Amazon’s Bezos says he’ll send a spaceship to the moon

Washington DC — Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos said Thursday he’s going to send a spaceship to the moon, joining a resurgence of lunar interest half a century after people first set foot there.

Bezos said his space company Blue Origin will land a robotic ship the size of a small house, capable of carrying four rovers and using a newly designed rocket engine and souped-up rockets.

It would be followed by a version that could bring people to the moon along the same time frame as NASA’s proposed 2024 return.

Bezos, who was dwarfed by his mock-up of the Blue Moon vehicle at his presentation Thursday, said, “This is an incredible vehicle and it’s going to the moon.”

He added: “It’s time to go back to the moon. This time to stay.”

The announcement for the usually secretive space company came with all the glitz of an Apple product launch in a darkened convention ballroom bedazzled with shimmering stars on its walls.

Astronauts and other space luminaries sat in the audience under blue-tinted lighting before Bezos unveiled the boxy ship with four long and spindly landing legs.