Will our grandchildren spend their vacations on the moon, or their honeymoons in a hotel orbiting Mars? A few dreamers at the International Tourism Fair say space trips for average travelers could come sooner than we think.
A company at the fair displayed a model of a space hotel for space tourists that it hopes to build one day. However, the model shows that travelers won't find as much comfort floating in space as they would in a normal hotel on Earth.
The space hotel, designed for use on the International Space Station, is comprised of four tiny rooms with berths for couples, a common room and a very simple bathroom. As for food, space tourists would also have to eat dried foods like astronauts instead of delicious meals prepared by a chef.
"This artificial colony on the space station is incredibly lacking compared to the quality of life on Earth," said German astronaut Ulf Merbold. "There are much more comfortable places than a shuttle to spend a honeymoon ... You cannot kiss the bride with a space-suit helmet on."
But lack of comfort isn't the only problem. There are safety and price concerns too.
Dieter Isakeit of the European Space Agency pointed out that "the space station is not like a plane in which the cockpit is separate from the passengers' cabin. It is as if people in a hospital could walk in and out of the operating room during a heart operation."
But despite the lack of comfort, there are still many people willing to pay a lot of money to travel to space. If this hotel becomes a reality, a one-week stay will cost about US$2 million (NT$65 million). (AFP)
我們的孫子會在月球度假，或在繞著火星運行的旅館上度蜜月嗎？幾個國際旅遊展上的夢想家說，一般旅客的太空旅行計劃將比想像中更快實現。
一家公司在會場上展出太空旅館，希望有一天能建造這樣的旅館。然而，從模型看來，旅客會發現，在太空飄浮不比住在地球上的旅館來得舒服。
在國際太空站裡的太空旅館，有四個提供雙人床鋪的小房間、交誼廳，和很簡單的浴室。食物方面，太空旅客也得和太空人吃一樣的乾燥食物，而不是主廚準備的美食。
德國太空人尤夫．馬保說：「這種在太空站的『人工殖民地』比起地球上的生活品質，實在是差太多了。有太多比太空艙更適合度蜜月的地方。戴著太空帽，你根本無法親吻新娘。」
除了不舒服外，還有安全和價格上的考量。
歐洲太空局的戴特．伊薩凱指出：「太空站不像飛機，駕駛艙和客艙是分開的，而是像進出在醫院的開心手術病房。」
但儘管不舒適，仍有很多人願意花大把鈔票做太空旅行。太空旅館若真能落成，住一星期就得花上大約兩百萬美元（新台幣六千五百萬元）。 （法新社／翻譯：鄭湘儀）
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