Over the past year and a half or so, there have probably been many moments when you’ve wanted to get away from it all. With a global pandemic, political unrest, and a whole bunch of pretty terrible things happening on the planet, that’s totally understandable, but how much would you pay to really, really get away? I mean I-don’t-want-to-live-on-this-planet-anymore kind of getting away. Well, if you’ve ever dreamt of escaping Earth in favor of the Moon, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.
The good news is that with China, Russia, and even NASA talking about the possibilities of permanent or semi-permanent “bases” on the lunar surface, we’re closer than ever to Moon tourism, or even lunar residences. The bad news? Someone actually took the time to crunch the numbers, and living on the Moon is going to cost you in a big way.
In a lengthy article by Money.co.uk, financial experts look at virtually every aspect of Moon property ownership, from the layout of a lunar home to the energy costs, food, and other necessities. They used data from a variety of sources and interviewed experts to get the most accurate picture of the costs of homeownership on Earth’s natural satellite.
So, what’s the bottom line? You’re not going to like it. Are you sitting down? No, I’m serious. Sit down. Okay, take a deep breath…
After offering a hefty 10% down payment, a lunar mortgage is going to cost you around $326,000… per month, for 25 years. If you were to extend it to 30 months it would be slightly less, but still an astronomical amount.
The price was calculated as the first-ever lunar mortgage, and the total cost of the loan would be over $62 million. After the first lunar home is built and bought, subsequent homes would be cheaper, the article states. Homes after the first would cost a measly $52 million thanks to the knowledge gained and the systems put in place to make the first Moon home happen. What a steal!
The one small bit of uplifting news here is that as far as land costs go, the Moon is a gold mine. There’s nothing there, after all, and that means land is dirt cheap. You can pick up an acre of land on the Moon for less than $20, based on the most recent price estimates. Of course, making any improvements to that land will cost you dearly, but at least the land itself is cheap, right?
Obviously, we’re still a long way from anyone calling the Moon their home. The first new crewed missions to the Moon could begin in around four years, but even if China succeeds in building the first Moon base, it wouldn’t happen for another decade. From there, we’ll have to see how things go before anyone decides if they want to live there or not.
