The journey marked Russia’s return to space tourism after a decade-long pause that saw the rise of competition from the US. The trio spent 12 days on the orbiting laboratory, where the Japanese tourists documented their daily life aboard the ISS for Maezawa’s popular YouTube channel. In partnership with US-based company Space Adventures, Roscosmos has previously taken seven tourists to the ISS since 2001 – one of them twice. The cost of tickets to space for tourists has not been disclosed but Space Adventures has indicated they are in the range of $50m-60m. Roscosmos plans to continue growing its space tourism business, already commissioning two Soyuz rockets for such trips.

Source: The Guardian December 21, 2021 00:47 UTC