The the fire-breathing founder of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberté, aims to become the first Canadian space tourist.

He hopes to visit the International Space Station for twelve days in September, thanks to arrangements made with the Russian government by Space Adventures, a private company that provides training and services for aspiring cosmonauts.

“I have been described as many things throughout my 25 years with Cirque du Soleil. Fire-breather, entrepreneur, street smart, creative,” said Laliberté in a press release. “I am honored and humbled today with my new description: humanitarian space explorer.”

He claims that the purpose of his trip is to raise awareness of water issues on Earth, and calls it the first poetic social mission to space.

Several of the obscenely rich people who have made a journey to the orbiting laboratory have claimed to have a serious purpose. Anousheh Ansari, who made a fortune in the telecommunications industry, wrote a blog while visiting the ISS in 2006 and conducted physiology experiments for the European Space Agency. Video game designer Richard Garriott sent ham radio signals from the spacecraft, led educational outreach activities, took photographs, and conducted protein crystallization experiments.

Laliberté started the One Drop Foundation in 2007, with the aim of fighting poverty by increasing sustainably increasing access to drinking water. But even if his trip does not raise awareness of water problems on Earth, it will be a great promotion for Cirque du Soleil, which will appear in Russia for the first time this year.

Photo: Luis Barreto / flickr

See Also:

• The Space Tourist Who Wasn’t
• Wannabe Space Tourist Wants $21 Million Back Over Scuttled Mission
• Space Tourist Bound for ISS
• Party in a NASA Hangar Gives a Glimpse of Space Culture
• Mars Needs You: Space Tourist Spreads the Word
• Why Richard Garriott Can’t Play Tabula Rasa in Space
• Richard Garriott Plans Flight Into Space
• Richard Garriott, Developer of Ultima, Living Every Geek’s Dream
• The Next Step in Space Exploration: Billionaire Scientists

Source/Kaynak : http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/science/~3/qL5Tua_5quc/