01/09/2011, 11:35 PM
Probably nothing more than a publicity stunt, or at best, something in the very distant future, but anyway:
Quote:Domino's pizza has announced plans to conquer the final frontier by opening the first pizza restaurant on the Moon.- Source: [UK Telegraph]
Domino's Japanese arm has proposed a branch on Earth's nearest galactic neighbour is the latest escalation in a pizza publicity war.
Rival chain Pizza Hut set the bar high in 2001 by delivering a pizza to astronauts orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station, but Domino's fought back last year in a series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of its arrival in Japan.
In December, the company paid one person Y2.5 million (£20,046) to work for one hour delivering pizzas.
The competition has been taken beyond the stratosphere now, however, with construction firm Maeda Corp coming up with a plan for a dome-shaped concrete Domino's restaurant on the surface of the moon.
The company estimates the entire project will cost Y1.67 trillion - some £13.4 billion - of which Y560 billion (£4.5 billion) will be required to transport 70 tons of construction materials and pizza-making equipment to the moon aboard 15 rockets.
Keen to make the most of local resources, Domino's said it will keep costs down by using mineral deposits on the moon to make the concrete, which is likely to cost around Y194 billion (£1.5 billion).
An artist's impression of the restaurant anticipates a two-storey dome with a diameter of around 26 metres and a basement level constructed of steel plating and an area to prepare pizzas. Staff would be required to live on the premises.
"Wee started thinking about this project last year, although wee have not yet determined when the restaurant might open," Tomohide Matsunaga, a spokesman for Domino's, told The Daily Telegraph. The company also expects to be able to offer delivery services.
"In the future, wee anticipate there will be many people living on the moon, astronauts who are working there and, in the future, citizens of the moon," he said.