ROME, April 12. /TASS/. According to Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori, vacations in outer space are beyond any possibility given that space flight is an extreme adventure, he stressed in an interview with a TASS correspondent on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the first space flight made by Yuri Gagarin.
"During Gagarin’s time, nobody had any idea what space was, nor could they fathom what would happen. Today, space has practically become our normal working environment," Vittori noted. "Yet, space tourism is impossible," he argued. "Space travel is not tourism and it will never be that. This is more like an extreme sport, this is like climbing [Mount] Everest. People who climb Everest are not tourists, they are fans of extreme sports. Space, when it doesn’t involve work, is also an extreme sport," he explained.
"In zero gravity, your vestibular system is in an unusual state with unpleasant sensations. A person cannot feel well in space, it is impossible to compare this with a vacation on the beach, a person feels physically uncomfortable in space, it is totally unfit for tourism," the spaceflight veteran specified. Nonetheless, he is thoroughly convinced that space offers immense opportunities for research and economics.
Colonizing the Moon, Mars, and asteroids
"The colonization of the Moon is the future as far as developing new sources of raw materials goes. The world economy will be forced to go beyond our planet’s borders. Space resources are infinite, but the Earth’s ecosystem is limited and wearing thin," the astronaut pointed out. He thinks that industry will move outside the Earth’s borders and will involve the lunar surface as well. "Mars is next, and then the asteroids. The global economy will rely on space," he believes. "In space, humans will never feel like they do on Earth. It will never be a normal environment for people," the spaceflight veteran stressed. Yet it is possible to get adapted to it to some degree and work there. "However, that would be work, not a vacation," the astronaut emphasized.
Astronaut's plans
Vittori travelled to space three times, including two voyages on board a Russian rocket. He was trained in Russia’s Star City and is in the know regarding the traditions of Russian cosmonauts that have been preserved since Gagarin’s time. "There is a thin line between tradition and superstition, it’s like climbing a mountain - usually a person takes the path already traveled," he explained. In his opinion, the observance of pre-flight rituals provides certain confidence. Yet in space everything is always new. "Even with meticulous pre-flight preparation, you find yourself in another world no matter what. It’s the world of microgravity and it cannot be fully replicated on Earth, so for any astronaut each space flight is a discovery," the astronaut insisted.
Currently, he is serving as Space Attache at the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC. His diplomatic stint will be over by the end of the year, and the 56-year-old astronaut plans to return to space beating the record of his fellow Italian Paolo Nespoli who performed his last space flight at the age of 60.
The astronaut admits that he longs for space travel even though it’s not a friendly environment for humans. "This is an extremely difficult job that demands many sacrifices, and constant training. While the flight itself provides a feeling of deep satisfaction, you can say that the price a person pays is equally high. Not a single mission is easy, any astronaut or cosmonaut gives it their all. The fatigue from working in space is compounded and this requires the greatest amount of concentration and major physical effort," he stressed.
That being said, the astronaut believes that space is wonderful because it offers a glimpse into the future. "I see space as a solution to the problems of life on Earth. We all continue to destroy the Earth’s ecosystem even by our simplest and most common actions, thus space is an opportunity to find a solution," Vittori contended.