Bass Might Just Be *N Space Yet

Lance Bass is in Moscow for "an intensive weekend of medical examinations" to determine if he's fit to travel to space, said Jeff Lenorovitz, a spokesman for MirCorp, the Dutch space tourism company that is negotiating his flight.

Bass left for Russia on Thursday after *N Sync's Dallas concert and will return by Monday for the band's Denver performance.

Last month, the 22-year-old announced that he was in talks with MirCorp to travel to the Alpha International Space Station on a Russian Suyuz rocket in November. "I'm looking forward to completing this lifelong dream," he said in a statement at the time.

Right after Bass's announcement, however, Rosaviakosmos spokesman Sergei Gorbunov revealed that the agency had not been contacted on the matter and said of the pop star's statement, "It is as if I said I had bought Australia."

In order for the trip to happen, he would have to undergo medical tests, train for about six months, and receive approval from the Russian space agency, Rosaviakosmos, NASA and their international partners. But now, Bass's trip this weekend signals that the Russians are indeed looking at him as a possible candidate. At the very least, he can pay the $20 million ticket price - Hollywood producer David Krieff of Destiny Productions said his company would sponsor Lance's trip and document it as a reality T.V. special called "Celebrity Mission: Lance Bass."

Radio Shack, which sponsored the first T.V. commercial shot at the Alpha Space Station, is footing the bill for the star's weekend getaway to Moscow.

Bass has to act quickly, though, if he wants to make it on the November mission. The international partners of the space station require that a candidate be approved at least six months before the voyage, which means that his deal has to be sealed by May.