How soon can we fly to the moon as space tourists

With two private citizens planning a trip around the moon in 2018 with US private rocket company SpaceX, a key question now is when will space tourism be an option for the rest of us?

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced two unnamed people had paid a "significant deposit" to secure places in a spaceship that will fly in a loop around the moon, although not involve a lunar landing. Sir Richard Branson has made similar proposals to send holidaymakers on sub-orbital flights in his Virgin Galactic venture.

Many people are fascinated about the possibility of being able to travel to space and BBC audiences have been asking when will they be able to holiday beyond the stratosphere.

Libby Jackson, who is Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Programme Manager at the UK Space Agency, said there could be developments in as little as three years' time.-read more