Imagine a carbon -free environment, where solar energy is abundant and air conditioning solutions are almost endless. It exists. This is what companies look at the moon and space to erect state-of-the-art data.
It has been years that terrestrial orbit is considered a potential market to be cleared. There have been somewhat eccentric projects, such as more or less geostationary flying hotels. Others are more serious and always have lessons, such as this granting by NASA of a contract to the Texan expert from the Additive Manufacturing Icon, who should lead by 2028 to the construction of a lunar infrastructure ready to accommodate its first occupants.
Already, technologies are developed to transform into cement and other building materials the resources that are naturally found on the moon. The real estate sector saliva to transform the surface of the moon into a huge industrial park filled with warehouses, factories and data centers which will be used to propel man elsewhere in space, or which may simply relocate costly and polluting land infrastructure to a place where these factors are not applicable.
Already, a small industry orbit around space and lunar real estate construction. Companies established in the South of the United States, near takeoff sites launched by SpaceX, Blue Origin or others, see their next phase of very high expansion in the sky.
“As this sector is unlocked, there are companies that will try to develop and take advantage of space in all ways,” CNBC’s American media recently told the Hines real estate investment firm, David Steinbach.
Hines compares the current space exploration at the beginning of the railways in North America, and how it led to the creation of many small urban centers throughout their layout.
Hines is not a stranger. Global real estate investment manager, it operates an asset of 93 billion in 31 countries. He is a partner of the Caisse (CDPQ) in the construction of the CIBC Square complex in downtown Toronto.
The Trump administration is not interested in the entire scientific component of lunar exploration, but is not insensitive to its commercial or industrial exploitation. NASA has seen its budget reduced, but has received an envelope of 10 billion US from another hand to accelerate the sending of inhabited missions to the Moon.
Orbit data
No doubt this privatization of space exploration will appeal to the American president. It will also relieve NASA from an expense that it can no longer assume. And already, the idea of setting up orbit data centers is making its way.
In addition to the American aerospace industry, European industrial giants also have an eye turned towards terrestrial orbit to set up computer infrastructure.
In space, without atmosphere, these data centers no longer need to be cooled. The sun’s rays can be quickly converted into carbon -free energy to power the servers. The millions of square meters normally occupied on earth by these enormous buildings can be used at better escient.
The European Commission began a report on the possible orbit of its data centers. A pilot project made up of a small constellation of satellites representing the equivalent of a data center made up of 5,000 servers has been set up.
The results were published last summer. “The study confirms that the deployment of data centers in space could transform the European digital landscape and offer a more ecological and sovereign solution for accommodation and processing of data,” concludes the report.
The only downside: for it to be achievable, in a context of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, launchers should be used to send computers in orbit is 10 times less polluting than they are currently.
Private limits
Recently, the industry estimated the commercial exploration potential for the next decade at 1,000 billion dollars. Companies like SpaceX are already taking advantage of it. Others look forward to doing all kinds of activities, ranging from the manufacture of drugs to the recovery of mining products from asteroids.
But everything is not always so simple. The very earth-to-terre proof is on the side of Amazon, which was to compete these days with the Starlink network of SpaceX thanks to its own network of satellites in low orbit, called Kuiper project.
However, Amazon is struggling to deploy his satellites. Its license granted by the American government expires in July 2026, and to the rhythm that things go, the Kuiper project could never see the light of day. Amazon even had to entrust its rival Spacex with the launch of satellites to accelerate the pace.
Obviously, space is the next border, but profitability remains an insurmountable condition to make all this success.
