The initiative plans to build new homes, resorts and a lunar colony on the island.

Is it a palm? Is it the moon? Well, it may be both of those things at the megaproject formerly known as Palm Jebel Ali. It was recently announced that the site will be renamed as well as relaunched. Plus, it is part of plans to create more than 500 new homes on the island. 

Moon Dubai is one developer keen to land on Palm Jebel Ali. The out-of-this-world tourism project was proposed for the city, and has yet to find a permanent home. The Canadian architectural company, Moon World Resorts Inc, is behind the $5 billion moon-shaped destination. 

The architectural firm shared a post of Moon Dubai reimagined on the crescent tip of Palm Jebel Ali. The structure would be 1,000 feet high and 750 feet wide. The site includes 500 luxury residential units, a five-star hotel, and a private members club.

For those of us who can’t afford a ticket on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic – it’s $450,000 for a seat – Moon Dubai may well be the next best thing. The project aims to put Dubai on the space tourism map.

In the original plans, Moon Dubai’s spherical structure includes a lunar surface, which lights up at night like the moon. The site would include training services for space agencies and astronauts around the world. A moon shuttle would mimic taking off to the moon, as it headed to the 10-acre lunar surface. 

Palm Jebel Ali is an artificial archipelago. The island first began construction in 2002 and stopped in 2008. Plus, the island is more than 50 per cent larger than its sister project, Palm Jumeirah.

Are you over the moon or over Moon Dubai?

GO: Visit www.moonworldresorts.com for more information.