Our mission
Space Perspective is driven by a desire to share the transformative power of space travel with as many people as possible. We know from experience that looking down on Planet Earth from space will radically shift one’s perception of our world and our place within it.
A unique place in scientific history.
Our founders were on the design team and were crew members in Biosphere 2. A hermetically-sealed, self-sustaining environment, Biosphere 2 was developed as a laboratory for learning about our planet, and a viable prototype for a living environment that could be installed on other planets. They spent two years sealed inside Biosphere 2, living in a state of intense environmental symbiosis with their natural surroundings. It was an experience that left them with the sort of similarly expanded perspective that astronauts like our own Jeff Hoffman report after returning from space—a visceral understanding of what it means to be part of the vast, complex, beautiful planet we call home and share with each other.
Biosphere 2, a prototype space base and laboratory for Biosphere 1, the Earth | Photo credit UA Biosphere 2.
Spaceship Earth
The Space Perspective experience is designed to eliminate environmental impacts on Earth, a planetary spaceship we all inhabit together, starting with the very nature of our vessel. Rather than fighting gravity, Spaceship Neptune uses buoyancy, filling our SpaceBalloon with lighter-than-air gas to rise up to the edge of space. Its descent is controlled by releasing just enough gas to maintain a comfortable descent speed. Each journey is already near-zero-emission, and emissions across the company that can’t be eliminated by design are offset via contributions to Cool Effect, a carbon offset provider that supports carbon-reducing projects worldwide.
Sustainable by design.
Our SpaceBalloon, made from polyethylene, is recycled after each flight, and upcycled wherever possible—the bartop in the Neptune Capsule’s lounge, for instance, is made from a decommissioned SpaceBalloon. Every other component of Spaceship Neptune is designed to be reflown.
Cultural engagement
The vast majority of those who have seen Planet Earth from above have come from a specialized cohort of scientists and engineers. They all report the transformative impact this journey has had on them, and we want to create the same opportunities for a greater diversity of Explorers. Artists, writers, community leaders, elected officials—what impact might a trip to space have on the important work that they do?
Taking art to new heights.
Space Perspective has incorporated scientific experiments and artistic creations on a recent test flight, including winning student projects as a payload through our collaboration with Higher Orbits, a non-profit promoting STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). We are continuing to create cross-disciplinary connections, collaborating with artists to create work that will travel to space on future flights.
"Living Light" before launch on a Neptune test flight | Image credit Beyond Earth art collective and Space Perspective.
Launch test on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with the Shuttle’s historic hangar in view.
A working laboratory.
Any trip off-planet is a crucial opportunity to collect data that can teach us more about both space and Planet Earth. Spaceship Neptune will carry research payloads on every flight, and there is no other platform that will regularly reach the altitudes Neptune will, creating invaluable research opportunities for the scientific community. Our flights support ground-breaking research in climate change and upper atmosphere science, while also improving spacefaring technologies and techniques.
Our first un-crewed test flight carried an ozone sensor instrument developed by Dr. Nirmal Patel and his student team in the physics department at the University of Northern Florida.
We’re passionate about fundamentally changing the way people access space—both to perform much-needed research to benefit life on Earth and to affect how we view and connect with our planet. Today, it is more crucial than ever to see Earth as an interconnected planet, a spaceship for all humanity and our global biosphere. This expanded view of our world is the life-transforming perspective astronauts speak of when they see earth in space. This is the space perspective.”
Jane PoynterFounder & Co-CEO