Moon.Google takes you there. Virgin Galactic lets you see the
stars during the day.
Every kid who has ever lived has wondered what it would be like
if they could travel to the Moon. Originally I assume they would
have imagined it as a giant white disc that one could fall off
of if you got too close to the precarious edge. Now we know that
the experience is much more tangible and that it would involve
the wearing of spacesuits and jumping and floating around in
very low gravity. Did your parents used to tell you that there
was a 'Man in the Moon', or that really the Moon was made of
cheese? We've come to a new time and place in human history, and
now you can travel into 'outer space' and to the Moon in more
ways than one.
First of all you've got to sit down at your computer and type in
http://moon.google.com/ into your search engine (most probably
Google as it has been deemed as the 'coolest' by the pros and
the kids alike). Now check it out. Just like
http://earth.google.com/ you can traverse along the Moon's
surface searching out all the craters and bumps. You can zoom in
and out so you can get the Moonbird's perspective down to the
Moonworm. This is the real thing people. It even points out
where the different Apollo missions landed. If you zoom in all
the way you may even discover that the Moon's surface is
composed of a different material than you thought previously!
The second new way you can travel outside of earth's atmosphere
is even more spectacular. Well actually, it's incredible. The
only problem is that since it is such a new technology, the only
people that can take advantage of the opportunity are the
super-rich. Check out http://www.virgingalactic . This new
venture from hip, cool billionaire Richard Branson is one of
many that new companies are investing in the area of private
commercial space travel (as opposed to government-controlled
like NASA). Currently Branson's company is already taking money
for the flights that travel into sub-orbit; you can deposit
$20,000 towards the current price of $200,000. Eventually they
believe that it will become much more affordable so that
everyday people also get an opportunity to see the continents
from above.
Click on the category entitled 'What will it be like?' The way
they describe the experience is beautiful. They believe that
this is just the first step in a long line of space travel
experiences by humanity. Next will be the Moon, and then onwards
out into the deeper reaches of 'Space'. Read about the
technology behind this new spacecraft on the link 'How is this
possible?' This is truly science -fiction that has once again
come to fruition in reality, and isn't that always the way? The
first trips are scheduled for 2010; better save up your pennies.