At Open-i, Skyler will share his vision for space with Switzerland, which is working to position itself internationally as a hub for groundbreaking space innovations. With his company GRU Space, Chan aims to pave the way for humanity’s journey into space through lunar tourism. The first step, he says, is opening the first hotel on the Moon by 2032.

At just 21 years old, the graduate of the prestigious University of California, Berkeley became a founder last year. His company was quickly accepted into the startup accelerator Y Combinator, which is renowned for its strong network in Silicon Valley as well as success stories such as Airbnb and Coinbase. GRU Space is reportedly already advising the US delegation to the United Nations.

“Once we build the hotel on the Moon, we can build out our structures, you know, roads, warehouses, and bases. And then we can repeat that on Mars,” Chan is quoted as saying in an interview. His vision aligns with US President Trump's plan to establish the first elements of a lunar base by 2030. GRU Space therefore anticipates massive government investment, writes GRU Space’s white paper, and is counting on space tourism as the fastest economic driver to kickstart a lunar economy.

Chen’s plan is to build a hotel structure on the Moon that can accommodate up to four guests for several days. Commercial spacecraft operated by companies such as SpaceX or Blue Origin will transport guests to the Moon. The cost of a single night is estimated at around 417,000 US dollars. The first version of the hotel will be built on Earth before being inflated on the Moon. Subsequent versions are intended to be encased in structures made from lunar materials and accommodate up to 10 people, reportedly reducing the cost per night to 83,000 US dollars.

According to GRU Space, the technological innovation lies in the use of lunar resources through so-called In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU), whereby lunar dust is transformed into a durable construction material. To date, large-scale processing has been extremely energy-intensive but the team has presented a transitional technology that can be used to build critical infrastructure, including solar panels, with geopolymers to bind the grains of lunar dust together, according to the concept.

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Skyler Chan heads to Zurich to reveal his vision for a lunar hotel

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