The world’s richest man and the chief of the e-commerce behemoth Amazon, Jeff Bezos recently unveiled a new moon lander called Blue Moon, entering the space colonization race. This was through his company, Blue Origin, which he started off two decades ago and in which he invests more than $1 billion through sales of Amazon shares.
At a press conference held in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C that included NASA executives and invite-only journalists, Bezos said, “It’s time to go back to the moon, this time to stay.”
This also resonates with the Trump administration’s aim to return astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2024.
Features of Blue Moon
Blue Moon will weigh around 33, 000 lbs when it lifts off from the Earth but will reduce to 7,000 lbs when it will reach the surface of the moon. This unmanned vehicle will have a new rocket engine called BE-7, which is capable of blasting 10, 000 lbs of thrust.
It is capable of bringing 3.6 metric tons to the surface of the moon and can carry satellites, rovers, and scientific instruments. Further, it can launch satellites to orbit the moon, along with delivering payloads to the lunar surface.
According to Bezos, Blue Moon has been in development for three years now and will be able to take astronauts to the moon by 2024.
With this, Bezos joins a host of other billionaires pursuing lofty goals to colonize space, which include Tesla’s Elon Musk and Virgin Group’s Richard Branson.
Is the moon going to be the next Earth? Do let us know what you think about this.
