Private Universe Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dennis Tito

The American engineer and multi-millionaire, Dennis Tito, made history on April 28, 2001, when he became the first space tourist. He paid a reported $20 million to fly aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station, where he spent nearly eight days in orbit.

His flight marked the beginning of commercial space tourism, though NASA initially opposed his trip as they were concerned about the presence of a civilian on the ISS. Despite the controversy, Tito's journey paved the way for future private astronauts and demonstrated that space travel wasn't just for government-selected professionals.

Answer: Mark Shuttleworth

Mark Shuttleworth, a South African entrepreneur who made his fortune from the sale of security company Thawte, became the second space tourist in April 2002. He paid approximately $20 million for an 11-day trip to the ISS aboard Soyuz TM-34.

At age 28, he was also one of the youngest people to travel to space. After returning to Earth, Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd in 2004, the company behind the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system. He remains active in technology and space advocacy, having reportedly put down a deposit for a future Virgin Galactic flight.

Answer: Anousheh Ansari

Iranian-American engineer and co-founder of Prodea Systems, Anousheh Ansari, became the first female space tourist in September 2006. She spent eight days aboard the ISS after launching on Soyuz TMA-9. Ansari, along with her family, had previously sponsored the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million competition that spurred private spaceflight development and was won by Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne in 2004.

During her time in space, Ansari conducted experiments and blogged about her experiences, becoming an inspiration for women in STEM fields and space exploration.

Answer: Richard Garriott

Famous for creating the influential Ultima role-playing game series, British-American video game developer Richard Garriott visited the ISS for 12 days in October 2008. He paid around $30 million for his Soyuz TMA-13 flight and became the sixth private space explorer.

Garriott followed in his father's footsteps. Owen Garriott was a NASA astronaut who flew on Skylab and the Space Shuttle. Richard is also known by his gaming alter ego 'Lord British' and brought memorabilia from his games into space, making him perhaps the most colourful space tourist of the early era.

Answer: Guy Laliberté

Guy Laliberté, the Canadian billionaire founder of Cirque du Soleil, became the seventh space tourist when he launched to the ISS in September 2009 aboard Soyuz TMA-16. He spent nearly 12 days in orbit and paid an estimated $35 million for the experience.

During his mission, Laliberté performed as the first clown in space, hosting a two-hour webcast called 'Moving Stars and Earth for Water' to raise awareness about water issues on Earth. He wore a bright red clown nose during the broadcast, bringing his trademark theatrical flair to the final frontier.

Answer: Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson is the British entrepreneur behind the Virgin Group. He made headlines on July 11, 2021, when he flew to the edge of space aboard Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity spaceplane. The suborbital flight reached an altitude of 86 kilometres (53 miles), and Branson was joined by five Virgin Galactic employees.

The flight was significant not only for being Virgin Galactic's first fully crewed test flight, but also because it occurred nine days before Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin flight, which made it a part of a billionaire space race. Branson's flight marked a major milestone for Virgin Galactic's plans to offer commercial space tourism flights.

At 86 kilometres, Branson's flight was technically below the Kármán line, the internationally recognised boundary of space at 100km (62 miles), so some argue he didn't actually reach space.

Answer: Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, flew to space on July 20, 2021. This was exactly 52 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing. Bezos launched aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on its first crewed flight. He was accompanied by his brother Mark. Also aboard was the Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen (then 18), who was the youngest person to reach space.

The 11-minute suborbital flight reached an altitude of 107 kilometres (66 miles), crossing the Kármán line (the internationally recognised boundary of space). Bezos had stepped down as Amazon CEO weeks earlier to focus on Blue Origin and other ventures.

Answer: Wally Funk

After waiting nearly 60 years for her chance, American aviator and spaceflight pioneer Wally Funk (Mary Wallace Funk) finally achieved her dream of reaching space at age 82, when she flew with Jeff Bezos on Blue Origin's first crewed flight in July 2021. She was one of the 'Mercury 13', a group of women who underwent the same rigorous testing as NASA's male Mercury astronauts in the early 1960s but were never given the chance to fly due to gender discrimination.

Despite becoming a successful pilot and flight instructor with over 19,000 flight hours, she had to wait all these years for her opportunity to reach space, making her both the oldest person to do so and a symbol of perseverance in the face of historical injustice.

Answer: Yusaku Maezawa

Yusaku Maezawa is a Japanese billionaire fashion entrepreneur and founder of online retailer Zozo. He spent 12 days aboard the ISS in December 2021. He launched aboard Soyuz MS-20 and became the first self-funded space tourist to visit the station in over a decade, as Russia had suspended its space tourism programme in 2009.

Maezawa documented his journey extensively on social media, sharing his experiences with millions of followers. He had previously booked a SpaceX Starship flight for the 'dearMoon' project, intending to take eight artists with him on a circumlunar mission, but he officially cancelled the project due to uncertainties regarding the spacecraft's development timeline.

Answer: Jared Isaacman

Jared Isaacman, an American billionaire and founder of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, commanded Inspiration4 in September 2021. It was the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight mission. The three-day mission aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule reached an altitude of 585 kilometres, higher than the ISS, making it the highest Earth orbit achieved by humans since the Hubble servicing missions.

Isaacman funded the mission to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and was joined by three other civilians, none of whom were professional astronauts. The mission demonstrated that private individuals could not only reach space but also conduct complex orbital operations independently of government space agencies.