Mars, has announced a new, groundbreaking mission: sending two private individuals on a journey around the Moon by the end of 2018.

This marks SpaceX's start in the growing field of space tourism.

The two participants, who are not affiliated with NASA and remain unidentified, have approached SpaceX for this unique adventure, making a significant deposit to secure their spots.

This week-long lunar mission will be a first for SpaceX, signifying a major leap from its usual operations of launching satellites and supplying cargo to NASA.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk outlined that the journey, spanning between 300,000 to 400,000 miles.

It will use the Falcon Heavy rocket – an enhanced variant of the Falcon 9 – and the Crew Dragon capsule, an upgraded version of the Dragon cargo capsule.

Originally designed for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, the Crew Dragon will now demonstrate its capabilities for lunar proximity travel.

This automated mission, with provisions for manual control in emergencies, will see the Crew Dragon capsule orbiting the Moon, venturing into deep space, and then returning to Earth.

The reentry and landing process is designed to be gentle, ensuring the passengers' safety.

This places SpaceX at the head of space tourism, a sector it has not previously engaged in. It also subtly initiates a space race between the public and private sectors.

SpaceX's announcement seems to challenge NASA's deep space endeavors, notably the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew capsule, intended for Mars missions and deep space exploration.

However, SpaceX's history of delayed timelines – with the Falcon Heavy's debut pushed from 2013-2014 to this year – and safety concerns following recent Falcon 9 incidents, add layers of complexity and risk to the mission.

Musk acknowledges these risks, stating that they are fully aware of the dangers involved.

In the broader perspective, if successful, these private lunar missions could become a significant revenue stream for SpaceX, with Musk estimating that they could account for 10 to 20 percent of the company's earnings.

The cost of each mission is projected to be slightly higher than sending astronauts to the International Space Station, where NASA currently spends $70 to $80 million per astronaut using Russian Soyuz rockets.

As SpaceX prepares for this historic journey, it represents not just a milestone in space travel but also a shift in how humanity explores space, blurring the lines between governmental and private sector roles in the cosmic frontier.