Modern technology has been developing rapidly, bringing astronomy to the next level. Some visioners and wealthy people in business are recently interested in investing more in this sector for voyages in outer space available for people. I believe this event has already started and will contribute to changes in some aspects.
One reason space tourism seems to be a viable next step in space exploration is the growing involvement of private companies. Several companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic could develop technology for space exploration. Unlike, space exploration in the past where the funding came from the government and was limited to scientific missions, space tourism from private companies delivers a profit-driven model. This will significantly accelerate astronomy advancements. Additionally, the profit from the business model could be reinvested into the same research and development, providing funds for the next exploration.
However, this development might have a lot of effect on social perception and environmental conditions in space. First, with the rise of space tourism provided by companies with fantastic prices, the purpose of exploration is no longer considered as noble and humanity purpose. It is more about the chances for rich billionaires to show off the amount of money that they have, while at the same time, some people are starving and do not have access to food, clean water, and shelter. As a result, this will create a huge disparity between people around the world, where the rich can travel to the mars whilst the poor are starving. In addition, another concern will be about the amount of trash produced in space. This happened due to the number of space travel launched by private companies.
In conclusion, space tourism represents an exciting development with the potential to reshape the way human exploration beyond Earth. However, it must carefully balance with the potential risk assessment to tackle in the future.