Question of the Day: Fly Me to the Moon

The return of the space shuttle Atlantis last Thursday marked the beginning of a new era in commercial space travel. Private companies are now rushing to fill the vacuum once occupied by NASA with intrepid billionaires and eccentrics who never relinquished their childhood dreams of becoming the next Neil Armstrong.

For a mere $200,000 and a long period of intensive training, you, too, can fulfill your wildest childhood fantasy with Virgin Galactic, set to launch its first space-cruise in 2012.  

But, for all those who haven't seen Alien, Event Horizon, Apollo 13, or 2001: A Space Odyssey, consider this sobering list of uniquely awful space travel dangers before you book your ticket. 

Our Question for Monday is:

Does the thought of floating untethered in the vast blackness of space scare you? 

Or would you leave the earth humming, "fly me to the Moon, let me sing among those stars...?"