Want to go tospace?
It could cost you.
This month, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will make thefirst fully-private, crewed flightto the International Space Station.
The going price for a seat is US$55 million.
The ticket comes with an eight-day stay on the space station, including room and board andunrivaled views.
But the flights only last betweentenand15 minutes, barely enough time to enjoy an in-flight snack.
But if youre happy to keep your feet on the ground, things start to look more affordable.
Science in space
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The cost of all that research can be, well, astronomical.
Budgets like these are only available to governments and national space agencies or a very select club ofspace-loving billionaires.
Space for everyone
More affordable options are now democratizing access to space.
So-callednanosatellites, with a payload of less than 10kg including fuel, can be launched individually or in swarms.
One project we are involved in uses CubeSats and machine learning techniques tomonitor Antarctic sea ice from space.
Spire Global operates a fleet of more than 110 nanosatellites.
Naturally, we called the project IceCube.
Small satellites are starting to explore beyond our planet, too.
In 2018,two nanosatellitesaccompanied the NASA Insight mission toMarsto provide real-time communication with the lander during its decent.
A nanosatellite took this photo of Mars.
Image: NASA/JPL
Tiny spacecraft have even been proposed for a voyage to another star.
Small but mighty
With advances in miniaturization, satellites are getting ever smaller.
Some can be assembled and launched foras little as a few hundred dollars.
A Finnish company is experimenting with a more sustainably built CubeSatmade of wood.
Getting to space doesnt have to cost the Earth after all.
