January 25, 2008

Ground Control to Major Tom

Space Adventures Personal Spaceflights

Still haven’t decided where to go on vacation this year?

Here’s an option you probably haven’t considered: the moon.

No, seriously. Vienna-based Space Adventures is offering the first private expedition to the big cheese for a mere $100 million (yeah, that money was really starting to burn a hole in your pocket).

After six months of cosmonaut training in Russia, you’ll blast off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a three-person Soyuz rocket ship. Three and a half days of spaceflight later, you’ll marvel at the moon’s giant craters and mountain ranges for three to four hours — before Mama Earth’s gravity pulls you away.

Added bonus: You’ll get bragging rights unique to only a few people in history.

Which you probably don’t need, considering you’ve got that much money in the first place.

Space Adventures (703-524-7172 or spaceadventures.com).