GRU Space, a California startup backed by Y Combinator and Nvidia, has officially opened reservations for what it calls the first permanent hotel on the moon. The company says it plans to welcome its first guests in 2032.
The startup, led by 22-year-old UC Berkeley graduate Skyler Chan, is moving from space tourism to lunar habitation. Chan has outlined an ambitious roadmap that targets a full lunar hotel six years from now.
Booking a trip to the moon comes with a high price. GRU Space requires a $1,000 application fee, a refundable deposit between $250,000 and $1 million, and estimates the total trip cost at more than $10 million per guest. The cost covers launch, transport via partners like SpaceX, and five nights on the lunar surface.
The hotel’s construction will rely on In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), which turns lunar soil into building materials. Initial tests are scheduled for 2029, with a subscale inflatable habitat to follow in 2031. The first four-guest hotel is set to launch in 2032 near a natural lunar lava tube.
Guests will experience unique activities, including low-gravity sports, guided moonwalks, open-rover rides, and meals grown in hydroponic lunar greenhouses. The hotel aims to combine adventure with comfort in a completely new environment.
Industry experts are skeptical. Radiation protection, reliable Starship launches, and building on the lunar surface are all major challenges. Critics have also questioned the high deposit model, calling it a risky “moonshot investment.”
Skyler Chan remains confident, saying: “This is a big bet… but if we succeed, this is literally going to be the most impactful thing in human history.” GRU Space is now accepting applications for early lunar travelers.
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