Time in space: 11 days

Guy Laliberté was born in Québec City in 1959. An accordionist, stilt-walker and fire-eater, he founded the now world famous Cirque du Soleil in 1984.
Guy Laliberté was the first to orchestrate the marriage of cultures and artistic and acrobatic disciplines that is the hallmark of Cirque du Soleil. Since 1984, he has guided the creative team through the creation of every show and contributed to elevating the circus arts to the level of the great artistic disciplines. Cirque du Soleil has become an international organization, as much in terms of its makeup as in the scope of its activities and influence. Guy Laliberté now heads an organization with activities on five continents.

In October 2007, Guy Laliberté entered into a second lifetime commitment by creating the ONE DROP Foundation to fight poverty around the world by providing sustainable access to safe water. This new dream stems from the knowledge that the right to water is key to the survival of individuals and communities all over the world and from the values which have been at the heart of Cirque du Soleil since its inception: the belief that life gives back what you have given and even the smallest gesture will make a difference.

Guy Laliberte became Space Adventures’ seventh private spaceflight client, and first Canadian private space explorer when he launched to space on Wednesday September 30th. During his stay in space Guy embarked on the first “poetic social mission” with the aim of raising awareness for the ONE DROP Foundation. Guy hosted a 2 hour live from space event with stars from across the world coming together at live events in 14 cities around the world. Artists and world-renowned personalities who came together to raise awareness of the importance of access to clean water, included former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Peter Gabriel, Shakira, and U2

Time in space: 12 days

Richard Garriott, the legendary video game programmer and designer became the sixth private citizen to conduct a space mission aboard the International Space Station in the Fall of 2008. Richard followed in the footsteps of his father, Owen Garriott a former NASA astronaut and became America’s first “second generation” astronaut. While Owen joined the NASA astronaut corps and completed two space missions during his career, Richard has helped to usher in another new era in manned space exploration.

Richard’s main objective for his mission was to encourage commercial participation. By fostering the involvement of individuals, companies and organizations in his spaceflight Richard hoped to demonstrate that there is commercial potential in private space exploration, while furthering the understanding of space. Richard demonstrated this by taking on various commercial projects, corporate sponsors for his mission activities and by helping companies market their products though their association with an actual space mission.

Time in space: 12 days

An active proponent of world-changing technologies, Anousheh Ansari has dreamed of space exploration since childhood, and her family provided the title sponsorship for the Ansari X Prize. A living example of the American dream, Anousheh immigrated to the United States as a teenager who did not speak English. Anousheh dedicated her mission to creating public awareness for private spaceflight, inspiring youth to pursue their goals and promoting peace and understanding amongst nations. Like Dr. Olsen, Anousheh conducted experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency while she was in orbit. Anousheh became the first female private space explorer.

“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.”

— Anousheh Ansari

Time in space: 9 days

Dr. Olsen read a New York Times article about Space Adventures’ plans for offering the private missions to the International Space Station. The article said that spaceflight participants would be able to take part as tourists, researchers, and explorers in these flight opportunities, and this captured Dr. Olsen’s imagination. While on 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, its better.”
— Dr. Greg Olsen

Time in space: 8 days

Mark Shuttleworth wanted to be the first African to fly in space. An Internet entrepreneur, Shuttleworth turned to Space Adventures to realize his dream. Dedicating his flight to educating South African youth and conducting scientific research, Shuttleworth returned from space a national hero. He now shares his experience and the excitement it generates with students across Africa, inspiring the next generation of explorers.

Mark conducted several experiments during his 10-day space flight. One experiment was the very first in the world to assess the impact of zero-gravity on the development of stem cells and embryos. Another was to determine the effect of microgravity on the cardiovascular system and muscles. A third was an attempt to crystallise HIV proteins in weightlessness in the hopes that, when X-rayed, they will give an accurate view of the virus structure. These experiments are being managed by world-class South African scientists from the Universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Port Elizabeth, in collaboration with Russian space-science experts. More at

www.africaninspace.com/scientists/index.shtml

“An experience like that changes your perspective
on life and on the world.…”

— Mark Shuttleworth