Gift experience
A Space Gift They'll Remember: A Seat on a Simulated Rocket
Toys end up in a drawer; a launch stays in the memory. A LIFTONAUT gift is a ticket for a simulated spaceflight: the countdown, the climb to orbit and a guided trip past the Moon, Mars or every planet, from a seat they pick themselves. It arrives as a code, so it works for last-minute gifts too.
Space fans already own the posters, the models and the books. What they rarely get is the feeling of being on board: Mission Control on the radio, Earth's curve through the window, and a guide explaining what they are looking at.
A LIFTONAUT ticket gives exactly that, as a simulation built on NASA and JPL data. Nobody goes to space, and the gift says so clearly; the experience is in the details.
Why a rocket seat makes a different kind of gift
It is an experience rather than an object, and it is shared: rockets leave every ten minutes with real passengers on board, so the person you give it to rides with others, chats with the crew and sees the same launch from a different seat.
It also teaches without feeling like homework. During the flight they learn why the sky turns black at altitude, why astronauts float, how long light takes to reach Saturn, and what Olympus Mons or the rings are made of, with the source of every number.
Who it's for: kids, teens and grown-up space fans
For kids (6 to 12)
Younger passengers love the countdown, the shaking cabin camera and the plush toy that starts floating in orbit. Reading is optional: a guide narrates the flight, in English or Romanian, and the short tours, such as the Moon, last about 10 minutes. See also our page on astronomy for kids.
For teens and students
Older kids enjoy the real telemetry: speed, altitude, g-load, Mach number and the outside temperature during the climb, and the planets at their real positions for the day of the flight.
For adults who love astronomy
Grown-ups who follow every launch get the details right: staging, the booster flying back, orbital sunrise, and real photos from Apollo, Cassini, Voyager and New Horizons, with their credits.
Pick the tour: from a €0.99 orbit to the Grand Tour
Every tour starts and ends on the same launch pad. For a first flight, a short tour is perfect; for a fan, the Grand Tour is the one to give.
Earth Orbit
Liftoff, one full orbit with sunrise and sunset, a pass by the International Space Station, re-entry and landing.
The Moon
The road to the Moon and a flyby about 1,000 km above its sunlit side, with the six Apollo landing sites marked.
Mars
A Moon flyby, then Mars with Phobos and Deimos, Olympus Mons and the rover sites.
The Giants
The asteroid belt, Jupiter, Saturn and its rings, Uranus and Neptune, with their moons.
The Grand Tour
The whole Solar System: every planet, the Moon, the major moons, the asteroid belt and Pluto.
The Complete Solar System
The Sun up close, all 8 planets, the 5 dwarf planets, 14 moons, Vesta, comet 67P, the Kuiper Belt and the Voyager probes at their real positions.
Coming soonAbout this tour
Not sure which one? The Explorer Passport, at €9.99, includes Earth Orbit, the Moon, Mars, the Giants and the Grand Tour.
How gifting works: ticket, code and flight date
- Choose the tour and buy it as a gift.
- You receive a gift code to print, write in a card or send in a message.
- They redeem the code on LIFTONAUT, and the ticket is theirs.
- They pick a departure and a seat whenever it suits them, then board.
If a code gets lost, the buyer can have it reissued from their account. The free trial flight is also a good way to show someone what they will get, before or after you give the ticket.
Gift moments: birthdays, Christmas, graduations
Because the ticket is digital, it fits every occasion and every deadline: a birthday morning, the holidays, the end of a school year or a graduation. For a whole party, a private rocket seats up to 20 guests who board with one link, and each passenger gets a certificate after landing.
Gift questions
What is a good gift for someone who loves space?
Something they can experience, not just display. A ticket for a simulated rocket flight lets them ride a launch, see Earth from orbit and visit the planets with real data, from a seat they choose. Tours start at €0.99.
Can I give a space flight experience as a gift?
Yes. Buy any LIFTONAUT tour as a gift: you get a code, and the recipient redeems it and picks the departure and the seat.
Is it a real space flight?
No. It is a simulated flight that runs in the browser, built on real data from NASA and JPL. Nobody leaves the ground.
What age is a space simulator gift suitable for?
Children from about six can enjoy it, ideally with a parent nearby; the guide narrates, so reading is optional. Teens and adults get the full detail: telemetry, real photos and sources. The crew chat removes links, emails and phone numbers automatically.
Can the whole family use one gift together?
One ticket is one seat, though nothing stops the family from watching together on one screen. To give everyone their own seat in the cabin, give a ticket each or a private rocket for up to 20 people.
Sources
The numbers on this page come from these official sources.