THIS is the lunar hotel that billionaires could be staying at on the moon in the not-so distant future.
And if you’ve got $1million (£743k) to spare you can reserve a room now.
Galactic Resource Utilization Space (GRU) is plotting to open a moon hotel for wealthy space tourists, with the first model opening as soon as 2032.
Their debut hotel will be built on Earth and delivered to the moon by a heavy lander.
It’ll be an inflatable structure that can host up to four people for multi-day stays initially.
“Designed to operate for 10 years, the hotel offers views of the lunar landscape and Earth, along with envisioned experiences such as surface experiences including moonwalks, driving, golfing, and other activities,” the firm says.
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But bosses have also given a glimpse into far more luxury quarters that they’re planning to launch soon after.
Artist renders of what the company’s expanded posh facility might look include stunning rooms lined with cushioned walls for zero gravity guests to bounce off.
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The company intends to enclose the inflate habitats with structures made from lunar material.
This will allow them to increase the hotel’s capacity to ten guests at a time.
GRU also sees their big plans as a springboard to eventually taking humans to live on Mars.
“We live during an inflection point where we can actually become interplanetary before we die,” founder Skyler Chan said, reports Space.com.
“If we succeed, billions of human lives will be born on the moon and Mars and be able to experience the beauty of lunar and martian life.”
They’re hoping to start construction in 2029 but it is pending regulatory approval.
The move comes as efforts to set up permanent bases on the moon ramp up, with China and Russia planning their own long-term presence.
Both countries want to build a power station together as part of a vast Disneyland sized lunar site.
The pair plan to have their space base completed by 2036.
The moon – our closest neighbour explained
Here’s what you need to know…
- The moon is a natural satellite – a space-faring body that orbits a planet
- It’s Earth’s only natural satellite, and is the fifth biggest in the Solar System
- The moon measures 2,158 miles across, roughly 0.27 times the diameter of Earth
- Temperatures on the moon vary wildly. Nasa explains: “Temperatures near the moon’s equator can spike to 250°F (121°C) in daylight, then plummet after nightfall to -208°F (-133°C). In deep craters near the moon’s poles, permanent shadows keep the surface even colder — NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has measured temperatures lower than -410°F (-246°C).”
- Experts assumed the moon was another planet, until Nicolaus Copernicus outlined his theory about our Solar System in 1543
- It was eventually assigned to a “class” after Galileo discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610
- The moon is believed to have formed around 4.51billion years ago
- The strength of its gravitational field is about a sixth of Earth’s gravity
- Earth and the moon have “synchronous rotation”, which means we always see the same side of the moon – hence the phrase “dark side of the moon”
- The moon’s surface is actually dark, but appears bright in the sky due to its reflective ground
- During a solar eclipse, the moon covers the Sun almost completely. Both objects appear a similar size in the sky because the Sun is both 400 times larger and farther
- The first spacecraft to reach the moon was in 1959, as part of the Soviet Union’s Lunar program
- The first manned orbital mission was Nasa’s Apollo 8 in 1968
- And the first manned lunar landing was in 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission
Image credit: Alamy
