Big Tech’s New Frontier: Racing to Build Data Centres on the Moon

Silicon Valley’s ambitions are leaping beyond Earth as the world’s biggest tech leaders explore a future where AI data centres operate in orbit — and eventually on the Moon. Sundar Pichai, Jensen Huang, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are reportedly at the forefront of this cosmic race, driven by the skyrocketing power demands of artificial intelligence and the growing constraints on Earth.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that companies like Google, Amazon, Nvidia, SpaceX and emerging space-tech startups are rapidly developing off-planet data infrastructure. The motivation is clear: in 2024, data centres powering AI consumed an estimated 1.5 per cent of global electricity — a number set to climb sharply. With global computing needs expanding faster than energy grids and land capacity can support, the industry is asking a provocative question: Why must data centres stay on Earth at all?

Google has made one of the most ambitious early moves with Project Suncatcher, a plan to run AI workloads using solar-powered data centres stationed in orbit. The concept solves two critical issues: unlimited access to solar energy in space and cooling that requires no water. Google aims to test two prototype satellites by 2027, marking one of the first real steps toward extraterrestrial cloud computing.

They aren’t alone. Smaller innovators like Starcloud, Lonestar Data Holdings, and Axiom Space are all working on orbital and lunar storage systems. China has also entered the race, announcing a network of 12 AI-driven satellites designed to become the world’s first orbital supercomputing constellation, known as the Three-Body Computing Constellation.

The logic of space-based computing is gaining traction. As Jeff Bezos observed earlier this year, “There is no Plan B. We have to save Earth.” He has long championed shifting heavy industry and digital infrastructure off the planet. Bezos also called the Moon “a gift from the universe,” highlighting its solar potential and low gravity as advantages for building large-scale tech systems. His aerospace company, Blue Origin, is already crafting vehicles capable of helping assemble such facilities in orbit and on the lunar surface.

Some of these concepts are moving from theory to reality. Lonestar Data Holdings confirmed that it recently tested a miniature data centre on the Moon. The device survived the landing, transmitted data successfully, and powered down earlier than expected — yet proved that computing on lunar soil is possible. Meanwhile, Starcloud, working with Nvidia, plans to launch a satellite boasting a high-performance GPU, expected to become the most powerful compute system ever placed in orbit.

Elon Musk remains central to the push. SpaceX has supported many early missions with its reusable rockets and is also collaborating with Google on Project Suncatcher. Musk’s broader goal of enabling life on multiple planets aligns closely with establishing strong digital infrastructure beyond Earth.

Still, the path is riddled with challenges. Managing heat in a vacuum and shielding hardware from space radiation remain major engineering obstacles, as noted by Starcloud CEO Philip Johnston. Legal complexities also loom large. Lonestar CEO Chris Stott points out that under international space law; any lunar module or satellite falls under the jurisdiction of its launching country — “literally an embassy in space.” This raises thorny questions around data sovereignty, cybersecurity and regulation.

For now, space-based data centres remain experimental, small-scale prototypes. But the momentum is unmistakable: as demand for AI intensifies, humanity’s next generation of computing power may soon rise far above the Earth — and perhaps even settle on the Moon.