NASA, in partnership with Axiom Space and SpaceX, is making final preparations for the second all-private mission to the International Space Station .
Related The crewmembers — Peggy Whitson, mission commander and Axiom’s director of human spaceflight; John Shoffner, pilot; Ali Alqarni, mission specialist; and Rayyanah Barnawi, mission specialist — will spend about 10 days aboard the orbital outpost, living and working alongside the current crew of seven astronauts.
Each seat aboard Axiom Space’s private missions is believed to cost around $50 million, which will come out of the participant’s pocket or via funding. The Ax-2 crewmembers recently completed a period of intensive training to get them familiar with the interior of the space station. They’re now in a two-week quarantine period to ensure they don’t take any bugs with them to the ISS.