Space invaders

By Katherine MacColl

IT LACKS atmosphere and there isn't a swimming pool or a beach bar in site , so why are people desperate to take the first chartered shuttle to the moon

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NASA's Dr Sten Odenwald says space travel is about as terrifying as it gets: 'The only thing that separates us from instant death is a one-inch piece of bulkhead metal that can be easily penetrated by meteroids or orbiting debris. In a spacesuit it is even more precarious. The Apollo 13 accident shows just how thin the edge can be between survival and death only a few thousand miles from earth.'

Space travellers are also likely to experience stints of disorientation, weird visal illusions, motion sickness, dizziness and nausea.

Even if the safety risks and health problems are minimised, travelling to the moon will make Australia look like a short hop away. Apollo 8 astronauts took 54 hours to reach the moon from earth and other parts of the galaxy are literally light years away.

It won't come cheap either. A stay at a space hotel will cost at least 20,000. To get to the hotel from the shuttle will involve floating along at zero gravity through an access tube. Holidays to the Milky Way could become available in our lifetime.

Those who just can't wait to go trekking around in space, however, can experience the next best thing at the Zero Gravity Experience in Moscow. But, don't get too excited, you'll experience zero gravity for a whole 25 seconds. If you're still interested go to the Incredible Adventures Travel Agent.

Closer to home, Cornish pig farmer Ken Bennett is bidding to build a 50 million astronomy and science complex at Upton Cross. He wants to build a planetarium, movable 'sky theatre', nine telescopes, research facility and a 1 million space-shuttle simulator that will hold up to 35 people.

Would you like to experience what it is really like in space or do you prefer to keep you feet firmly on the ground Click here to have your say.