First hotel on the Moon announced, space tourists asked to pay $1 million deposit

Moon

• GRU Space plans to open the first hotel on the Moon by 2032
• A $1 million deposit is required to reserve a spot at the lunar hotel
• The initial Moon hotel will host just four guests at a time

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If your travel bucket list already includes places that sound unreal, here is one more to add. The Moon. And not just a quick visit, but a hotel stay. According to a Gizmodo report, a California-based startup called GRU Space says it plans to open the world’s first hotel on the Moon by 2032, and it is already accepting applications from future guests.

Before you get too excited, there is one small detail. You will need to put down a deposit of one million dollars just to reserve a spot. The company says this early application process is aimed at wealthy space tourists who want to be among the first humans to spend a vacation night on lunar soil.

GRU Space, short for Galactic Resource Utilization, is a very young company with very big ambitions. It was founded just last year by 22-year-old Skyler Chan and has already caught the attention of investors connected to SpaceX and Anduril. The idea behind the project is simple, at least on paper. Space tourism, the company believes, could help kickstart a full-fledged economy on the Moon.

The plan unfolds in stages. In 2029, GRU Space wants to send its first test mission to the Moon through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. That mission will carry an inflatable structure that shows what the future hotel walls might look like. The company also plans to test a method of turning lunar dust into bricks, which would later be used to shield the hotel from radiation and extreme temperatures.

If that mission works, a second one will follow. This time, the inflatable structure will be placed inside a lunar pit, a natural depression that could offer slightly warmer and more stable conditions than the Moon’s surface. By the third mission, tentatively planned for 2032, GRU Space hopes to set up the first working version of its Moon hotel.

The initial hotel will be small, designed to host just four guests at a time. Think of it as a boutique stay with the most exclusive view imaginable. Over time, the company plans to add more inflatable units, gradually expanding the hotel using bricks made from the Moon itself.

This idea might sound like science fiction, but it is arriving at a moment when the Moon is suddenly very popular again. NASA is preparing for its Artemis missions, with plans to return astronauts to the Moon and build a long-term base there. China also has its own lunar ambitions, including a crewed landing by 2030.

In the middle of all this, GRU Space is betting that tourism will find a place alongside science and exploration. As Chan puts it, humanity may be closer than ever to becoming truly interplanetary. For now, the Moon hotel remains a dream. But if the plan works, booking a lunar vacation could one day feel as normal as planning a trip to an island resort, just with a slightly better night sky.