Fly Me to the Moon: Moon Travel Slated for 2020

A start-up company, the Golden Spike, is on track to be the first pioneers in moon tourism. Projected for 2020, you can now join the twelve other people (all U.S. citizens) on the planet who have walked on the moon. Book your seat now because that’ll give you time to save up for your moon travel excursion — it’s going to set you back $750 million (it’s unclear if that includes peanuts and soft drinks).

Led by heavy-hitter former NASA executives, the Golden Spike Co. will boldly go where mankind went 40 years ago, this time commercially, selling tickets to foreign governments or very wealthy space tourists. Here’s there Moon Travel promo video:

The new moon travel startup Golden Spike chose its first contractor to design private lunar lander vehicles — veteran aerospace firm Northrop Grumman.

Northrop Grumman built the very first manned lunar landers back in the 1960s (when the company was called Grumman) for NASA’s Apollo program. The firm made the Eagle module that carried Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface for the first manned moon landing in 1969.

Now the company will design a vehicle to help Golden Spike achieve its goal of establishing routine commercial transportation of people to the moon and back by the end of the decade.

The founding of Golden Spike (named after the final spike built into the First Transcontinental Railroad), was announced just last month, though the project has been secretly in the works for two and a half years.

Richard Branson’s Moon Travel

We’ve been hearing about it for years —  billionaire Richard Branson wants to fly to the moon too with his space and moon tourism flights on Virgin Galactic. Guess who he’s partnering with? The only gig in town talking such a far flung endeavor: Golden Spike. Sources say the superfit daredevil Sir Richard has plans to join the team of up to four explorers who will touch down on the moon in 2020, when he will be 70.

Get off My Moon

With the NASA manned space program officially grounded, what does NASA think of Golden Spike’s moon tourism? NASA’s official reaction to Golden Spike: Go for it.

“This type of private sector effort is further evidence of the timeliness and wisdom of the Obama Administration’s overall space policy — to create an environment where commercial space companies can build upon NASA’s past successes, allowing the agency to focus on the new challenges of sending humans to an asteroid and eventually Mars,” NASA spokesman David Weaver said in a written statement.

Loony for Lunar Tourism?

You can help fund their moon mission research. Currently, they are raising $240k, one dollar for each mile from the earth to the moon.

We’re ready for moon travel! Golden Spike: just so you know — we’re ready and available to be the first journalists to cover your voyage to the moon! Lindsay went to Space Camp when she was 12, so she’s totally prepared. 😉