NASA will allow private citizens to visit the International Space Station

For the first time, NASA plans to open the International Space Station to individuals, allowing commercial companies to organize tours that can cost up to $ 58 million per person, announced Friday. officials at a press conference.

The first phase of the plan will allow two private astronauts to visit the station in the short term in 2020, before opening the station to other tourism opportunities.

NASA said the commercial activity was aimed at raising money for sending a new astronaut series to the moon by 2024.

Hours after the announcement, President Donald Trump tweeted that he did not think NASA should focus on returning to the moon and should instead focus on Mars (wrongly asserting that "the Moon is part of the planet next to Earth). Trump last month said he was reinforcing NASA's budget "and that we are returning to the moon".

Space tours will be organized through commercial companies under contract with NASA, which currently include Boeing and Elon Musk's Space X. The agency is currently evaluating proposals from additional companies.

Companies will have to spend about $ 35,000 per night to use the space station's services, including air, water, food and communications, NASA said. Travelers would be charged a lot more to cover the costs of company rocket flights and other expenses.