Chicago (IL) - Richard Garriott, the world’s first second-generation astronaut returned to Earth safely yesterday at 11:37 pm EDT in a perfect landing of the Russian Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft on the Central Asian steppes of Kazakhstan. Garriott was the sixth-ever space tourist and first to travel to space as a second-generation astronaut.

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47-year old game developer Garriott is the son of Skylab 3 crew member Owen Garriott, who went to space more than three decades ago. He purchased his trip into space through Space Adventures, a private space travel firm, which booked him a seat among the Expedition 18 crew members to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) for a 10 day stay with the Expedition 17 crew.

“This mission to the ISS fulfilled a lifelong dream to experience spaceflight as my father first did 35 years ago; it’s an honor to be the first American to follow a parent into space,” Garriott said.  “This experience made possible by Space Adventures – from my training in Star City, to lift-off, orbit and finally docking with and staying on the ISS – has been more gratifying than anything I could have ever imagined.”

 “While in space, I had the opportunity to conduct scientific experiments and environmental research, but what was most rewarding was speaking to students. Growing up in an astronaut family, I firmly believed that every person could go to space, and now I have. I took this opportunity to inspire them with my adventure and let them know they can achieve their wildest dreams as well with hard work and perseverance,” Garriott stated.

While he was not able to travel through NASA because of vision problems, he conducted “a series of experiments that examined the physical impact of spaceflight on astronauts” for NASA. Garriott said he  observed the reaction of the eyes to low and high pressure in a microgravity environment; the effects of spaceflight on the human immune system; and astronauts’ sleep/wake patterns and sleep characteristics.  

He also took pictures of “a number of ecologically significant places on Earth” and conducted experiments relating to early detection of osteoporosis, vestibular adaptation to G-force transitions and the occurrence of lower back pain. Garriott supported a number of commercial partners and assisted the biotechnology company ExtremoZyme, co-founded by Owen Garriott, by conducting Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) experiments. Additionally, Garriott tested a Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk watch, specifically designed for use in space. Garriott also conducted a physics experiment as part of an initiative sponsored by DHL, planned as an educational contest that will take place at the DHL Innovation Center in Bonn, Germany.

Garriott reportedly paid about $30 million for the entire trip. Among the people next in line for a space trip is, for example, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who already paid $5 million to reserve a seat on an orbital space flight. Space Adventures offers a wide range of flights ranging from $4000 zero-gravity flights, $102,000 sub-orbital space flights (62 miles altitude), and orbital space flights for about $35 million. And those with virtually limitless financial resources can book a Lunar mission for $200 million or $100 million per seat.