What happened? 
On 15 September, SpaceX launched their first private orbital spaceflight with four all-civilian crew and no professional astronauts. The mission included a billionaire sponsor Jared Isaacman, a healthcare worker, and two contest winners. This mission marks the beginning of SpaceX's venture into the Space Tourism market. 

On 18 September, the four civilian astronauts returned to earth, with their capsule landing off the Florida coast Florida after a three-day mission. Extending his encouragement from the International Space Station, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet on Twitter said, "No matter if you're a professional or not, when you get strapped to a rocket and launch into space, we have something in common. All the very best from, well, space."

What is the background? 
First, the mission. The three-day orbital mission included four all civilian crew members. Jared Isaacman is the primary donor and is now the third billionaire to launch a tourist mission to Outer Space during July-September 2021. The crew included a 29-year-old bone cancer survivor who works as a physician assistant. The other two crew members are winners of sweepstakes - a 42-year-old data engineer, and a 51-year-old community college educator. The mission used a recycled Falcon Rocket, launched from the Kennedy Space Center Pad, which was previously used by three of SpaceX's astronaut flights for NASA. This time, the Dragon Capsule aimed for an altitude of 575 kilometres, which is 160 kilometres higher than the International Space Station. 

Second, the significance of the mission. The Inspiration4 mission marks the third space tourism mission and the first orbital tourism mission. The mission took an all-civilian crew for a period of three days, longer than the earlier two initiatives. The mission portrays three important issues; diverse crew with minimal training; clever strategy to raise funds; sustainable use of technology in outer space by launching a reused rocket and capsule. 

Third, the emergence of the private space industry and space tourism. Three American space-based companies are leading the industry. They are likely to initiate several alternative modes of space tourism. After successfully displaying their capability, these private companies can be expected to begin tourism services from 2022. SpaceX has already announced its next trip with a crew of three wealthy businessmen and a retired NASA astronaut in early 2022. Other countries are expected to join the tourism market. The Russians have also announced that they would be launching an actress, film director, and a Japanese tycoon to the Space Station in the following months.

What does it mean?
2021 should be seen as the year of the steady expansion of space tourism. The activities of the Inspiration4 crew would be released as a Netflix documentary and are known to be conducting scientific experiments. This would confirm that outer space is accessible to all kinds of civilians and also promise to offer a relatively sustainable travel experience. Though tourism capabilities have been shown, every participant would still need a few months of training before they are launched to outer space. Also, other issues need to be addressed: legal clarity on the liability, insurance, and monitoring measures to ensure the safety of investments.