Excalibur Almaz is a suitably fantastical name for a company that recently announced it plans to offer passenger flights to the moon. The Isle of Man-based company has purchased four disused Russian space capsules and two space stations which, it hopes, will be used to propel paying passengers into lunar orbit as early as 2015.
Ambitious? Absolutely. They’re in good company, however, with Russia’s Soyuz and Virgin Galactic flights potentially taking tourists to the heavens in 2014 and 2013 respectively.
I asked space expert Graham Southorn, editor of the BBC’s Focus magazine, about the likelihood of future success for these space tourism providers – and this is what he had to say

 

Virgin Galactic
Richard Branson’s Virgin megaempire is planning to launch its space branch – its suborbital craft SpaceShip Two, launched from a mothership aircraft, will fly up to 99 miles, just at the boundary of space. Passengers can expect to pay around £125,000 for the trip. There is no definitive date set yet, but it is currently slated for next year.