CSI first presented a concept for a low-cost, near-term trip around the Moon on July 17, 2004 at the "Return to the Moon Conference V." We call this concept the Lunar Express^SM Space Transportation System. CSI's approach could enable a human mission to the Moon in 2-3 years. More importantly, by re-using an existing Soyuz that is first used in a mission to ISS, CSI may have discovered a way to make a human trip to the Moon commercially viable. "Low Cost" and "Human Trip to the Moon" are not mutually exclusive terms. Because of this, CSI is pondering some interesting, and unusual, possibilities. We are asking ourselves, and potential partners, the following questions:

• Would some wealthy individual be willing to pay (enough) to provide a premier space adventure -- first an initial weeklong stay at ISS, and then a weeklong trip around the Moon like Apollo 8 or 10? What is it worth to be the first private citizen, ever, to see an "Earth Rise"?
• Would another nation be willing to pay for the second seat, and to send their first citizen ever around the Moon?
• What are the branding opportunities?

We, at CSI, think these are very interesting questions. We think that a human trip around the Moon might be possible without a dime of NASA money.

CSI has given presentations on this concept at several venues around the country:

• Return to the Moon Conference V, Las Vegas, NV, 17 July 2004
• NASA/Aerospace Technology Working Group Fall 2004 Meeting, Long Beach, CA, 15 September 2004
• Space Frontier Conference 13, Long Beach, CA, 9 October 2004
• AIAA Region I Technical Mini-Conference, Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, 30 October 2004
• SpaceVision2004, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 13 November 2004
• International Space Development Conference 2005, Washington, DC, 19 May 2005
• NewSpace 2006, Las Vegas, NV, 20 July 2006

Also, our concept has received coverage in the media:

• "Soyuz Tourist Trips to the Moon?," Space.com Astronotes, 27 July 2004
• "Soyuz to the Moon?," The Space Review, 2 August 2004
• "Soyuz Will Fly to the Moon," The Komsomol’skaya Pravda, 9 August 2004
• "A trip around the moon? It could happen," Special to MSNBC, 23 November 2004
• "Tourists around the Moon (Des touristes autour de la Lune)," ESpace magazine, March/April 2005
• The Space Show, Broadcast 361 (Special Edition), 17 July 2005

For more information on CSI's Lunar Express^SM Space Transportation System, download a copy of our presentation. If you have additional questions, please contact us at ToTheMoon@constellationservices.com