By: GTIF Capital
Partnership pairs planned humanoid robots on the Moon with human operators in full-body tracked VR to enable safe, scalable lunar construction
EL PASO, Texas, August 2026. Astroport Space Technologies and XelerateVR today announced a strategic partnership to make lunar construction safe and scalable. The companies plan to pair humanoid robots on the Moon with human operators who control them via full-body-tracked, 360-degree VR treadmills.
The partnership brings together Astroport’s lunar construction technology and XelerateVR’s full-body motion platform to advance lunar operations. Together, the companies aim to enable teleoperated construction robots on the Moon, deliver immersive astronaut training, and develop new approaches to crew health and performance on long-duration missions.
Construction on the Moon cannot yet be fully automated. Tasks that demand judgment, dexterity, and improvisation still require a human mind at the controls. Even highly autonomous construction processes will need astronauts for oversight, inspection, and intervention when required. Putting a human body on site is another matter. Every spacewalk carries a real cost. Consumables and life support are finite, suit-up and prep time are expensive, and time on the surface is limited. The physical danger adds to that cost. A lunar construction site exposes workers to abrasive regolith dust, extreme temperature swings, and jagged surfaces on structures and tools. A single snag or misstep can puncture a spacesuit and turn a routine task into a life-or-death emergency within seconds.
The partnership’s answer is to keep the human in control while taking the human out of harm’s way. XelerateVR’s omnidirectional treadmill tracks the operator’s entire body. In the system the companies plan to develop, the operator would see what the robot sees through the headset. When the operator walks, the robot walks. When the operator reaches, grips, or kneels, the robot mirrors those movements. The companies intend the experience to feel less like steering a machine and more like stepping into a second body. Paired with Astroport’s lunar construction systems, this approach is designed to let skilled workers perform hands-on work on the lunar surface from the safety of a pressurized habitat or the cabin of a crewed lander.
Teleoperation is the first of several space applications the companies plan to pursue together. The same platform can also serve as a training system. Astronauts could rehearse surface operations long before launch, walking through virtual reconstructions of landing sites, construction zones, and emergency scenarios, while mission teams use the same environments for planning and simulation.
On long-duration missions, the technology could also give crews an escape from the confinement of their spacecraft. A crew member could step onto the treadmill and walk through a forest, a home city, or a future settlement without ever leaving the spacecraft. Natural walking and running deliver physical exercise in a compact footprint, while the change of scenery supports mental health through months of isolation.
Beyond these initial programs, Astroport and XelerateVR will explore opportunities to combine their technologies, capabilities, and industry relationships across commercial aerospace, defense, industrial training and teleoperation, digital engineering, enterprise simulation, healthcare and rehabilitation, and workforce development. The companies believe the convergence of extended reality, robotics, artificial intelligence, digital twins, advanced manufacturing, and commercial space infrastructure represents a major technology opportunity for the coming decade.
GTIF Capital initiated the relationship between Astroport and XelerateVR and helped facilitate the development of the strategic partnership. David Chen, Managing Partner of GTIF Capital, has joined the Boards of Advisors of both companies as a shareholder in each. The firm will continue to support both companies with strategic advisory services spanning corporate development, capital formation, strategic partnerships, government engagement, and international commercialization.
David Chen, Partner, GTIF Capital
“The next generation of global innovation will not be defined by individual technologies, but by ecosystems that bring together infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, immersive computing, and strategic partnerships. Astroport and XelerateVR represent two visionary companies building technologies with the potential to influence how future industries train, manufacture, collaborate, and operate. GTIF Capital is proud to have brought these organizations together and looks forward to supporting their growth through strategic partnerships, institutional relationships, and global commercialization.”
Sam Ximenes, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Astroport Space Technologies
“Building on the Moon means answering a question every hazardous job site eventually asks. How do you get skilled human judgment onto the site without putting a human body in danger? On the Moon, that question becomes a matter of survival. XelerateVR’s platform gives us an answer. Our teams can do the hands-on work lunar construction demands without ever putting a human body in the line of fire. This partnership is how we make lunar infrastructure both safe and buildable at scale.”
Marvin Fachtner, Chief Executive Officer, XelerateVR
“People imagine lunar construction as astronauts with power tools. We imagine the same worker in a safe habitat, wearing a headset and walking on our treadmill, while a robot on the surface mirrors every movement. It doesn’t feel like piloting a drone. It feels like being there. That is how you bring human skill to the Moon without risking human lives.”
Astroport and XelerateVR expect to announce additional technology initiatives, commercial partnerships, and international programs as the strategic partnership continues to develop.
About Astroport
Astroport Space Technologies develops the civil engineering and materials technologies needed to build infrastructure on the Moon, including landing pads, roads, berms, and protective structures made from native lunar regolith. Founded in 2020, the company works with government and commercial partners to enable safe, reliable, and efficient operations on the lunar surface.
About XelerateVR
XelerateVR builds the ODT 1, an omnidirectional treadmill that lets users walk, run, and turn naturally in any direction while their full body is tracked. The platform serves as an immersive training and simulation system and as a natural control interface for humanoid robots, with applications across enterprise, defense, healthcare, education, sports performance, and spatial computing.
About GTIF Capital
GTIF Capital is an international strategic advisory and investment firm specializing in corporate development, capital formation, economic development, strategic partnerships, and global commercialization. The firm works alongside founders, institutional investors, governments, and enterprise partners to accelerate the growth of transformational companies worldwide.
Media Contact
Jonathan Brierre
GTIF Capital
