Jeff Bezos shares his reasons for investing in space

Jeff Bezos has given up the position of CEO of Amazon and used full time to conquer space to "protect the home of Earth".

In a speech at a charity event in the Vatican last weekend, Bezos, the Amazon founder, said many people asked him why he focused on investing in space when there are so many problems to solve on Earth. Soil. "We conquer the universe not to give up our home, but to protect it," he replied.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos. Photo: Bloomberg

He said he has been passionate about conquering the universe since childhood, starting with the movie Star Trek. He has loved making models of spaceships since he was a teenager and turned his "garage into a laboratory for all kinds of equipment" as he got older. "It all motivated me to build a path into space very early on," Bezos said.

According to him, the Earth is "a garden that needs to be taken care of", so investing in space will help preserve the green planet better. Blue Origin's short-term goal is to make space flights cheap, frequent, and accessible. "Blue Origin's long-term goal is to move all polluting industries off the Earth," Bezos said at the Vatican. "That road is still long, it will be difficult to complete in my part of life."

Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 in Kent, Washington. The company operated quietly for many years and only really gained attention in 2010 when it won a development contract in NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Last July, Blue Origin made the first manned flight to the edge of space aboard the New Shepard reusable spacecraft. Bezos was one of those on the flight. After landing, he said the feeling of looking at Earth from space was "fragile" and "finite".

At the event, Bezos also assessed that humans can harness the limitless power of solar power, as well as mentioned his investments in the green planet. Bezos also reaffirmed his commitment to disbursing $10 billion for the environment through the Earth Foundation he established in 2020.