World Space Week: Could Mega Millions Take You to Space?

As kids, many of us dreamed of becoming astronauts and traveling to the stars. World Space Week brings that childhood dream back to mind—and tonight’s Mega Millions drawing gives us a question: if you won the jackpot, what kind of space adventure would you choose?

There’s more than one way to experience the view from above. You could float inside an airplane, admire Earth from the stratosphere, or spend days aboard the International Space Station. Each step takes you a little farther, with a price to match.

World Space Week: How Far Could You Go?

Start with the feeling of floating. Zero Gravity Corporation lists seats on its parabolic flights from $8,900 plus tax. The airplane follows a series of carefully planned arcs, giving passengers brief stretches of weightlessness inside the cabin.

You wouldn’t leave Earth’s atmosphere, but you could get a taste of what it feels like to float like an astronaut. For now, this experience is on hold: the company’s flights are paused and aren’t expected to resume before mid-2027.

Next, imagine the view. Space Perspective designed Spaceship Neptune, a balloon-powered capsule meant to rise into the stratosphere. From its wide windows, passengers would be able to look down at Earth’s curve. The company announced a price of $125,000 per seat, although the capsule isn’t operating regular tourist flights yet. And despite the spectacular altitude, the stratosphere isn’t outer space.

Ready to go farther? Virgin Galactic’s suborbital experience combines a rocket-powered climb with a few minutes of weightlessness and a view of Earth from above. Its most recently announced seats cost $750,000 each, with commercial flights expected to resume in 2027.

What Would It Cost to Live in Space?

Then comes the adventure closest to that childhood astronaut dream: staying aboard the International Space Station. Axiom Space has organized private missions there using SpaceX transportation. It has put the price of a roughly ten-day mission at around $65 million per person.

That journey involves much more than buying a seat. Passengers train before launch, then spend their time in orbit alongside astronauts, seeing Earth from a place few people have ever visited.

The prices can feel almost as distant as the stars. Still, World Space Week is a good moment to imagine the possibilities while waiting for tonight’s Mega Millions drawing. If luck were on your side, would you dare to put on a spacesuit and chase that childhood dream? You can explore tonight’s drawing in TuLotero.