Dear Commons Community,

On Thursday, Jeff Bezos  unveiled a brand new rocket engine and a mockup of a lunar lander he wants to use to shuttle people and cargo to the moon. He also spoke about one day creating giant orbital structures that could host self-sustaining colonies, and his dream of people living and working among the stars.

But he did offer insight into Blue Origin’s lunar lander plans, which could carry supplies to the moon in a few years and eventually put people back on its surface for the first time in nearly half a century. Its first mission is slated for 2024.

“Big things start small,” Bezos told a crowd of reporters and space industry folks at an event in Washington D.C. on Thursday. “It’s time to go back to the moon, this time to stay.”

In his mind, developing a new lunar lander — or Blue Moon, as the spacecraft is called — is the next piece of infrastructure needed to expand human presence in the cosmos. It could help open the door for “thousands of entrepreneurs” to create new space businesses.

Bezos’ Blue Moon project is already years in the making. Thursday’s event was a sign that he and his rocket company, Blue Origin, are dead serious about the moon. And they intend to get there soon.

The event also gave people a glimpse of a to-scale model of Blue Moon, and it was the first public hurrah in years for a space company that typically avoids the spotlight.

This seems optimistic to me but good luck anyhow, Mr. Bezos!

Tony

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