Rendering of the proposed first lunar hotel. Image credit: GRU Space
The first lunar hotel is now open for reservations
With global travel numbers on the rise, sometimes it feels as though there are few places on Earth left untapped by swarms of tourists. For a fortunate few of us, however, one off-the-beaten-path destination with out-of-this-world views may soon become an option.
California-based startup GRU Space is building a hotel on the moon — and, as of this week, it's officially taking reservations for its grand opening, slated for 2032.
The top qualification: being astronomically wealthy. Hopeful space guests must put down a deposit of $250k or $1m, depending on their selection, though the total cost of the stay is expected to exceed $10m.
The plan
Starting in 2029, the company will lead two lunar missions:
- Mission I will involve: launching a small payload, including an inflatable structure that will demonstrate the material intended to eventually be used in the hotel's construction, and testing development of "moon bricks" using lunar regoliths (or, essentially, soil) and geopolymers, per Ars Technica.
- For mission II, it'll deploy a larger inflatable structure into a "lunar pit" meant to shield it from extreme temperatures, and scale its resource development.
Come 2032, the initial version of the hotel, an inflatable structure built on Earth and deployed to the moon, will be able to accommodate up to four guests as well as activities like moonwalking, golfing, and more.
Though it might not be as worth the money as the final iteration: a structure modeled after San Francisco's Palace of the Fine Arts and built from those aforementioned moon bricks.
Its ultimate goal: to help jumpstart the lunar economy and bring humanity to "the next frontier," which will eventually include Mars.
Sound a bit far-fetched?
For sure — especially when considering the one-year-old company's team currently consists of just three people, including founder Skyler Chan, who is just 22 years old — but, to be fair, so did the idea of sending people to space in 1969.
While there's definitely room for skepticism, GRU has already received backing from Y Combinator, Nvidia, and investors at Anduril and SpaceX, which has to count for something.
Plus, it'll undergo YC's three-month program this year to help the company develop its product and potentially raise additional funding.
In any case, we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out. But, as they say, shoot for the moon, right?
๐
No comments:
Post a Comment