Do you think they should hold a space lottery?

Question

I was thinking...the problem with lotteries these days is they are so one-dimensional and uninspirational....

Do you think the U.S. government and perhaps the EU should hold a joint a space lottery to allow an ordinary citizen to go into space rather than just all these billionaires?

I know they are talking about space travel by plane by 2020 etc but it seems to me that a space lottery would fire up world imagination, progress developments in alternative technologies and produce income for the government for eg: environemental research.....

Answer 1

I think they should, and I think they will.

I'd bet Richard Branson already has something like this in mind. It won't be limited to the US, EU, though. It will be a worldwide lottery/lotteries, thus becoming a net good by help bringing the world together.

Answer 2

First, the US and Europe do not fly Billionaires into space -- it's Russia that does that.

Better, let's just have a multinational billion-dollar cash lottery, and the winner can spend the money on going into space, or whatever else they prefer to do with it.

But the answer to your question is NO -- the US and Europe have better things to do with very scarce space-faring resources than to fly civilians into space for their entertainment (Russia clearly does not have better things to do.)

As far as firing up imaginations to stimulate space travel, there are a number of other billionaires and several private initiatives who are working very hard to make that happen, such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos. And best of all it's private money, not your tax dollar doing it. And they recognize the fact the the government will NEVER develop an affordable way for people to enjoy space, so it's up to them privately to do it.

Answer 3

I don't think it would work out since you need to be in tip top shape to go into space and have virtually no health conditions.