Moon-shaped Las Vegas resort costs 500x less than space trip
Would you shell out $500 for a discount lunar experience?
The world’s richest private citizens spend $200,000 to $250,000 per ticket to secure spots on Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic flights. And SpaceX’s recent civilian flight was a nine-figure endeavor.
But one design company plans to launch out-of-this-world space travel to fill the gap for non-billionaires, offering a mini-lunar experience for only $500 — up to 500 times less than the price of an actual trip to space.
“People want something unique, something different, something ‘Wow,’” Michael Henderson, co-founder of Moon World Resorts, Inc., told The Post. “Space flights cost $200,000 to $250,000 — so the masses just can’t participate. With Moon [World Resorts], for $500, they can walk on an authentic lunar surface and enjoy exploring a lunar colony in a spectacular way.”
![The Moon design is imagined in Las Vegas, which is the intended destination for one of the four resorts. The 5.5 billion square foot structure will be 735 feet tall and 650 feet wide. The "moon" will sit on a three-floor platform, renderings show.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/moon-vegas-hp.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
![The top floor inside the moon is the 292,011-square-foot "lunar surface."](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Moon-USA-Inside-View-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
The 5.5 million-square-foot structure will be 735 feet tall and 650 feet wide. The “moon” will sit on a three-floor platform, renderings show.
The 1/75,000-sized replica of the moon will land in locations like Las Vegas, the Middle East, China and Spain in 2026 or 2027 — if all goes as planned.
Developers, investors and state governments are currently competing for the licenses, which will be assigned in the next few months, said Henderson, whose firm designed the plans.
![Room rates will be "competitive" with other five-star hotels, said Henderson.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/berm-rend03-lightened.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
!["People want something unique, something different, something 'wow,'" Michael Henderson, co-founder of Moon World Resorts, Inc., told The Post.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/enviromax-A.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=768)
The top floor inside the moon is the 292,011-square-foot “lunar surface” accessible via the “shuttle station” with a club on the floor underneath. It costs $500 a ticket to spend 90 minutes on the surface.
Some 4,000 hotel suites, which will likely be operated by a “5-star hotel operator you would know well,” span 2.816 million square feet stacked underneath the lunar surface. Rooms offer curated views of outer space creations. Room rates will be “competitive” with other five-star hotels, said Henderson.
Underneath the hotel is a three-tier platform with a 75,000-square-foot spa, a 130,000-square-foot casino, 50,000-square-feet of restaurants and bars, a 75,000-square-foot shopping center, a 2,500-seat theater, a planetarium, 150,000-square-feet of clubs and lounges, a 5,000-seat event center and a 10,000-seat arena, according to the brochure.
![There will be 193,000-square-feet of lagoons and other aquatic components.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Tranquility-Spa.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
![A moon attraction ride concept is visualized in this rendering.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Moon-AGV-attraction-ride-concept-2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
There is also a 5,000-square-foot discovery center, a 5,000-square-foot kids and teen zone, 9,000-square-feet of business centers, 150,000-square feet of ballrooms and meeting space and a 500,000-square-foot convention center, according to the brochure.
The outdoor terrace balconies are packed with amenities too, including a 185,000-square-foot beach club, 20,000-square-feet of amphitheaters, a 24,450-square-foot green scape, 50,000-square-feet dedicated to sports, 193,000-square-feet of lagoons and other aquatic components. There is also enough parking for 6,000 vehicles. Surrounding the lower tier is a living green wall, according to plans.
The budget is $5 billion and is projected to bring in $1.8 billion a year with about $500 million yearly profit (EBITDA). It will employ about 6,500 once operational, according to the press release.
![There will be 150,000-square-feet of clubs and lounges.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Night-Club.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
![The "Crater Cafe" is imagined in this drawing.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Crater-Cafe.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=768)