Final answer:
The Planetary Society's LightSail-1 project is testing solar sails for CubeSats and there's potential for a new space race in the late 2020s, with U.S. and China developing Moon landing capabilities, signaling a rekindling of space tourism efforts.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ongoing Efforts to Restart Space Tourism
After the retirement of the Space Shuttle program, significant efforts have been underway to restart and enhance space tourism. One such initiative is through the use of light sails, a technology being tested by the Planetary Society. The society's LightSail-1 project is a citizen-funded effort aiming to use CubeSats equipped with large mirrors as sails, which capture the momentum of sun's photons and converts it into acceleration for the spacecraft. These initial tests intend to demonstrate the viability of photon momentum travel, which has the potential to be an affordable advancement in space exploration.
The LightSail-1 project successfully deployed its Mylar sails in a test flight in May 2015, and with further tests in 2016, the Planetary Society is hopeful for the future of interplanetary travel using this technology. Despite the hesitation surrounding space as a solution for Earth's immediate challenges due to the immense costs, both energetically and economically, the pursuit of space travel continues, driven by both scientific interest and the alluring prospect of space tourism.
In addition to light sails, the United States and China have been developing capabilities to land on the Moon, hinting at a potential new space race in the late 2020s. These efforts contribute to the gradual re-emergence of manned space flights and the continued dream of space tourism.