SpaceX CEO and Founder Elon Musk announced news that is literally out of this world - two private citizens shall be rocketed to a week-long trip around the moon by the end of 2018. The news strikes as particularly exciting, because these citizens would be the first humans to travel that distance since the Apollo astronauts of 1972.

While the names of the private citizens have not been released, SpaceX notes that the citizens have deposited a significant amount of money into the trip across the stars. The innovative SpaceX trip will take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This citizen mission orbiting the moon will be using SpaceX's famed Falcon Heavy rocket; practice trials are to be conducted with the 27-engine, 70 meter missile later this year. Shooting past low Earth orbit - where most of the satellites circle the Earth - the Falcon Heavy rocket will be using the same pad that the Apollo rocket used more than 40 years ago. 

Started in 2002, SpaceX is a private rocket company that is based in Hawthorne, California. Between a 1.6 billion contract deal with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and a successful space mission, SpaceX is truly one of kind. 

In December 2010, the 14-year old company launched a spacecraft from low Earth orbit, making it the first private company to ever conduct such a trip. Likewise, SpaceX successfully launched their spacecraft, Dragon, to the International Space station. Here, Dragon became the first commercially-owned spacecraft to exchange cargo into space - and return safely. This astonishing feat was only done by government agencies prior to this. Now, it completes schedule cargo missions for NASA. For the future, SpaceX doesn't want to stop at sending humans to space - but they plan to transport humans to Mars. In fact, SpaceX boldly states that their ultimate mission is to allow people to live on other planets.

© SpaceX / Flickr

SpaceX isn't the only company that is reaching for the stars - fellow aerospace companies are finding success as well. Amazon billionaire and founder of Blue Origin Jeff Bezos desires to send people to space by 2018 - and it seems possible. Recently, Blue Origin received about $18 million in incentives from the state of Florida, and the creation of a factory for future orbital rockets is due by the end of 2017. Similarly, CEO Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic recently announced a subsidiary company called Virgin Orbit, a company focused on launching satellites. 

CEO Elon Musk asserts that SpaceX's endeavor to send two citizens to space will change the scope of history as we know it. In his ground-breaking announcement, Musk states that the citizens "will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration." 

Although the extraordinary feat may seem impossible to some, NASA provides some alleviation of doubts. Following SpaceX's announcement, NASA stated that it "commends its industry partners for reaching higher. We will work closely with SpaceX to ensure it safely meets the contractual obligations to return the launch of astronauts to U.S. soil and continue to successfully deliver supplies to the International Space Station." It is apparent that NASA is committed to making SpaceX's mission of the impossible, possible. 

SpaceX has stated their mission to develop "reusable rockets, a feat that will transform space exploration by delivering highly reliable vehicles at radically reduced costs." Is there a possibility that humans will seamlessly travel throughout the solar system for reasonable costs? Currently, NASA plans to spend about $80 million per seat on Russia's trip to the International Space Station. 

But what does this space mission mean for the future of aerospace travel? With the goal of sending citizens orbiting around Mars at the fastest speed in history, will SpaceX open the door to a new economy for space travel? Could there be an unprecedented economy for space travel? Only time will tell.