Amazon CEO recovers NASA's Apollo-era rocket engines

BANGALORE, INDIA: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, along with his team, has recovered two F-1 engines, which were Apollo-era rocket engines that helped astronauts in moon mission, from the depths of Atlantic Ocean.

The expedition took three weeks and according to his personal blog, the team is headed back to Cape Canaveral after finishing three weeks at sea, 'working almost 3 miles below the surface'.

"We're bringing home enough major components to fashion displays of two flown F-1 engines. We've seen an underwater wonderland - an incredible sculpture garden of twisted F-1 engines that tells the story of a fiery and violent end, one that serves testament to the Apollo program. We photographed many beautiful objects in situ and have now recovered many prime pieces. Each piece we bring on deck conjures for me the thousands of engineers who worked together back then to do what for all time had been thought surely impossible," wrote Bezos in his personal blog.

NASA and Bezos' team will try to restore the hardware and prevent it from further corrosion.

"Many of the original serial numbers are missing or partially missing, which is going to make mission identification difficult. We might see more during restoration. The objects themselves are gorgeous. The upcoming restoration will stabilize the hardware and prevent further corrosion. We want the hardware to tell its true story, including its 5,000 mile per hour re-entry and subsequent impact with the ocean surface," he added.

Bezos expressed hope that NASA will put the engines on display.

"We're excited to get this hardware on display where just maybe it will inspire something amazing," he adds.

Bezos also added that the team used Remotely Operated Vehicles at a depth of more than 14,000 feet, tethered to their ship with fiber optics for data and electric cables transmitting power at more than 4,000 volts.