Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has revealed the ambitious next steps for his aerospace company Blue Origin at a highly-secretive media event in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
During the event, which kicked off at 4 p.m., the billionaire and Blue Origin founder started off by sharing elaborate concept images of self-sustaining habitats reminiscent of the film Interstellar, with lush greenery and futuristic homes within its walls.
But, the real star of the talk turned out to be something much closer to home – the moon.
On stage, Bezos took the wraps off a massive model of what will be the firm’s first lunar lander, dubbed Blue Moon.
‘This is an incredible vehicle, and it’s going to the moon,’ Bezos said, according to CNN.
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On stage, Bezos took the wraps off a massive model of what will be the firm’s first lunar lander, dubbed Blue Moon
The event was first teased last month in a cryptic tweet from the Blue Origin Twitter account, where it shared an image of explorer Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, a polar exploration ship lost to the ice in in 1915.
Additionally, in a notice sent to the reporters, the company said it 'will give an update on [Blue Origin's] progress and share our vision of going to space to benefit Earth.'
Blue Origin shared a copy of the 'Earthrise' photo taken by NASA astronauts during the Apollo 8 mission, in addition to the image of Endurance it tweeted out.
Several Blue Origin fans were quick to point out that the image of Endurance may be an obscure reference to a future lunar mission.
A crater located on the south pole of the moon, called Shackleton, was named after the famed explorer, suggesting that Bezos may have some lunar-related announcements up his sleeve.
The event was teased in a cryptic tweet from Blue Origin's Twitter account, where it shared an image of explorer Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, an exploration ship lost to the ice in in 1915
The Shackleton crater is located in the expansive South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, that spans 1,600 miles and is approximately eight miles deep.
Scientists have long had their eye on the Aitken Basin, as they believe it could hold a bounty of life-sustaining resources.
Tech mogul and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will make a rare public announcement about his secretive spaceflight company Blue Origin at an event in Washington, DC this afternoon
Blue Origin has previously mentioned its ambitions to land on the moon. The firm discussed its plans to build a lunar lander (pictured), revealing concept images of the spacecraft in 2018
NASA hopes to conduct a mission to the moon's south pole as soon as 2024, while China's Chang'e 6 lander aims to explore the lunar south pole.
Many scientists are eyeing this area of the moon as they believe it could be host to huge sheets of ice that could be mined for drinking water or converted into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel or oxygen to breathe.
In turn, it could help sustain future human colonies on the moon.
NASA could have humans back on the moon within the next five years under the latest orders from the Trump administration.
Vice President Mike Pence revealed the new deadline during a speech at the fifth meeting of the National Space Council in Huntsville, Alabama today, where he told an audience that the president wants astronauts to touch down on the lunar south pole by 2024.
The VP called on NASA to ‘reignite the spark of urgency’ for space exploration and make it a priority to set ‘bold goals’ and stay on schedule.
This accelerated timeline, however will undoubtedly be met with many challenges; just weeks ago NASA said it was on schedule to have humans on the moon by 2028 – a full four years later than the new target.
Blue Origin has also discussed its plans to build and launch a lunar lander, revealing concept images of the spacecraft in 2018.
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