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Life in Space

With commercial space travel becoming a reality, focus is shifting to the innovations that contribute to an allencompassing guest experience.

Words: Catherine Martin

When talk of space tourism became mainstream back in the early-2000s, you could be forgiven for thinking that such grandiose ideas were the work of starry-eyed dreamers, unlikely to ever become a reality, not in our lifetime anyway. But the past 12 months have seen giant leaps forward in the sector – bolstered perhaps by a human desire to escape the problems of planet Earth – with innovations ranging from dining concepts to living spaces.

According to a new report from Technavio, the space tourism market has the potential to grow by US$5.16 billion between 2021-2025, accelerating at a CAGR of 13.5%. With advances in technology, more funding from private investors and rising interest from enthusiasts, the sector is set to rocket, further helped by increased competition that will eventually make space travel more affordable.

Major players include Airbus and Blue Origin Enterprises, the latter of which is soon to hold an auction for a seat on New Shepard, set to fly its first astronaut crew to space on 20 July this year. The company, founded by Jeff Bezos, has completed a number of missions and recently invested in crew capsule upgrades to enhance the astronaut experience. Elon Musk’s SpaceX venture meanwhile has announced its first all-civilian mission for later this year, with the four-person crew taking to the Dragon spacecraft for what will be a major milestone in the space tourism sector. In May 2021, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic completed its first human spaceflight from Spaceport America in New Mexico. And Axiom, which envisages a commercial laboratory and residential infrastructure in space, has signed a deal with NASA for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, which could take place as early as January 2022. The astronauts will travel in style on board a vessel designed by Philippe Starck, who has created a nest-like accommodation module, with materials and colours inspired by the womb. While Starck has applied his hospitality

Lunark (top) by Saga Space Architects is inspired by the Japanese art of origami, while Philippe Starck’s creation for Axiom Space (bottom) is a cosy nest-like capsule

expertise to space travel, there’s a growing number of architects dedicated to the sector. Saga, based in Copenhagen, is a new design practice working on making space liveable for future travellers by approaching the design of habitats from a human perspective, where mental wellbeing and social sustainability is part of the life support equation. The concept, a deployable moon habitat known as Lunark, is inspired by the Japanese art of origami, with a lightweight foldable frame clad in a carbon fibre shell that unfolds to create a living space. Inside, the architects will embrace the Danish concept of Hygge to create a cosy environment. Circadian light panels emulate the daily cycle of natural sunlight, while immersive soundscapes aim to counteract sensory monotony and an indoor vertical farm will grow vegetables. The company’s co-founders, Sebastian Aristotelis and Karl-Johan Sorensen, have already built a full-scale prototype and tested their concept in Northern Greenland; they’re now crowdfunding to make their dream a reality.

On a larger scale, Orbital Assembly is pushing ahead with its plans having recently opened a new production facility in California to accelerate the development of space hotels. The construction company is currently developing technologies and structures to build the world’s first space hotel, with lunar levels of gravity between the Earth and the moon. Once complete, the 400-capacity resort will feature luxury villa accommodation, a health spa, gyms, themed restaurants, concert venues, and Earthviewing lounges.

With the design of outer space accommodation already under way, one of the greatest challenges now is dining. If travellers are to be offered the same five-star experience as they have become accustomed to on Earth, food production techniques will need to develop. NASA has long been sending astronauts into space with vitamin-rich pre-packaged foods that are easy-to-eat in zero-gravity, but future space travellers will expect three-course meals, cocktails and gourmet snacks.

In 2020, Hilton Worldwide became the first hospitality company to participate in research on the International Space Station, as astronauts successfully baked DoubleTree chocolate-chip cookies in a landmark science experiment. In partnership with Zero G Kitchen, proprietors of the first space oven, the experiment was designed to assess how ingredients perform in space, and to make such travel experiences more hospitable. Speaking of the results, Shawn McAteer, Senior Vice President and Global Head of DoubleTree by Hilton commented: “Perfecting the baking process for our DoubleTree cookies took time, even on Earth, so we were excited to learn that our cookies appear to look and smell the same on the ISS as they do in our hotels. The innovation displayed throughout this experiment and emphasis on making long-duration space travel more hospitable underscores our ongoing commitment to ensuring guests always have a comfortable stay, wherever they may travel.”

NASA is further committing to dining in space, and has recently launched a competition to find innovative and sustainable food systems. Run in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, the Deep Space Food Challenge aims to generate novel food production technologies or systems that require minimal resources and produce minimal waste, while providing safe, nutritious and tasty food for long-duration human exploration missions. It is hoped the scheme will enable future travellers to follow a healthy and varied diet in space, and will also open up new avenues for food production on Earth, in extreme or resource-scarce regions.

Christie’s meanwhile has recently presented the first-ever bottle of space-aged wine for sale. The mono-varietal Pétrus 2000 vintage spent 14 months aboard the International Space Station, and will be sold in a handcrafted trunk alongside a corkscrew made from a meteorite, with the proceeds funding future space missions. It is the first time wine has travelled to the ISS and returned to Earth, ageing in a carefully monitored and controlled environment as part of a series of experiments by Space Cargo Unlimited to find solutions for the viticulture and agriculture of tomorrow.

On hand to bring the entertainment are Intergalactic Royalty Operations Corporation (iROC) and Subtractive Inc, who have entered into a strategic partnership to broadcast music to outer space. The venture will enable the licensing and branding of the label’s roster of space-influenced artists to the stars, targeting content delivery to the first wave of space tourists, space hotels and other operators above the Karman Line (100km above sea level). Subtractive, a Santa Monica-based production company representing artists at the crux of where space and music meet, works with the

“The innovation displayed throughout this experiment and emphasis on making long-duration space travel more hospitable underscores our ongoing commitment to ensuring guests always have a comfortable stay, wherever they may travel.”

SHAWN MCATEER, HILTON

“This announcement is our hope to encourage and move forward the concept of space tourism, while revving up excitement for that aspect of the travel industry that is sure to come some time in the near future.”

JOSH BELKIN, HOTELS.COM

likes of electro band Test Shot Starfish, whose sounds often feature on SpaceX launch webcasts, while iRoc developed the first radio station dedicated to space-influenced content and music, and is the exclusive broadcast partner for goingtospace.com, an online community for current and future astronauts. The company’s forward-thinking founder Bruce Furst has aspirations to provide entertainment for other intergalactic planets and worldly beings, stating: “I hope that as space tourism and ultimately space settlement comes to fruition, iROC will be a leading provider of licensed entertainment content, product branding and broadcasting for the space community.”

So how do travellers go about booking such an out-of-this-world trip? Last September, Hotels.com announced plans to become the first online travel agent to offer hotel bookings in space and reward Earthlings with the ultimate escape. Through its new website – onesmallstepforhotels.com – the company claims that travellers will be able to make holiday plans and book trips… just as soon as those space hotels actually exist. The venture came with a plea to developers building hotels in space to get in touch, while the website offers budding interstellar travellers an idea of what to expect. From check-in to the guestroom, features include spacesuit robes with moonboot slippers, AI-powered concierges, a meteor mini-bar and robot bellhops.

While the campaign turned out to be a PR stunt to drive bookings at Earth-based hotels, it certainly got the industry thinking about travel of the future. “Hotels.com is proud to already offer the best properties on planet Earth. The way things are going in 2020 inspired us to see if we can extend that offering to the entire galaxy,” commented Josh Belkin, Vice President of Global Brand at Hotels.com. “This announcement is our hope to encourage and move forward the concept of space tourism, while revving up excitement for that aspect of the travel industry that is sure to come some time in the near future.”