$5 billion Moon resort eyeing UAE location recruits Artemis II astronaut

Dubai: Moon World Resorts has appointed Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen to help shape a simulated lunar experience for its proposed resorts, including a development it hopes to bring to the UAE.

The Canadian astronaut, who flew around the Moon in April, will advise on recreated lunar landscapes, astronaut training and space industry partnerships. The appointment comes after the founders said Abu Dhabi could be their only viable UAE location because of the land the project requires.

Toronto-based Moon World Resorts named Hansen its Astronaut + Space Strategist across its planned developments. He will also join its advisory board and serve as a global ambassador and spokesperson on space-related matters, the company said.

The announcement does not identify a confirmed UAE site, development partner or construction start. In their July interview with Gulf News, the founders said they had yet to secure a local partner or government backing.

The concept centres on an Earth-based resort with a recreated lunar surface and base, designed to accommodate 2.5 million visits annually. A 4,000-suite five-star hotel would sit within a sphere measuring 271 metres across, with the structure rising 312 metres above ground.

In February, co-founder and CEO Michael R. Henderson told Gulf News the proposed lunar experience would cost $500, about Dh1,836, for 90 minutes. The latest announcement gives no updated pricing or booking details.

Hansen’s role is to help shape the experience using his knowledge of spaceflight. His responsibilities also include university affiliations, technology partnerships and the project’s planned astronaut training facilities.

“When I flew around the Moon on Artemis II with Reid, Victor, and Christina, we were captivated by what we witnessed, the extraordinary textures of the lunar surface and the scale of the features preserved in the landscape,” Hansen said in the company’s announcement.

Hansen travelled aboard Orion with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch from April 1 to 10, according to the Canadian Space Agency. The mission flew around the Moon without landing, making him the first Canadian and first non-American to participate in a lunar mission.

His experience includes leading the training of a NASA astronaut class in 2017. He stepped away from active Canadian Space Agency astronaut service in September 2026, while continuing as a Royal Canadian Air Force reservist.

Sandra G. Matthews, co-founder and president of Moon World Resorts, said his experience would inform decisions on the lunar attraction and astronaut training.

The founders told Gulf News in July the development needed a site measuring 1,500 metres by 1,500 metres — 2.25 million square metres, or 225 hectares — and suggested Abu Dhabi might have more suitable land.

Moon World Resorts operates as a design studio and intellectual property licensor. Regional licensees would fund and deliver individual developments, with government support and suitable land required before the licence process could proceed, the founders said.

Earlier reporting put the company’s estimated cost of the central resort at about $5 billion, excluding land. That figure is an estimate for the proposed resort, rather than an announced UAE construction contract.

The company's plans include 12,000 homes in 24 towers, a park and lagoon, 23 spherical commercial buildings and a panoramic skywalk. Restaurants, convention facilities, shops, educational spaces and a separate 200-suite boutique hotel would form part of the wider development.

The company lists a 60-month delivery timeframe and 2032 as a potential opening date for its first project. The founders said in July that they expected construction to begin in 2027, but did not identify which country would host it.