Around the Moon for $100M!

Russia is working out a plan to send a tourist around the Moon and back
for $100M. <http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8700874/>

If true, this is amazingly cool. By my count, only 27 people have ever
made the trip around the Moon in all of human history -- and none at all
in the last several decades. Given the fairly steady stream of people
willing to pay $20M for a week aboard ISS, surely there will be someone
eager to pay $100M to be the 28th person to visit lunar orbit!

If into firsts, the customer could easily be the first non-American, or
non-white, or female, to orbit the Moon. And the tourist and pilot
would obviously be the first to make the trip in the 21st century, which
(one hopes) will go down in history as our resumption of serious
progress in settling space.

Any other reactions to this news? How much skepticism do you think is
warranted?

Best,
- Joe

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