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WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

As the world gets more crowded billionaires are lining up to make humans an inter-stellar species, with interesting results.

 

The plan of Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, to transport humans from Earth to the Moon and house millions of us in space colonies around the galaxy may seem light years away – but this week he offered people a glimpse of how he envisions humanity’s “grand future.”

 

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The Amazon billionaire’s plans to “build a road to space for our children” were outlined in Washington DC as he outlined his vision for aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight services firm Blue Origin.

 

 

Bezos talked of giant orbital structures that will be able to house self-sustaining colonies and presented stunning artists’ impressions of what life might be like living and working under the stars.

These picturesque landscapes detailing wildlife, waterfalls, mountains and new-age architecture have been produced using the research of physicist Gerard O’Neill.

 

A replay of the event

 

“The idea [is] of manufactured worlds, rotating to create artificial gravity with centrifugal force. These are very large structures, miles on end, and they hold a million people or more, each,” Bezos said in his speech. “This is a very different kind of space colony. High speed transport, agricultural areas… cities in the background. Some of them would be more recreational – they don’t have to have the same gravity. You could have a recreational one that keeps zero G’s so you could go flying with your own wings. Some would be national parks.”

 

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“Some of these ‘O’Neill colonies’ might choose to replicate Earth cities. They might pick historical cities and mimic them in some way… These are ideal climates, these are short sleeve environments – this is Maui on its best day, all year long, no rain, no storms, no earthquakes,” he continued.

If much of the speech from Bezos, the Amazon CEO and Blue Origin founder, sounded like far-out science fiction, that’s because it is – for the time being at least.

He also provided insights into Blue Origin’s lunar lander plans – a spacecraft that he recently suggested would also help him create the world’s first Moon delivery service as, in parallel, he also builds out his vision of moving all heavy industry off of Earth, and building a permanent colony on the Moon. Why have one vision when you can have tons of them!? And the landers first mission to return people to the Moon will begin as early as 2024.

 

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“Big things start small,” Bezos told the crowd of reporters and space industry folks. “It’s time to go back to the moon, this time to stay.”

In the mind of Bezos, developing a new lunar lander 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,” he said.

Bezos has been funding Blue Origin out of his own pocket by selling about $1 billion worth of Amazon stock each year, and now it looks like the company could get new backing from NASA after Donald Trump announced a new $1.6 billion investment in NASA, with the dream of putting the first woman on our lunar neighbour.

 

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Blue Origin’s announcement also comes just weeks after Vice President Mike Pence said that the US “would put boots back on the moon within five years by any means necessary.”

All of which sounds very convenient and “on mission” with Bezos’s own plans, so sign me up for a corner penthouse with a space view and zero gravity – after all, why would I want to walk to the fridge when I can fly?

About author

Matthew Griffin

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series. Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future. A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries. Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.

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