Jeff Bezos Plans To Use Ice Water As Rocket Fuel For Space Missions

Jeff Bezos - the world's richest man and space company Blue Origin's owner envisions fuelling spacecraft with lunar ice water and using the Moon as the base for deep space exploration.

Bezos opened up about his vision during the JFK Space Summit that was held in Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday. Bezos said he learned this since Apollo program that there are deposits of water ice in the craters on the moon, Business Times reported.

"We can harvest that ice and use it to make hydrogen and oxygen, which are rocket propellants," Bezos said. "The reason we chose those propellants is that we know one day we'll be refueling that vehicle on the surface of the Moon from propellants made on the surface of the Moon from that water ice," Bezos added.

Back in August 2018, NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument confirmed the presence of water ice on the Moon. The instrument was placed aboard India's Chandrayaan--1 spacecraft which currently orbiting the Moon.

Last month, Jeff Bezos showcased a new Moon-lander dubbed 'Blue Moon' alongside a smaller rover. During the unveiling, he also shared his views on getting to the Earth's natural satellite. "We must return to the Moon - this time to stay," Bezos said.

Recently, Jeff Bezos also took a jibe at SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. During a recent talk, Bezos expanded his vision on settling in space. While speaking on the topic, he also critiqued Musk's most ambitious project of colonizing Mars.

"We have sent robotic probes now to every planet in this solar system, and this is the best one," Bezos said during a private lecture. "My friends, who want to move to Mars? I say, 'Do me a favor, go live on the top of Mount Everest for a year first, and see if you like it.' Because it's a garden paradise compared to Mars."