Space tourism is fuelling concerns over environment
July 19 2021 10:42 PM
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After years of waiting, Richard Branson’s journey to space this month on a Virgin Galactic vessel was supposed to be a triumphant homecoming. Instead, the jaunt attracted significant criticism — about its carbon footprint.
With Jeff Bezos set to launch on a Blue Origin rocket today, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX planning an all-civilian orbital mission in September, the nascent space tourism industry finds itself facing tough questions about its environmental impact.
Right now, rocket launches as a whole don’t happen often enough to pollute significantly.
“The carbon dioxide emissions are totally negligible compared to other human activities or even commercial aviation,” Nasa’s chief climate adviser Gavin Schmidt told AFP.