Space holidays

July 2009 was the 40th anniversary of man first walking on the moon. Ever since that day, we have been promised that holidays in space are not far away. Now a representative for the World Tourism Organisation predicts that, in the next ten years, people will be queuing to book their holidays in space. They will fly by rocket to a space station which will be orbiting the Earth at a height of 320 kilometres – that is about the same as the distance from Cairo to El-Minya. The space station itself will be like a giant spinning wheel with spokes like a bike wheel. There will be two kinds of spokes: those with ordinary gravity and those with zero gravity for weightless sports.

Some people who are interested in space holidays are worried that, as space tourists, they will suffer from the same horrible side effects as astronauts have suffered from, but experts say that there are now treatments for most side effects.

Just think about such a holiday in space! Everyone who has travelled in space has described the magical feeling of looking down on the Earth as it spins below you. It will be impossible to go shopping or go for a walk, but think of the fun you can have with weightless football or weightless gymnastics.

For most people, the main disadvantage at the moment is the cost of space holidays. Currently, the cost of a holiday is very high. But, like everything else, the more people want to do something, the cheaper it will become. So, if you are interested, start saving now!