Space tourism

The Atacama Desert, with the purest skies on the planet, hosts the largest observatories (ALMA, VLT) and unique astro-tourism.

Wenchang and Jiuquan centres, the Tiangong station, the Chang'e missions: China runs a full, self-reliant space programme.

The Guiana Space Centre at Kourou is Europe's spaceport; in Toulouse, the Cité de l'espace brings the adventure to life for the public.

ISRO and the Sriharikota space centre make India a major space power, famed for its cost-efficient missions.

The JAXA agency and the Tanegashima Space Center put Japan at the cutting edge of exploration, from rockets to distant probes.

The Baikonur Cosmodrome, deep in the Kazakh steppe, is the world's oldest and largest operational launch site.

With Rocket Lab and its launch pad on the Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand has quietly risen in the small-launch race.

Star City, the Museum of Cosmonautics, the Vostochny Cosmodrome: Russia nurtures a vast space heritage, from Sputnik to the Mir station.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai propels the Emirates among space nations, with ambitions reaching all the way to Mars.

From Florida's Kennedy Space Center to SpaceX's Starbase in Texas, the US leads the space race — now open to tourists via Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.