Space Tourism Research Articles

RRx-001 and the “Right stuff”: Protection and treatment in outer space

From antibiotics to aspirin to antimalarials and to anticancer agents, about half of the world's best-selling drugs are derived from nature. However, accelerating climatic disruption, habitat destruction, pollution, and biodiversity loss all negatively impact the potential of natural sources to continue to serve as repositories of novel pharmaceuticals. On that basis, the final frontier for drug development is perhaps not the rainforests, coral reefs, and other natural habitats but rather the aerospace industry with its virtually unlimited and inexhaustible man-made ‘library’ of potentially bioactive compounds. The first aerospace-sourced therapeutic to reach the clinic is RRx-001, an inhibitor of the NOD-like receptor - Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain with Leucine rich Repeat and Pyrin domain (NLRP3) inflammasome in a Phase 3 trial for the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and in a soon-to-start Phase 3 trial for protection against chemoradiotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis in first line head and neck cancer. As manned missions to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids as well as space tourism beckon, it is perhaps fitting that a compound like RRx-001, which is derived from 1,3,3-Trinitroazetidine (TNAZ), an explosive propellant for rockets, is a potential "all purpose" option to mitigate the major biomedical effects of space radiation exposures including cancer development and other tissue degenerations both within mission and after mission. This article highlights the promise of RRx-001 to attenuate the acute and late effects of radiation exposure on astronauts including the development of cancer.

Reversing radiation-induced immunosuppression using a new therapeutic modality

Radiation-induced immune suppression poses significant health challenges for millions of patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, and astronauts and space tourists travelling to outer space. While a limited number of recombinant protein therapies, such a Sargramostim, are approved for accelerating hematologic recovery, the pronounced role of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF or CSF2) as a proinflammatory cytokine poses additional challenges in creating immune dysfunction towards pathogenic autoimmune diseases. Here we present an approach to high-throughput drug-discovery, target validation, and lead molecule identification using nucleic acid-based molecules. These Nanoligomer™ molecules are rationally designed using a bioinformatics and an artificial intelligence (AI)-based ranking method and synthesized as a single-modality combining 6-different design elements to up- or downregulate gene expression of target gene, resulting in elevated or diminished protein expression of intended target. This method additionally alters related gene network targets ultimately resulting in pathway modulation. This approach was used to perturb and identify the most effective upstream regulators and canonical pathways for therapeutic intervention to reverse radiation-induced immunosuppression. The lead Nanoligomer™ identified in a screen of human donor derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) upregulated Erythropoietin (EPO) and showed the greatest reversal of radiation induced cytokine changes. It was further tested in vivo in a mouse radiation-model with low-dose (3 mg/kg) intraperitoneal administration and was shown to regulate gene expression of epo in lung tissue as well as counter immune suppression. These results point to the broader applicability of our approach towards drug-discovery, and potential for further investigation of our lead molecule as reversible gene therapy to treat adverse health outcomes induced by radiation exposure.

Circular economy, circular regenerative processes, agrowth and placemaking for tourism future

PurposeThis conceptual paper explores the possibility to envision circular regenerative processes embracing agrowth and placemaking within tourism; an industry remarkably connected to the Anthropocene and its detrimental impacts on the planet. Drawing on theorisations of circular economy, on the concept of agrowth, and on theories of placemaking, this viewpoint offers a novel conceptual framework to imagine a regenerative future for tourism.Design/methodology/approachThe authors connect the ancient archetype of “circularity”, largely used to make sense of life on Earth, with the Greek concept of oikonomia. The resulting notion of a circular oikonomia is then intersected with theories of placemaking. In doing so, the authors are driven by the idea of de-growth, as an “a-growthism” urging the abandonment of the faith towards growth for an enduring stable regenerative agrowth.FindingsThe authors offer a novel conceptual framework to counteract the negative impacts of Anthropocene and envision future scenarios in which tourism can make a difference by enacting enduring regenerative processes for places and human and non-human entities.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in the conceptual framework proposed to imagine the future of tourism, hospitality and mobilities in circular regenerative terms. This study envisions stable and enduring regenerative processes of natural assets, materials, products, services and resources as well as a tourism space made up of lively, multiple, transformative relationships and interactions among people and the environments people live in and travel to.

Penelope Umbrico and Flickr: from Niépce to the moon and back

Penelope Umbrico’s series entitled Everyone’s Photos Any License (2015-) gathers photographs of the full moon that she selected from among the millions of similar images of the theme on the image-sharing website Flickr. In this paper, I study Umbrico’s gesture, drawing from the flow of online digital images to give shape to often monumental photographic installations, using photographs of the moon taken by others. Her project is inscribed in an image ecology that defends a recycling approach in the context of the overwhelming available images online. I argue that if Umbrico’s series takes part in contemporary practices, it also refers to the history of photography and its tight links with astronomy. Drawing on the history of the photographs of the moon in the nineteenth century to the abundance of digital photographs today, I attempt to show that Umbrico’s series both thematizes the technical challenges of photographing the moon and the ongoing fascination it evokes, in a time of space tourism projects. I argue that the artist’s act of borrowing people’s images of the moon mirrors our possessive relationship with images in the digital age and thus questions the notions of authorship and of uniqueness in today’s flow of images.

Methodological aspects of the formation of a single tourist space

Methodological aspects of the formation of a single tourist space

TOURISM BEYOND ATMOSPHERE

"Tourism beyond Atmosphere" refers to any commercial operation that provides customers with direct or indirect space travel experiences. Long-term stays in orbital facilities, short-term orbital or suborbital flights, and even parabolic flights in an aircraft exposing passengers to brief periods of weightlessness are all examples of such activities. Flights into space by private individuals are gaining popularity among the general public. While chartered flights are not yet available, "space tourists" have taken orbital flights on occasion. So far, seven "space tourists" have been flown to the International Space Station ("ISS"), all of whom have been charged a significant sum of money for their participation. In this work, I have attempted to provide a clear and accessible description of Space Tourism. In this paper, the notion of space and space stations is discussed in great detail, as well as the details of the first space station. In this study paper, I also touched on the history and growth of space tourism. This paper also discusses the benefits and drawbacks of space tourism. In addition, I have attempted to analyse the impact of space flight on humanity, as well as the development and future of Space Tourism.

Escape? But where? About ‘escape tourism’

Escape tourism seems to be difficult to define. It is related to many different kinds of tourism, including the so-called Robinson tourism. Given that escape tourists’ motives, ways of travelling and activities vary widely, the article deals with general conditions which may trigger the decision to undertake escape tourism. It also examines geographical spaces that are potential destinations for escapees thanks to their remote location or specific features. The article applies theoretical considerations to the consideration of Poland’s tourist space as a source of possible ‘escape destinations’, finding that geographical spaces traditionally considered suitable for escape tourism – borderlands, peripheries or geographical extremes – have decreased in importance as the phenomenon migrates towards less obvious places and forms of psychological refuge.

소셜 빅데이터를 활용한 코로나 19 전후 호텔 공간 소비 특성의 변화 - 인스타그램 해시태그의 의미 네트워크 분석을 중심으로 -

This study aims to compare the hotel space consumption of Generation MZ before and after COVID-19 through the analysis of Instagram posts. After the outbreak of COVID-19, various offline spaces, especially hotels, are facing a crisis from a considerable decrease in tourists. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed consumption behavior and hotel preferences. As this “new normal” is expected to continue to evolve even after the pandemic eases, it is important to analyze the changes in customers’ hotel consumption behavior with the outbreak of COVID-19. To do so, this study adopted an approach utilizing social big data. A Python web crawler was developed using several open-source libraries. The dataset was prepared from a total of 41,743 posts, including 24,163 posts written 1.5 years before the COVID-19 outbreak and 17,580 posts written 1.5 years after. From these posts, 49,135 and 31,764 different hashtags, respectively, were analyzed using frequency analysis and semantic network analysis. The results demonstrated that the consumption of hotel space has changed. First, the hocance (hotel+vacance) trend, referring to staying in guestrooms, has grown while the number of travelers has drastically decreased. Second, self-expression and showing-off consumption behavior has decreased. Accordingly, public spaces such as lobbies and lounges used for ostentatious consumption have been integrated with food and beverage facilities such as cafes, and the importance of multi-purpose halls seems to be further strengthened. Finally, the importance of traditional amenities has weakened, while that of experiential content has grown. For hotels to appeal to customers, including Generation MZ, in the future, this study proposes a complex hotel that can flexibly change its existing functions and structures. The information and knowledge gained from this study will contribute to planning a hotel space for the COVID-19 era.

The first round impacts of COVID-19 for rural tourism in South Africa

Although the impacts of COVID-19 have been extensively debated there is only limited writings and research on the geographical implications of the pandemic. The aim is to investigate the immediate or ‘first round’ impacts of COVID-19 on the South African tourism space economy with specific focus directed at its ramifications for small town and rural tourism. The study utilises a local tourism data base which tracks information concerning the tourism performance of all local municipal authorities in the country. The results reveal that during 2020 a noticeable change emerged in the spatial patterns of tourism. The trend for the concentration of tourism development upon the country’s leading cities was halted and seemingly put in reverse by the impacts of COVID-19. Evidence exists of a weakening of the previously dominant position of (in particular) the major metropolitan areas in South Africa’s tourism economy. Instead, there is recorded a relative upturn in the fortunes of tourism in small town and rural areas of South Africa as a whole.

Remotely researching leisurely settings

• Numerous environmental, political, and pandemic factors need remote study • From live streaming and cameras to big data, new and innovative methods • Fusing methods may increase volume , variety , velocity, veracity , value of analysis. • Synthesises & develops the Remote Methods in Leisure Settings Framework • Applies methods to leisure settings, like events & tourist spaces

Negotiating cultural trauma in tourism

ABSTRACT This study responses to call for an evidentiary frame that incorporates the contested views of cultural trauma in dark tourism sites. Central to this contestation is a failure to break down the victim-perpetrator binary that particularly struggles for truth-seeking transnationally and trans-generationally. This requires a new and critical heritage interpretation, addressing traumatic historical lessons and reaching a reconciliation for future integration and inclusivity. With employment of semi-structure interviews and participant observations, this study of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders illustrates how dark tourism and counter-monuments play a critical role in transforming massacre trauma into commemorative practices. Designing and building new tourism space and artworks as counter-monuments proves to be one significant encoding practice that negotiates more mundane and interactive peacebuilding and reconciliation. Such negotiation contributes to a more meaningful and holistic understanding of cultural trauma, heritage interpretation, memory and identity. Its implications can inspire future research to explore tourism’s transformative potential for remembering, forgetting and healing.

China catches up in commercial space: an interview with Ji Wu.

abstractChina continued to gather momentum in space in 2021. With a record-breaking 55 orbital launches, the country made it again to the top of the list, ahead of the USA’s 51 and Russia's 25 launches. However, nearly 90% of the Chinese launches were carried out by the state-owned Long March rocket family. In contrast, only about one-third of the US launches were made by government-funded rockets. National Science Review invited Ji Wu (吴季), an expert in space science, former director of the National Space Science Center (NSSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and author of The Moon Summit, Lunar Hotel and Space Tourism, to talk about the internal and external driving forces behind the emerging private space sector in China, and government policies supporting its development since 2014. Wu also shared his insights into space tourism as a gateway to space for all, as well as his concerns for the orderly competition in the global market.

Paragliding festival: understanding stakeholder perception of environmental attitudes and tourism performance

PurposeParagliding festivals have become significant events in the global tourism space, attracting tourists to local and international destinations. The purpose of this study was to assess environmental attitudes and rate the performance of the paragliding festival of the Kwahu traditional area in Ghana, from the perspectives of four stakeholder groups.Design/methodology/approachThis study was grounded on the salient stakeholder theory. A quantitative cross-sectional study, with a convenience sampling approach, collected 372 useable questionnaires from four major stakeholders/participants (i.e. Kwahu residents, Kwahu returnees, non-Kwahu Ghanaian tourists and foreigners). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe findings of the Games-Howell post-hoc test show no significant differences among the four stakeholder groups in the festival performance assessment. However, there is a significant statistical difference between the Kwahu residents and foreign tourists regarding environmental attitudes towards the paragliding festival.Practical implicationsVisitors' perceptions and experiences of the environmental performance could inform the planning and execution of festive events that have a direct impact on the natural environment. Policymakers at the community levels must enact environmental protocols that uphold the value propositions of the stakeholders and that of the community at large.Originality/valueThe study expands the application of the salience stakeholder model within festival tourism by highlighting under-represented stakeholder voices in a single study on paragliding festivals in a developing country context.

Development of children’s and youth tourism in the modern social space of Kazakhstan


 
 
 
 Children’s tourism is one of the widespread types of tourism and performs educational, pedagogic, sanitary and other socially significant functions. It is one of the most steady sectors of the tourist services market. The most developed and oldest segments of children’s tourism in Kazakhstan are health- improvement and cultural-educational tourism, educational programs are consistently in demand. The article is devoted to the development of children’s and youth tourism in the modern social space of Kazakhstan. The article analyzes how children’s and youth tourism is organized in the regions of Kazakhstan, its structure and quantitative parameters. The authors note that both the number of health-improving institutions for children and the consumer structure of children’s and youth recreation have changed: the number of children having a vacation in urban school camps with a day stay, specialized and spa-type camps is gradually increasing. The problem of forming a system of management for children’s and youth tourism lies in the large number of activities with different subordination. The article analyzes the situation with camps in Kazakhstan on the basis of data from the years 2016–2019. We have highlighted the prospects of the regions to develop children’s and youth tourism and the main directions of its improvement. Thereto the market of children’s and youth tourism was studied, the types of recreation that are in the greatest demand were identified. We evaluated the opportunities to develop children’s sightseeing tours in the regions and cities of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To study the needs of children, an opinion poll was held among parents via Google Forms. The polling consisted of 5 questions to which 114 results were received from respondents. In Kazakhstan children’s and youth tourism have a different level of development. The formation and development of children’s tourism depends on many factors: high- quality personnel, a favourable natural environment and the location of historical and cultural heritage, financing, etc. It is understood that the economic growth in the field of children’s tourism in Kazakhstan is kept back by insufficient information transparency, focus on the provision of tourism services, which, in its turn, contradicts the emerging opportunities of communication innovations that have significantly changed the conditions and opportunities to implement processes of interaction between people and elements of socio- economic systems, the high level of inequality of the population’s income requiring the diversification of the tourist product.
 
 
 

Food tourism experience and changing destination foodscape: An exploratory study of an emerging food destination

This research investigates how and the extent to which co-creation activities of food tourism in the context of the commercial tourism sector shape and influence the foodscape in an emerging food tourism destination. An exploratory qualitative study conducted in Yogyakarta, Indonesia discovers how and where co-creative food activities take place through the mode of interaction, customisation, and co-production. Moreover, this research uncovers how the act of negotiation and the creation of food experiences co-created by tourists and suppliers contributes to the evolving destination foodscape. These processes contribute to the invention of new food offerings; the inclusion of tourists in the local food space; and the expansion of the local gastronomic horizon. This research sheds light on our limited understanding of destination foodscapes in relation to commercial food tourism activities, providing implications for gastronomic destination management, especially for emerging Asian gastronomic destinations.

Urban zoning features of territories for tourist services facilities placement in coastal cities

Introduction. The article deals with the development of coastal territories of cities with the city-forming function of tourism. The tourism industry is currently viewed as a promising area of economic development for many countries and cities. Resort tourism or health tourism is actively developing in Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, Vietnam and other countries, with an emphasis on a high level of service for hotel complexes that occupy large areas of coastal territories, which leads to conflicts of interest for the local population, investors and tourists. The solution to these conflicts can be obtained by methods of urban zoning.
 
 Materials and methods. On the basis of a systematic approach, in which the city is considered as a social-natural-anthropogenic system, the main contradictions that arise when placing tourist facilities in the structure of the city and the features of the town-planning zoning of these territories are identified. The article uses data from open sources, the general plan of Tuy Hoa, as an analog object of coastal cities of the south-central coast of Vietnam.
 
 Results. It is shown that the main critical factor in the placement of tourist accommodation facilities is the availability of beach areas, which serve as the main point of attraction. In this case, the comfortable distance should not exceed 1000 m. One of the planning techniques aimed at resolving conflicts can be the formation of urbanized locations — resort functional zones (KFZ), specially designed for the placement of tourist service facilities, including various forms of tourist accommodation. Proposals (schematic diagrams) for urban zoning of the central part of the city have been developed, ensuring the availability of city beaches; the formation of a street network of KFZ, based on the principle of pedestrian accessibility of the beach, as well as the formation of a planning scheme of the KFZ territory, providing for the provision of a protective zone.
 
 Conclusions. Urban zoning of the resort city’ territory should be carried out taking into account the peculiarities that are due to the tourism industry; for the mass accommodation of tourists, local zones should be envisaged, which will ensure a balance between the development of tourism and the preservation of the residential and public environment, the accessibility to the beach; the formation of a protective strip along the coastline will create a comfortable public recreational space for tourists and residents with the aim of stable and sustainable development in the future.

A Process of Meaning Creation: An Analysis of Space Tourism Posters via Semiotic Analysis

Space tourism is considered as a type of tourism that is becoming increasingly significant and is expected to be in greater demand in the future. Therefore, the aim is to analyse the posters on space tourism created by NASA via semiotic analysis, a strategy of data analysis. In accordance with the set objective, a document analysis technique was used. Since the fourteen posters used for the study were created by NASA, a major organization in the field of space, it was selected as an appropriate sample. The space tourism posters identified in the study were analysed through the model developed by Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes. Each indicator showed that the utopian posters were closely related to the types of tourism. In addition, the indicators led to the conclusion that individual and mass tourism movements related to space can be carried out by people of all ages, that in the future it will no longer be luxury tourism, and that transportation will be carried out by various means of transport, and in accordance with these conclusions, suggestions were made for tourism businesses.

Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Treatment Legislation in Latin America: The Need for Standardization in a Medical Tourism Context.

Medicinal signaling cells (MSCs) secrete bioactive molecules with paracrine effects. These cells are widely used in basic and clinical research to treat several human diseases and medically relevant conditions. Although there are promising results, only a few treatments are approved of its administration, and clinicians should not underestimate the potential risks of its application without proper authorization. However, some treatments advertised mainly through the internet are not supported by solid or rigorous scientific evidence, legal consent, or the assurance of safety and efficacy, especially in the cell therapy tourism space. This practice allows patients to travel from stringently regulated countries to less restricted ones and increase the flourishing of nonendorsed therapies in these regions. Clinical applications of MSC-based treatments are subject to health legislation, and regulatory agencies are responsible for supervising their manufacture, quality control, and marketing approval. Consensus is needed to homologize and strengthen health legislation regarding those therapies, particularly in regions where medical tourism is frequent. Latin America and the Caribbean, an overlooked region with very heterogeneous legislation regarding cell therapy, is a popular medical tourism destination. Brazil and Argentina created regulations to supervise cell-based treatment manufacture, quality, and marketing, while Mexico, considered the second-largest drug market in Latin America, does not recognize nor authorize any cell as therapy. Also, some regulatory bodies miss the importance of several critical good manufacture practice processes to ensure reproducible, reliable, safe, and potentially more favorable results and do not consider them in their legislation. These inconsistencies make the region vulnerable to unproven or unethical treatments, potentially becoming a public health problem involving people from countries worldwide. This review attempts to generate awareness for the legal status of cell therapies in Latin America and the need for standardization as this region is a significant medical tourism destination.

A Round Trip to the Stars?: Considerations for the Regulation of Space Tourism

The prospects for space tourism activities were first mooted in the early 1980s with the launch of the Space Shuttle, which opened a new era of space flight. In the new millennium, space tourism continued its rise from possibility to reality with momentum towards a future dynamic commercial market sector propelled in 2021 with the launch of diverse missions by Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX. These three pioneering companies are continually developing and refining technology to potentially give many tourists their moment in space. The private sector is largely contributing to the development of the relevant space science, funded by private and public investments for space exploration missions. These developments raise complex and novel legal and regulatory issues that are not directly addressed in the five United Nations Space Treaties, even as space tourism are to be considered a lawful use of space. In this article we explore several significant legal issues relevant for space tourism activities including the delimitation of outer space, requirements for authorization, questions of liability, the status of ‘space flight participants’, the duty to rescue tourists and the protection of the space environment. space tourism, space activities, regulation, international space law, national law

Deployment Opportunities for Space Photovoltaics and the Prospects for Perovskite Solar Cells (Adv. Mater. Technol. 3/2022)

Affordable Space Grade Energy Systems The rapid progress in space exploration, mining and tourism has been fuelled by both public and private sector investment. As we move into the era of ‘commercial space’, affordable space grade energy systems are important and new photovoltaic technologies will be required to reduce cost. In article 2101059, Anita W. Y. Ho-Baillie and colleagues outline the major space markets and the opportunities for perovskite space solar cells.