"We plan for one of the participants to go on a spacewalk with a professional Russian cosmonaut. A civilian completing a spacewalk would be a huge step forward in the aerospace industry," said an Energia representative.
Space Adventures does not list a price for this particular trip on its website. The company has worked with Energia to send a number of wealthy tourists into space, including Dennis Tito, the first tourist to visit the ISS. Tito paid about $20 million for his trip in 2001, so the cost of the 2023 tour will be in the tens of millions of dollars.
According to Space Adventures, the orbital round trip will include a 16-day stay on the ISS with “an unobstructed view of Earth.” Tourists will have to undergo training in Russia before the trip.
In 2019, NASA announced that it would allow public visits to the ISS.
This is one of several space tourism trips planned in the coming years. Billionaire aviation magnate Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic recently signed a deal with NASA for private space missions; and Elon Musk's SpaceX is preparing to take more tourists into space in the coming years.
Perhaps the most high-profile trip will be SpaceX's plan: to send a tourist around the moon on its Big Falcon Rocket in 2023. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will make the trip with several other tourists, the cost of the experience has not been disclosed.
SpaceX also plans to send three people into space on its Crew Dragon spacecraft next year. The company successfully tested the craft last month, proving it can be an alternative to Russia’s Soyuz, the only way to get to the ISS today.
