STEP 5: PACK YOUR BAGS
Meanwhile, The Gateway Foundation has plans to open a gigantic, wheel-shaped, rotating space hotel— very Stanley Kubrick—by 2025. Named the Von Braun Station, the facility hopes to someday welcome 100 tourists per week and, complete with artificial gravity, aims to offer the comfort and facilities of a luxury cruise ship, including restaurants, bars, movie screenings and sports. Zero-gravity quidditch matches—the fictional sport played by Harry Potter and fellow wizards—are said to be in the cards.
Leave the Hawaiian shirts and Panama hats at home, because when it comes to space travel, it’s more about being practical than putting on a fashion show. That said, in October last year, activewear brand Under Armour, the exclusive technical spacewear partner for Virgin Galactic, unveiled its line of technical spacewear and we’ve gotta say, it’s pretty slick.
Built to be safe, functional and comfortable, the outfit is a snug second-skin fit—a far cry from the fussy, bulky space suits seen in movies and TV shows. The uniform is an all-over ‘deep space blue’ with gold accents and customisable features including a clear pocket on the inside of the jacket for a photo of a loved one, and a removable patch that is unique to each mission.
If you’ve opted for orbital space travel, an official space suit will be required for taking off and landing, but at the ISS, astronauts tend to wear basics like T-shirts, shorts, sweatshirts and jeans. Remember: there’s no way to wash your clothes in space, so bring extras (and perhaps a Tide pen for those inevitable zero-gravity spills).
Speaking of, space isn’t exactly a foodie destination— at least, not yet. In the early days of space flight, astronauts had little choice but to eat food (or something like it) from tubes. Luckily, science is catching up and space