Space tourism is a very popular industry, and it is easy to see why, as it appeals to the popular desire to go into space by providing gorgeous views of our planet and creating a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, these emotional gains are merely as fleeting as one’s bank account and the earth’s environmental stability. Space tourism is not a realistic ideal in this current era due to economic and environmental issues that are rampant in the world.

A crucial aspect of space tourism is its advancement of medical and technological ideas. Every day, scientists and engineers are always trying to discover and refine new methods and technologies to aid space travel and exploration, and with space tourism, it is believed by some that this process of creating and developing will speed up. According to Space.com, “Many space tourists are actively running and participating in experiments, such as examining the effects of microgravity on human health, plant growth and material properties.” They also mention how space tourism industries help develop new technologies that can be shared with other space industries. While the supposed scientific benefits do exist, it is not proven that the technological progress made in the space tourism industry aid the development of other space industries. After all, Space.com ends up countering this claim by explaining that “space tourism is a niche business. While some companies have developed technologies that are specific to this industry, those technologies will not necessarily transfer to other space-related activities, like industrial or scientific applications.” Every bit of progress made by space tourism companies generally stays in this industry, as other space industries do not tend to need the knowledge that is acquired or are unaware of the progress made. As a result, space tourism industries only tend to help themselves with their development rather than with other industries, which leads to the conclusion that space tourism does not contribute much to the overall development of society.

The most important motivator of the space tourism industry is the support from the public. The idea of traveling to space for entertainment is appealing to most people since in this current era, going to space is considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that offers a worth-while view. The University of Central Florida further explains how “the experience of traveling out of Earth’s atmosphere and looking back on the world we inhabit produces a sense of awe and respect. Space travelers will gain a deeper appreciation for our planet and hopefully want to take a more active approach to protecting it when they return to terra firma.” However, there is irony to gain from this idea of support for this industry because humanity is doing the opposite of protecting the environment. Just like with most modes of transportation, rockets have a carbon footprint that leaves an impact on the earth’s atmosphere. According to NOAA Research, “Currently, an estimated 1,000 tons of rocket soot exhaust are emitted annually. The researchers caution that the exact amounts of soot emitted by the different hydrocarbon fueled engines used around the globe are poorly understood.  The researchers found that this level of activity would increase annual temperatures in the stratosphere by 0.5 – 2° Celsius or approximately 1-4°Farenheit.” Some people argue that all space industries contribute to this pollution. However, it is important to clarify that there is a difference in the purpose of each space industry that make it relatively justifiable to go to space. Space exploration industries go to space with the intent to discover new aspects of gravity and space as well as make progress in space travel. However, space tourism industries only go to space with the purpose to please their customers who only want to go to space for amusement. This purpose just creates a waste of resources and contributes to unnecessary pollution.

Another commonly argued benefit of space tourism is the economic value. Even though space tourism is a privately funded industry, there are public benefits that result from this industry. The University of Central Florida says, “According to a report conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council, tourism generated $7.2 trillion (9.8 percent of the global gross domestic product) and provided 284 million jobs — for a total of one out of every 11 jobs on the planet in 2015.” While this industry might provide a lot of economic stability and employment, the cost of space tourism itself does not make this benefit fair. Space tourism is incredibly expensive where only the wealthy have a chance to try it, so the money and employment spent to maintain this industry only makes this business unjust as it merely becomes an elitist club. The Space Generation Advisory Council adds, “While tickets will probably not cost tens of millions anymore, just looking at the payload launch cost per kg of often-used rockets shows that launching someone into space will not cost less than $ 100,000 for the foreseeable future [s]. Currently, we are still looking at costs of at least $1 million.” Even though there are positive economic aspects to space tourism, such as the supplying of jobs, ultimately, the wealthy benefit the most.

Space tourism should not be a priority for society today because of its inaccessibility for the average person, its lack of scientific contributions, and its unnecessary contribution to pollution. Instead of society focusing on space tourism, they should continue to focus on space exploration which makes progress in making space tourism a more sustainable and accessible industry in the future. Space tourism can be something that humanity can choose to pursue later on in the future, just not right now, when there are more losses than gains surrounding space tourism.