08. 05. 2025

Data centres on the moon. The beginning of the space age for IT

What do artificial intelligence, ecology and space colonisation have in common? We have a very simple answer - it's the new era of digital infrastructure. While the demand for computing power is growing on Earth, world-class companies are starting to look up - all the way to the Moon.

In a recent article, InformationWeek outlines what the first generation of lunar data centres will look like. The idea sounds ambitious, but the logic is ironclad: The moon offers low temperatures for cooling, an endless source of solar energy, and natural insulation from Earth's risks, from climate to cyber threats.
One of the key people in this discussion is Gregory Ratcliffe, Chief Technology Officer at Vertiv, who believes that space is not a fantasy, but a necessary infrastructure response to the challenges of the new digital age.

‘The Moon is not only the next frontier of space exploration, it's a new horizon for IT infrastructure,’ - says Ratcliffe. ‘We're already working to ensure that critical systems can operate in a vacuum, in low gravity and under the influence of cosmic radiation.’

Gregory Ratcliffe

Chief Technology Officer at Vertiv

Why should you pay attention to this today?

It's very simple, to wit:
- Artificial intelligence and cloud services require computing on a scale that already exceeds the capacity of traditional data centres.
- Server cooling consumes up to 40% of the data centre's energy. On the Moon - in a vacuum and with stable access to solar energy - this issue is solved naturally.
- Backup storage of critical data outside the planet opens up a new level of protection against wars, disasters and even cyberattacks.
- As the missions of NASA, SpaceX, ESA and others are deployed, the need to process data in real time without delays will become critical.

Ratcliffe predicts that the progress made in lunar data centres will be useful here on Earth. ‘It will come back ... Power routing, sensor optimisation, digital twins,’ he says. ‘So, it will push us to be better both on Earth and on the Moon.’

Gregory Ratcliffe

Chief Technology Officer at Vertiv

Moon data centres are no longer a fantasy concept, but a real strategic direction for the development of information technology. They offer solutions to global challenges such as energy shortages, computing overload, cyber risks and environmental instability.

For us, this is something new and the Moon remains an almost untouched environment, but with the growing number of missions - both public and private - that put satellites into lunar orbit and place equipment on its surface, the struggle for favourable locations, in particular for data centres, will only intensify.

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