Private astronaut missions to the ISS will soon require an experienced astronaut chaperone

Private astronaut missions to the International Space Station will have to be chaperoned by a former NASA astronaut, per new proposed requirements from the US space agency.

NASA posted a public notice online on Tuesday that laid out a handful of updated requirements for future private astronaut missions, which the agency said are based on lessons learned upon completion of the first private astronaut mission to the ISS that took place last April. The first all-private mission to the orbiting laboratory was a multi-million dollar journey organized by Texas-based startup Axiom Space and launched via a SpaceX rocket, with a crew comprised of an former NASA astronaut and current Axiom Space employee, Michael López-Alegría, and three ultra-wealthy paying crewmembers.

During the mission, dubbed AX-1, the four-member crew spent nearly two weeks off of Earth's surface, at least in part conducting experiments and other scientific work. Other space tourism companies like Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic only offer customers short trips that allow for a few minutes of microgravity.