The sun reflects off the water in this picture taken by German astronaut Alexander Gerst from the International Space Station and sent on his Twitter feed July 17, 2014.
The sun reflects off the water in this picture taken by German astronaut Alexander Gerst from the International Space Station and sent on his Twitter feed July 17, 2014. Reuters

If you have dreamed of going to space, then a new program launched by Spaceship Earth Grants (SEG) may just give you the opportunity to go to space. The SEG has launched a new program to send private citizens to space.

The aim is to allow people to experience a world beyond Earth. They have started the program to send one of 50,000 people to space. The programme is a contest that will crowdfund an open number of spaceflight awards. Former NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin, President of Spaceship Earth Grants said that though space is thrilling, this programme is not created just for fun or for giving the people a thrilling ride. He explained that spaceflights can change the way people look at the world and the way they think. He threw light on the tremendous impact it has on an individual's life. He said that there are aspect of space flight that can change a person's perception of the world, influencing their behaviour and the way they view the world.

He said that they aim to do this by awarding space travel to individuals who are enthusiastic and are truly interested. They will pick individuals who are capable of being ambassadors and those who can come back and influence several more people by sharing their insights "in a compelling and inspiring way," he said.

SEG presented by Star Harbor Space Training Academy, the contest begun on the 15 of this month. The process by which the events would take place is very novel. With every 50,000 applications, one person would be awarded one ticket.

As the applications increase, so will the number of awards, a higher application rate could mean that more people would be awarded, meaning one in 25,000 people would be awarded.

Interested people should submit a written summary and a 90 second video answering how they would use their flight to "better yourself, your community, your country, and/or our planet" and in what way are they different, how would they be able to send this message across to other people through the use of their skills. On the basis of the public vote, 1000 applicants will be finalized and judged.

Bill Nye, the Planetary Society's CEO and "Science Guy," former NASA associate administrator Alan Ladwig, astrophysicist Maraia Hoffman, and Frank White, author of "The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution," are the SEG judges. The SEG council comprises of these judges, former NASA astronauts, industry experts, space enthusiasts, celebrity artists, musicians and other influential people representing a wide variety of interests.

For more information, visit the Spaceship Earth Grants website.