{"id":18499,"date":"2018-05-26T18:38:36","date_gmt":"2018-05-26T10:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/jeff-bezos-and-his-blue-origin-space-venture-go-all-in-on-moon-settlements\/"},"modified":"2018-05-26T18:38:36","modified_gmt":"2018-05-26T10:38:36","slug":"jeff-bezos-and-his-blue-origin-space-venture-go-all-in-on-moon-settlements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/jeff-bezos-and-his-blue-origin-space-venture-go-all-in-on-moon-settlements\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Bezos and his Blue Origin space venture go all in on moon settlements"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_391822\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-391822\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-391822\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180122-bluemoon-630x420.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Moon lander\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180122-bluemoon-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180122-bluemoon-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180122-bluemoon.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-391822\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Moon lander on the lunar surface. (Blue Origin Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>LOS ANGELES&nbsp;\u2014 Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos says his Blue Origin space venture will work with NASA as well as the European Space Agency to create a settlement on the moon.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"callout clearfix\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong>&nbsp;Full text and&nbsp; podcast of Jeff Bezos\u2019 remarks this weekend<\/h4>\n<p>And even if Blue Origin can\u2019t strike public-private partnerships, Bezos will do what needs to be done to make it so, he said here at the International Space Development Conference on Friday night.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos laid out his vision for lunar settlement during a fireside chat with yours truly, which took place just after he received the National Space Society\u2019s Gerard K. O\u2019Neill Memorial Award.<\/p>\n<p>In the short run, Blue Origin\u2019s objective is to reduce the cost of access to space&nbsp;\u2014 initially with its New Shepard suborbital spaceship, and then with its orbital-class New Glenn rocket in the 2020s.<\/p>\n<p>In the long run, Bezos\u2019 vision is to smooth the way for millions of people working in space. Those people just might live and work inside huge spinning habitats \u2014 a concept that was proposed decades ago by O\u2019Neill, a Princeton physicist whose ideas on space settlement fueled Bezos\u2019 passion for the final frontier..<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_422638\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-422638\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-422638\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-bezos-boyle2-630x416.png\" alt=\"Jeff Bezos and Alan Boyle\" width=\"630\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-bezos-boyle2-630x416.png 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-bezos-boyle2-768x508.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-bezos-boyle2.png 1192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-422638\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos tells a take at the International Space Development Conference that draws a laugh from GeekWire\u2019s Alan Boyle. (Keith Zacharski \/ In the Barrel Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The way Bezos sees it, moving heavy industry into solar-powered space outposts is the only way to ensure that our planet can cope with the rising demand for energy, and the stress that growing populations will put on Earth\u2019s environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will have to leave this planet,\u201d Bezos told me. \u201cWe\u2019re going to leave it, and it\u2019s going to make this planet better. We\u2019ll come and go, and the people who want to stay will stay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/geekwire-podcast\/jeff-bezos-we-will-have-to-leave-this-planet\/embed?style=cover\" width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Earth will be zoned for residential and light industrial use, while heavy industry will be moved off the planet and powered by 24\/7 solar power, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Earth is not a very good place to do heavy industry. It\u2019s convenient for us right now,\u201d Bezos said. \u201cBut in the not-too-distant future \u2014 I\u2019m talking decades, maybe 100 years \u2014 it\u2019ll start to be easier to do a lot of the things that we currently do on Earth in space, because we\u2019ll have so much energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So what comes between the short run and the long run? That\u2019s where the moon plays a part.<\/p>\n<p>Just as Mars is always at center stage for&nbsp;SpaceX\u2019s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, the moon looms as a focus for Bezos. Even before the Trump administration officially pivoted to targeting the moon and its environs, Bezos was talking about using robots to build a lunar city for eventual human occupants.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jeff Bezos lays out a plan for settling the moon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YDcYdR0Sav8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>During Friday\u2019s chat, Bezos pointed out that the moon is conveniently located, reachable in just a couple of days with the right rocket. Scientists have determined that it has deposits of water ice near the poles that could be converted into drinkable water, breathable air and propellants for refuelable rockets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s almost like somebody set this up for us,\u201d Bezos said.<\/p>\n<p>To facilitate a return to the moon, Blue Origin has a lunar lander on the drawing boards that\u2019s designed to be capable of delivery 5 tons of payload to the lunar surface. That\u2019s hefty enough to be used for transporting people \u2014 and with enough support, it could start flying by the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin has proposed building its Blue Moon lander under the terms of a public-private partnership with NASA. \u201cBy the way, we will do that, even if NASA doesn\u2019t do it,\u201d Bezos said. \u201cWe\u2019ll do it eventually. We could do it a lot faster through a partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The space agency is just starting to consider its options for a heavy-duty lunar lander&nbsp;\u2014 and Blue Origin is sure to face competition from other companies, including SpaceX as well as United Launch Alliance and Masten Space Systems.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"'We Are Going to the Moon\u2019 - New NASA Administrator Says\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CQ8-bikrt5c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to point out that moon settlement isn\u2019t just a NASA thing. Bezos told me he loves the European Space Agency\u2019s approach, known as the Moon Village.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Moon Village concept has a nice property in that it basically just says, look, everybody builds their own lunar outpost, but let\u2019s do it close to each other. That way \u2026 you can go over to the European Union lunar outpost and say, \u2018I\u2019m out of eggs, what have you got?\u2019 \u2026 Obviously I\u2019m being silly with the eggs, but there would be real things, like, \u2018Could I have some oxygen?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"callout clearfix\"><strong>Read more:<\/strong> Jeff Bezos and Amazon save \u2018The Expanse\u2019<\/h4>\n<p>So how far is Blue Origin willing to go? Bezos has already committed the company to build rockets and landers. How about rovers, habitats and all the other hardware that a moon base will need?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll do anything we need to do,\u201d Bezos said. \u201cI hope we don\u2019t need to do any of it. I want other people to do it. But if need be, we\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bezos is in this for the long haul. He\u2019s the world\u2019s richest person, with a net worth of more than $130 billion, and he\u2019s cashing in a billion dollars\u2019 worth of Amazon stock annually to fund Blue Origin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of two things will happen,\u201d he said. \u201cEither other people will take over the vision, or I\u2019ll run out of money. Those are the two possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019ll be a while before you run out of money,\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s hope so,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n<p><em>Update for 11:39 p.m. PT May 28: I\u2019ve revised the description of O\u2019Neill habitats to make it more general.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Moon lander on the lunar surface. (Blue Origin Illustration) LOS ANGELES&nbsp;\u2014 Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos says his Blue Origin space venture will work with NASA as well as the European Space Agency to create a settlement on the moon. RELATED:&nbsp;Full text and&nbsp; podcast of Jeff Bezos\u2019 remarks this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1508,509,5220,1046,625],"class_list":["post-18499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blue-moon","tag-blue-origin","tag-isdc","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-moon"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18499\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}