--- title: "NASA Now Requiring Real Astronaut to Babysit Space Tourists on Way to ISS" description: "A quiet rule change will now require civilians to be accompanied by a former NASA astronaut when taking private trips to the International Space Station." date: "2022-08-02" modified: "2022-08-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-iss-astronaut-accompanied-space-tourists" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "axiom space" - "international space station" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA Now Requiring Real Astronaut to Babysit Space Tourists on Way to ISS ![A quiet rule change will now require civilians to be accompanied by a former NASA astronaut when taking private trips to the International Space Station.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Space Babysitter NASA is now requiring civilians to be accompanied by a former NASA astronaut when taking private spaceflight trips to the International Space Station. The space agency quietly [announced the rule change]() on August 1, following private spaceflight company Axiom Space's first trip to the station back in April. The mission had former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría lead a three-person [civilian crew](). The goal is to provide "a link between the resident ISS expedition crew and the private astronauts and reduces risk to ISS operations and \[private astronaut missions\]/ISS safety," according to NASA. ## Unaccompanied As [*SpaceNews* reports](), news of the rule change comes less than six months after Axiom president and CEO Michael Suffredini said he expected to be able fly four paying customers to the ISS — instead of three, with an ex-astronaut mission leader — by the company's fourth mission. Axiom's second mission, however, will also be led by a former NASA astronaut, and is expected to launch early next year. The rule change could significantly alter Axiom's profitability in the future, *SpaceNews* argues, but the company has declined to comment on whether its current three-civilian missions are profitable. Futurism has also reached out to Axiom for comment about this issue. ## Plan Ahead Along with the new rule change, NASA also announced that private astronaut missions would need to submit research plans a full year in advance to the ISS National Laboratory. This change, as *SpaceNews* notes, is a clear response to the [company's rushed first mission](). During a May conference following the mission, commander López-Alegría admitted that the trip's "[timeline was very aggressive]()" and its pace "frenetic." "I think we were so focused on research and outreach in the first eight or ten days on orbit," the commander said at the time, "that we needed the extra time to complete the experience by having time to look out the window, to make contact with friends and family, to just enjoy the sensation." It only makes sense that an experienced NASA astronaut is required to accompany unwitting space tourists to and from the space station. After all, there's a reason it takes real astronauts years to train for missions into space. **READ MORE:** [NASA revises requirements for ISS private astronaut missions]() \[*SpaceNews*\] **More on the ISS:** [*NASA Seeks Funding to Send Scientists to Space Station*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()