Jeremy Hansen Joins Moon World Resorts as Consultant for Lunar Simulation Project Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is advising a Toronto company planning moon-themed smart cities featuring a giant lunar surface simulation, with a Madrid showcase planned for next spring. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen has been named a consultant for a Toronto company planning a series of moon-themed smart cities that would include a luxury resort and a 13-acre lunar surface simulation. The project is led by Moon World Resorts Inc. The company describes the venture as being in a category of one. A pre-development program is underway to determine costing and other factors. The concept covers a master-planned city of 500 square acres. It includes a lagoon, monorail, park space, residences, corporate real estate for space-related businesses, wellness facilities, and a Sky Walk elevated pedestrian track.Moon World Resorts Project Details The centrepiece would be a giant replica of the moon hosting an authentic lunar surface experience. Co-founder Sandra Matthews said you cannot do the moon small because that would not do it justice. A 90-minute walk in a spacesuit on the simulated lunar surface would cost around US$500. Matthews said resort stays would be on par cost-wise with other five-star facilities.Matthews said the aim is to create a bridge that makes a taste of space more accessible. She noted that flying with companies like Virgin to experience a few minutes of weightlessness costs about $750,000, which most people cannot afford. She said MOON is meant to create something unique and special where visitors get a feeling of awe, and it must be built large. That is why the moon sphere is so large, she said.Potential locations are still being sorted out. Matthews said they would need to be within proximity of existing major airports. The facilities could be used for conventions, entertainment, wellness retreats, and more. The company has created the concept and hopes to license it to developers who will build locations on every continent.Hansen Joins Lunar Simulation EffortHansen Joins Lunar Simulation Effort It hopes to run a showcase in Madrid next spring for prospective licensees. Hansen told CP24.com that when he was flying around the moon, he really wanted to go down to the surface. He is not sure that will ever happen, but a simulated lunar surface could be the next best thing. He said sharing that with other people would be really powerful and good for humanity.Part of the reason he is coming aboard now is to help develop the lunar simulation. Hansen acknowledged he is not yet sure how it will work, but he likes how the challenge echoes problem-solving for actual space problems. He said solutions start to present themselves when you bring the genius of people together. He hopes the experience will give ordinary people the sense of awe associated with peering back at Earth from space.He said standing on a simulated lunar surface and looking back at tiny Earth would be profound for people. Hansen also said visitors would be able to explore a moon base. Ideally, what people see is what companies are actually using to build the real moon base, giving them a real sense of what it is like on the moon. Having recently returned from the Artemis II mission, Hansen did a slingshot around the moon with three other astronauts.He said he came away with a new appreciation of the cosmos. He described a surprising sense of three dimensionality to the galaxy that he could perceive, which left him with a sense of awe. He said figuring out your place is something he still wrestles with. Hansen said awe means feeling infinitesimally small and insignificant, but also, as a collective, very powerful enough to bear witness to space.Canadian Space Investment GoalsHe called that a very profound feeling. Canadian Space Investment Goals In addition to consulting on MOON, Hansen is continuing to advise the federal government on the Canadian space program. He said his advice has been to go for a hat trick on space investment.That means boosting GDP through innovation and technology export, investing in space in a way that helps Canada meet its NATO spending targets, and investing in projects that secure Canada a place in international ventures such as the lunar economy. Hansen said Canada also needs nuclear on the moon, noting the country is an energy leader.He said the moon presents a challenge of roughly 14 days of darkness and 14 days of light, depending on location, so solar batteries do not really work. He said surviving the lunar night is an obvious case for nuclear power. Small micro reactors could be used in the Canadian Arctic and also on the moon, he said.On the recent trade war with the United States, Hansen said he thinks cooperation will continue to prevail on balance when it comes to progress on space exploration. He said everybody knows the end game is continued collaboration, and even among all the stress there is still a lot of collaboration going on.