Six private citizens have been fortunate to travel to outer space and stay for over a week at the International Space Station (ISS). They travel with Russian cosmonauts who are shuttling back and forth from the Station, most of whom have been living there for six months at a time. If you would like to become one of the fortunate few who can say they have traveled in outer space, here are the current choices for a true space adventure:

Spaceflights to the International Space Station.  Price: $35 – 45 million

Commonly known as “taxi missions, the Russian Federal Space Agency launches a new Soyuz Spacecraft and crew to the ISS every six months. Both the crew and the spacecraft that has been docked at the station for six months are exchanged. The private citizen will travel on the Russian taxi missions to the ISS, stay for over a week and then return with a crew. Space Adventures will provide you with a list of scientific research that is waiting to be conducted in space, or work with you to design your own experiments.

Spacewalk Mission.  Price: $45 – $55 million

Even for seasoned astronauts, it is rare to have the opportunity to leave the space station and float above the Earth. Known as an Extra Vehicular Activity or spacewalk, Space Adventures will be offering the chance to be the first private citizen to walk in space. Since the first spacewalk by Alexei Leonov in 1965, spacewalks have been conducted to complete the construction of the space station, do routine maintenance and repairs, and to conduct scientific experiments that can’t be performed from the inside of the station.

Expedition to the Moon.  Price: $100 million

Space Adventures offers an opportunity for private citizens to actually circumnavigate the Moon. The traveler will begin his or her journey to the far side of the Moon by first being launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. Later an unmanned rocket booster will also be launched and then rendezvous with the Soyuz in a low-Earth orbit. When the two spacecrafts are engaged, this will provide the power to propel the Soyuz to travel all the way to the Moon. Once the firing of the booster is complete, the two systems will separate and the lucky space explorers will continue his or her unbelievable journey.

Zero-Gravity Charter Flights.   Price: $165,000 plus 5% tax for up to 35 participants

For a less expensive space adventure where one can float and flip in a zero-gravity environment, special training jets will follow a flight path of steep ascend/descend phases, generating 30-second long periods of weightlessness inside the cabin. Currently, Zero-Gravity flights operate out of Florida and Star City, Russia.

The First Private Space Explorers

To date, Space Adventures has arranged spaceflights for six private citizens that include:

Dennis Tito. Tito has the distinction of being the first to travel into space as a private citizen. In the early 1970s he left a job at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to pursue a career in finance, but he never stopped dreaming about flying to the International Space Station. “For me, it was like being in heaven – it was like being in a second life.”

Anousheh Ansari.  When Ansari immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, she did not speak a word of English but always dreamed about space exploration. Thanks to her parents' sponsorship of the Ansari X Prize, she was able to fulfill her dreams. As the first female private space explorer, she conducted experiments on behalf of the European Space agency while she was in orbit. “By reaching this dream I've had since childhood, I hope to tangibly demonstrate to young people all over the world that there is no limit to what they can accomplish.”

Dr. Greg Olsen. When Dr. Olsen read about Space Adventures in the New York Times, he knew he wanted to take part in the journey. While in orbit he communicated with students from his hometown via ham radio and took part in research on behalf of the European Space Agency. “As all astronauts tell you, whatever you think now, once you get up there, it's better.”

Dr. Charles Simonyi. Simonyi has dreamed about space flight since he was a young boy, and was selected as Hungary's Junior Astronaut when he was only 13. The prize was a trip to Moscow to meet with one of the first cosmonauts, Pavel Popovich. Normally Dr. Simonyi stays closer to the ground as a trained pilot licensed to fly jets and helicopters with more than 2,000 hours of flying time. But on March 26, 2009 he took yet another space flight. There is a wealth of information about both of his experiences at his Website, www.charlesinspace.com. “I knew arriving at the space station would be magic, and it was beyond my wildest dreams how the space station looked.”

Mark Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth wanted to make sure he was the first African to fly into space. As an Internet entrepreneur, he was able to realize his dream to help educate African youth about space and conduct scientific research. “An experience like that changes your perspective on life and on the world.”

Richard Garriott. Garriot, the well known video game programmer and designer, was the sixth private citizen to conduct a space mission aboard the International Space Station. His father, Owen Garriott , is a former NASA astronaut who completed two space missions during his career. The main objective for Richard's voyage was to demonstrate that there is commercial potential in private space exploration, while helping to advance an understanding of space. To this end, Richard took on various commercial projects and corporate sponsors for his mission activities and now helps companies market their products through his association with an actual space mission.

All space explorers take part in a six month training program (seven for the spacewalk) held in Star City, Russia. The base, located about one hour outside of Moscow, is known as the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, named after the world’s first space traveler and the first graduate from the Star City’s rigorous tests and flight simulators.

Take “One Small Step” With the Spaceflight Club

Space Adventures has started a club for anyone interested in future space travel. Membership will provide the tools, training, experience and education one will need to participate in future space flights. Members can attend exclusive events featuring astronauts and other space scientists, and keep up on all the latest developments with a newsletter. The investment of $980 annually will be applied as a credit to the price of a future space flight.

For those who have serious intentions of participating in a space adventure, one can also join the Orbital Mission Explorers Circle. Sergey Brin, the co-founder and president of technology for Google, has already put down a $5 million dollar deposit for a future orbital spaceflight. The goal for this organization is to build a definitive consortium of future space explorers. By joining, members will have priority access to participate in future space missions.

Space Adventures is not only offering a unique opportunity for private citizens to explore outer space, but they are also helping to fund the Russian space program. As more Earthlings participate, this will result in expanding our knowledge of outer space without having to rely totally on government funding.