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The CEO of Amazon unveiled the ambitious next steps of his aerospace company at a highly secretive media event held in Washington, DC on Thursday. On stage, Bezos unveiled a massive model of what will be the company's first lunar lander, dubbed Blue Moon. Blue Moon is designed to land and bounce on the surface of the moon
Mr. Bezos said, "This is an amazing vehicle, going to the moon."
He added, "It's time to go back to the moon, this time to stay."
To begin the event, Mr. Bezos viewed conceptual images of stand-alone space habitats reminiscent of Christopher Neol's Neill cylinders of the Interstellar film.
The physicist Gerard K. O'Neill, in his 1976 book The High Frontier: Human Settlements in Space, proposed the colonization of space using materials extracted from the moon and then asteroids to create giant cylinders containing greenery and futuristic homes.
READ MORE: Internet space: the rivalry between Musk and Bezos intensifies
In the early stages, Blue Moon is expected to land on the south pole of the Moon, where ice deposits have been found in craters.
The water from this ice can be broken down to produce hydrogen, which could then power the spacecraft for other missions through the solar system.
In March, the Trump administration announced that it had ordered NASA to send American astronauts back to the moon by the end of 2024.
NASA's director, Jim Bridenstine, tweeted his support and hinted that NASA was backing the plan of the Amazon's founders, saying, "Congratulations to Blue Origin for the successful launch of NewShepard!
"NASA is thrilled to partner with Blue Origin to help researchers and classrooms reach the space."
Blue horizons say that their lunar lander will "allow a sustained human presence on the moon".
Jeff Bezos said he could lead the first test fire this summer.
Blue Origin has developed its rockets at a slower pace than its rival SpaceX.
But Mr Bezos cited the old military maxim that said "slow is smooth and smooth is fast", and every time one of its reusable rockets has a successful launch and landing, a turtle is painted on his side, a wink at Asope's morale "slowly but surely, one succeeds."
Messrs. Bezos and Musk have become turtles and hares respectively, Elon Musk's faster and less cautious approach taking the lead so far.
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