Astronaut Charles M Duke Jr, now 76, walked on the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission of 1972. He served as Lunar Module pilot on the trip and was the ‘voice’ of Mission Control during the first Moon landing, by Apollo 11, three years earlier. Here, he gives his verdict on the race for space tourism...
The future looks bright for space tourism. I’m not sure whether there will ever be a Hilton hotel on the Moon, as was suggested in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Probably not a 100-room hotel, but who knows? A trip to the Moon, for the average person, would, of course, be the thrill of a lifetime.
As Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin said, the Moon has ‘magnificent desolation’. I was overcome with the beauty of it. It’s the starkness of the terrain, the contrast between the bright Moon and the dark sky – it would be a wonderful place for any tourist to visit.
The actual trip to the Moon is fascinating, with experiences including feeling zero gravity and looking out to see the Earth receding and the Moon growing closer. I found it thrilling.
I’m really excited about Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline. I met Sir Richard several years ago and admired his enthusiasm.
Since then, I’ve met a number of people who have paid their money to be passengers on one of his commercial space flights and they can’t wait to go.
I would love to take the Virgin Galactic trip into space – it would be tremendous.
The most wonderful part of what these pioneers are going to experience is the view up there of the blackness of space, fading into the light white of the upper atmosphere and into the deep blue as you look back to the Earth.
It’s the view that I would concentrate on. Believe me, it’s spectacular. Kennedy Space Center is a fascinating place to visit.
NASA’s launch headquarters is the only place on Earth where you can tour launch areas, meet a veteran astronaut, see giant rockets, train in spaceflight simulators and even view a launch.
The next Kennedy rocket launch is scheduled for August 23 this year. NASA is offering visitors rare access to several key areas of Kennedy Space Center during its 50th anniversary year.
A special Kennedy Space Center Up-Close Tour has been extended until the end of 2012 to allow visitors a look inside the 525ft-tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where the Apollo rockets and Space Shuttles were assembled.
Moon man: Astronaut Charles M Duke Jr in 1971
Probably not a 100-room hotel, but who knows? A trip to the Moon, for the average person, would, of course, be the thrill of a lifetime.
As Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin said, the Moon has ‘magnificent desolation’. I was overcome with the beauty of it. It’s the starkness of the terrain, the contrast between the bright Moon and the dark sky – it would be a wonderful place for any tourist to visit.
The actual trip to the Moon is fascinating, with experiences including feeling zero gravity and looking out to see the Earth receding and the Moon growing closer. I found it thrilling.
I’m really excited about Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline. I met Sir Richard several years ago and admired his enthusiasm.
Since then, I’ve met a number of people who have paid their money to be passengers on one of his commercial space flights and they can’t wait to go.
I would love to take the Virgin Galactic trip into space – it would be tremendous.
The most wonderful part of what these pioneers are going to experience is the view up there of the blackness of space, fading into the light white of the upper atmosphere and into the deep blue as you look back to the Earth.
It’s the view that I would concentrate on. Believe me, it’s spectacular. Kennedy Space Center is a fascinating place to visit.
NASA’s launch headquarters is the only place on Earth where you can tour launch areas, meet a veteran astronaut, see giant rockets, train in spaceflight simulators and even view a launch.
The next Kennedy rocket launch is scheduled for August 23 this year. NASA is offering visitors rare access to several key areas of Kennedy Space Center during its 50th anniversary year.
A special Kennedy Space Center Up-Close Tour has been extended until the end of 2012 to allow visitors a look inside the 525ft-tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where the Apollo rockets and Space Shuttles were assembled.
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