Space Tourists Desperately Need a ‘Rescue Service’

A ticket to space is something only the privileged few can afford — some estimates put the price at several hundred thousand dollars. But the fact that anyone can buy a ticket at all is remarkable.

And, just like airplane flight, space tourism is predicted to lower in costs, as private space companies like Axiom, Blue Origin and SpaceX race to cut launch costs, reuse rockets and make life in space seem more desirable than life on Earth.

But as more people who are not astronauts go to space, a different, darker issue looms: Who will rescue them if something goes awry?

That's the question explored in a new report by the RAND Corporation, a think tank. In the paper, the organization's researchers point out that there is no clear global consensus on regulating space travel, and that, as a result, "state actors and, more recently, even some private actors have engaged in activities in space that have placed space safety, security, stability, and sustainability at risk."

The report calls on more robust regulation for spacecraft and lunar exploration, including a Space Rescue Service, which would be dedicated to responding to emergencies in space.

The proposed rescue service would be able to help astronauts and tourists get back to Earth or address problems in orbit or on moon bases. Nothing like this exists at this time.

Fewer than 700 individuals have gone to space as of August 2023. But the Space Rescue Service proposal "would make some riskier missions possible and thus ultimately facilitate the expansion of humanity into space," the institute said.

"It seems self-evident. The more people who fly in space, the higher the likelihood of something going wrong," says Jan Osburg, co-author of the report.