Space Tourism to Commence in 2018 with 500-Day-Long Trip

The year 2018 doesn't seem that far away, but one millionaire hopes that it will year where space tourist can just hop on into a spaceship and make a 500-day-journey to and from Mars.

A nonprofit organization called the Inspiration Mars Foundation - which is led by millionaire Dennis Tito, who himself is the world's first space tourist having travelled into space in 2001 - is planning to send two astronauts to Mars and back without stopping. 

The nonprofit will hold a news conference on Feb. 27 to announce the 501-day roundtrip mission, which will aim for a January 2018 launch.

"This 'Mission for America' will generate new knowledge, experience and momentum for the next great era of space exploration," Inspiration Mars said in a media advisory posted on the SpaceRef website on Wednesday.

"It is intended to encourage all Americans to believe again, in doing the hard things that make our nation great, while inspiring youth through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and motivation."

Tito is the founder of multibillion-dollar investment firm, Wilshire Associates, and is also a rocket engineer.

He is best known for his 2001 trip to outer space when he paid a reported $20 million for a ride aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. Back then, bringing space tourist onboard was considered controversial but his trip became the catalyst for change, requiring policies to accommodate space tourists.

Following Tito, six other high-net-worth individuals have taken similar flights with little or no controversy. How much will a trip to outer space cost you? Just north of a staggering $40 million.

According to the statement, two members of the controversial Biosphere 2 project who are now with Paragon Space Development Corporation, a company that builds life support and environmental control systems for extreme environments like space.