Founder & CEO at GRU Space
The first hotel on the Moon
GRU Space builds lunar infrastructure, starting with a hotel. In six weeks and for under $5,000 it built a Moon factory prototype that mines lunar regolith, refines it with a geopolymer process and turns it into structural bricks. An inflatable pressurized habitat then sits inside a shell of those bricks, which shield it from radiation and micrometeorites. Skyler was an Air Force-trained pilot at 16, graduated early from Berkeley EECS, worked on vehicle software at Tesla and built a NASA-funded 3D printer that flew on Virgin Galactic. GRU Space (YC W26) plans to land a small-scale factory and habitat on the Moon in 2027, then lay the hotel's foundation inside a lunar cave and open the hotel in 2032.
Skyler Chan is the founder and CEO of GRU Space, which is building the first hotel on the Moon. He was an Air Force-trained pilot at 16, graduated early from Berkeley EECS, worked on vehicle software at Tesla and built a NASA-funded 3D printer that launched into space aboard Virgin Galactic.
A Y Combinator W26 company building permanent lunar infrastructure, starting with a hotel for space tourists. GRU stands for Galactic Resource Utilization.
A patent-pending prototype the team built in six weeks for under $5,000. It autonomously mines lunar soil, refines it with a geopolymer process and turns it into structural bricks, so habitats can be built from what is already on the Moon.
Cost. At hundreds of thousands of dollars per kilogram to the lunar surface, building large structures out of material launched from Earth does not work. In-situ resource utilization is the way around it.
A first mission in 2027 lands a small-scale factory and an inflatable habitat to demonstrate brick manufacturing on the surface. A second lays the hotel's foundation inside a lunar cave. A third opens the hotel, targeted for 2032.
The stated plan is to build America's first Moon base, with roads, mass drivers and warehouses, then repeat on Mars and build the first cities there.
