Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos announced the company’s new lunar lander, “Blue Moon,” in a dramatic end to SATELLITE week in Washington, D.C. Blue Origin’s Blue Moon vehicle will land on the Moon in 2024.
“This is an incredible vehicle that is going to the Moon,” said Bezos. The first customers were revealed to be Surrey Satellite Technology, Airbus, MIT, Parc, John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Arizona State University, OHB, and Southwest Research Institute.
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“It is time to go back to the Moon, but this time to stay,” Bezos added. “This is a multi-generational vision. We need to inspire future generations.”
Bezos painted a vision of “O’Neill Colonies” — humans living away from Earth for the first time. “Earth is the best planet. We need to protect it. We have to use the resources of space. We must have a future for our grandchildren and their grandchildren. It is this generation’s job to build the road to space, so we can unleash creativity in the future for future space entrepreneurs.”
Bezos also revealed the new BE-7 engine, powered by liquid hydrogen, which will power Blue Moon’s descent and fuel cells. The lander can land within 75 feet of its target and can be refueled on the Moon. A future version of Blue Moon will be able to support manned missions. VS
