Tourists offered €81m Moon trip

TOURISTS inspired by the Discovery space mission can take advantage of a new holiday offer - a trip around the Moon - for $100 million (€81m).

A US company has announced a special deal for two passengers to be taken on a voyage lasting 10 to 21 days, all for a cool e81m.

Space Adventures, which organised flights for the world’s first private space explorers, American businessman Dennis Tito and the first African in space, Mark Shuttleworth, announced details of the mission in New York.

The tourists will be accompanied by a Russian pilot on the trip, which could take place as early as 2008.

The company claims it has already had several inquiries and had spoken to a few prospective clients.

“We have identified over a thousand people around the world who have the financial resources to participate in an expedition to the moon,” said Eric Anderson, Space Adventures president.

“But the question remains - who among this group has the sense of exploration and adventure to undertake such a historic mission?”

The company is exclusively represented by Bristol-based WildWings, which offers a variety of space training programmes.

John Brodie-Good, managing director, said: “To date, fewer than 30 people in the world have left Earth’s orbit.

“This historic opportunity offers a citizen the chance to be bold, to explore deep space, to observe the illuminated far side of the Moon and to see the whole of the Earth from space.”