Private companies are offering many opportunities to make the leap off Earth, ranging from a quick suborbital hop to a multi month stay on the International Space Station (ISS). But the advent of the space tourism industry has spurred a vigorous debate: Is it helping to propel humanity to the stars, or is it just letting rich people have a little fun while providing no real value?

Here's a look at the pros and cons of space tourism.

The pros of space tourism

A handful of private individuals, colloquially known as space tourists,  managed to purchase tickets to the ISS or Russia's Mir station. However, with the end of the space shuttle program in 2011, NASA canceled any further opportunities. That picture changed with the emergence of private spaceflight companies headed by various billionaires, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.