Amazon boss wants to start delivery service to the Moon
The founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos has proposed to set up shipments for "future human settlement" of the Moon, reports The Washington Post, which is owned by the billionaire.
In an internal report, Bezos, who owns a private space travel company Blue Origin, wrote that a reliable delivery service will be critical to establishing a functioning lunar settlement.
“It is time for America to return to the Moon — this time to stay. A permanently inhabited lunar settlement is a difficult and worthy objective. I sense a lot of people are excited about this,” Bezos said in response to emailed questions from the daily.
The billionaire’s proposal reportedly seeks NASA support to send a “Blue Moon” spacecraft to Shackleton Crater near the Moon’s south pole. The lander would be able to carry a payload of up to 10,000 pounds and be launched by Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket or by other vehicles such as NASA’s Space Launch System or United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5.
Blue Origin's proposal is focused on a series of cargo missions which would be able to carry the equipment necessary to help establish a human colony on the Moon.
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“Once on the surface, the lander’s useful payload can be used to conduct science or deploy rovers. A robotic arm attached to the lander will deploy to examine the lunar surface with an array of instruments,” the proposal said.
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The first lunar mission could be underway July 2020, but is possible only in partnership with NASA, according to Bezos.
“Our liquid hydrogen expertise and experience with precision vertical landing offer the fastest path to a lunar lander mission. I'm excited about this and am ready to invest my own money alongside NASA to make it happen,” said Bezos.
