---
title: "The SpaceX Tourists Can’t Leave the Space Station Quite Yet, NASA Says"
description: "## Homeward Bound"
date: "2022-04-16"
modified: "2022-04-16"
authors:
  - name: "Lonnie Lee Hood"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/ahood"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-tourists-leaving-iss-nasa"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "iss"
  - "NASA"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# The SpaceX Tourists Can’t Leave the Space Station Quite Yet, NASA Says

![The crew on the SpaceX Crew Dragon are currently docked at the International Space Station and will have to wait a couple of days before returning to Earth.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/spacex-tourists-leaving-iss-nasa.png>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Homeward Bound

The crew on board [SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft are currently](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-launches-first-all-private-mission-space-station>) docked at the International Space Station and will have to wait a couple of extra days before coming home to Earth.

Earlier this month [NASA posted a schedule for Axiom Mission 1](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/axiom-private-astronauts-headed-to-international-space-station>) (Ax-1), the first all-private space flight crew. The four were originally set to spend around 10 days at the ISS, according to that previous release, but yesterday plans changed. NASA said instead[ the crew will undock from the ISS Tuesday morning](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-coverage-set-for-axiom-mission-1-departure-from-space-station>) and splashdown Wednesday morning off the coast of Florida.

## Moon So High

The crew will now be spending closer to 12 days in orbit, but they don't seem to mind the layover. In fact, they've already decided [they'd like to visit the Moon](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tourists-on-space-station-say-theyre-discussing-private-moon-mission>), too.

It's hard not to be jealous of a group who can [pay their way to the most expensive and alluring theme park in history](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-tourists-meals-chef>) — our solar system. It's a little sad to imagine what could've been if only space were more accessible to the rest of us. It would've been fun to collect [Axiom's special NFT series that memorializes the mission](<https://nft.axiomspace.com/>), like picking out a toy rocket at the space center gift shop on the way home. "Coming home from the space center" could've meant returning home from a 10-day kids' summer Moon camp, but instead we're left with... [the current reality of space travel](<https://futurism.com/nasa-astronaut-ukraine-invasion-cosmonauts>).

It's nice to daydream, but for now, space remains out of reach for everyone on Earth minus [fewer than 1,000 astronauts in all of human history](<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/10/science/600-astronauts-space.html>).

**More on dimensions we don't want to visit:** [*Welcome to "Robot Hell"! Meet the Deranged Genius Who Created an AI Version of @Dril"*](<https://futurism.com/drilbot-creator-interview>)