月球快遞（Moon Express）是一間美國私人公司，由硅谷太空企業家創立，以挖掘月球自然資源，獲得經濟價值為目標。去年，該公司成為美國政府批準的首個可執行太空探索任務的私人商業公司。近日，月球快遞表示已籌到足夠資金，并計劃于2017年開啟月球之旅。由于人們認為月球含有豐富的資源，此舉或將永遠改變能源和自然資源行業的命運，成為國際空間探索中的里程碑。

A US company has secured funding to become the first private entity to travel to the moon, with a planned 2017 voyage that will be an international milestone in space exploration.
一家美國公司已籌集到資金確保其成為首個赴月的私人公司，他們計劃于2017年開啟月球之旅，此舉將成為國際空間探索中的里程碑。

Moon Express, a Florida-based firm, said it had raised $20m in financing, which will allow it to send a robotic spacecraft to the moon's surface later this year.
總部位于佛羅里達州的月球快遞公司稱，他們已籌集到2000萬美元，這筆資金足夠他們在今年晚些時候向月球表面發射一個無人航天器。

The funding is a major step in the company's efforts to become the world's first private enterprise to travel outside the Earth's orbit.
這筆資金是助其成為全球首個赴月的私營企業的關鍵一步。

Last year, Moon Express gained historic approvals from the US government after submitting a request for its voyage to the Federal Aviation Administration. An outer space treaty, which was adopted by the United Nations and regulates exploration of the celestial world, requires governments to authorize and supervise "non-governmental entities" seeking to travel in outer space.
去年，月球快遞向聯邦航空管理局遞交申請后，獲得了美國政府的批準，這是一個歷史性的決定。聯合國通過的《外層空間條約》規范了對太空的探索，要求各國政府對進入太空的“非政府實體”進行授權和監督。

"We now have all the resources in place to shoot for the Moon," Bob Richards, Moon Express's CEO, said in a statement announcing the funding achievements. "Our goal is to expand Earth's social and economic sphere to the Moon, our largely unexplored eighth continent, and enable a new era of low cost lunar exploration and development for students, scientists, space agencies and commercial interests."
月球快遞公司首席執行官鮑勃?理查德斯在一份聲明中宣布了募資成果，他說，“現在我們所需的一切赴月資源都已到位。我們的目標是將地球的社會和經濟領域拓展到基本沒有被開發的第八塊大陸——月球上，為學生、科學家、太空機構以及商業利益開啟低成本探索開發月球的全新時代。

Moon Express has said it aims to mine the moon for minerals, and the tech entrepreneur Naveen Jain, its co-founder and chairman, has said he hopes to lower the costs of space travel and help pave the way for the colonization of the moon, and eventually of Mars.
月球快遞表示其目的是開采月球礦藏，該公司聯合創始人兼董事長內維?杰恩稱，他希望降低太空旅行的成本，為定居月球并最終在火星定居做好準備。

"The sky is not the limit for Moon Express – it is the launchpad," Jain said in an earlier statement after his firm gained federal approvals. "This breakthrough ruling is another giant leap for humanity. Space travel is our only path forward to ensure our survival and create a limitless future for our children."
早前，在月球快遞獲得聯邦政府的批準后，杰恩曾在一份聲明中表示，“天空不是我們的邊界，而是我們的發射臺。這一突破性的決定是人類的又一次巨大飛躍。太空旅行是我們確保生存并為子孫后代創造無限未來的唯一途徑。”

The more immediate goal of the company, which formed in 2010, is to bring resources, metals and moon rocks back to Earth, Jain said. He also stated that in 15 years, he believes the moon will be an important part of the Earth's economy and "potentially our second home".
杰恩稱，公司2010年設立的近期目標是從月球上帶回金屬、巖石等資源。他相信在15年內月球將成為地球經濟的重要組成部分，并有“可能成為人類的第二故鄉”。

The company has said it believes the moon can "produce resources essential to humanity's future on Earth and in space".
月球快遞表示，他們相信在月球上可以“生產出對人類在地球和太空中的未來至關重要的資源”。

Moon Express is one of 16 teams that have competed for funding as part of Google's Lunar X Prize initiative, which launched in 2007 to incentivize private firms to develop technology and plans for planetary exploration.
月球快遞是參與谷歌月球X獎金活動的16支競賽隊伍中的一支，該活動發起于2007年，為的是鼓勵私營公司開發技術和行星探測計劃。

Moon Express said it has raised a total of more than $45m from individuals and venture funds.
月球快遞表示他們已經從個人和風投基金籌集到共計超過4500萬美元。

Last year, the US government advanced the process to establish rules for space launches in compliance with international treaties after Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates pushed forward with similar efforts.
繼盧森堡和阿聯酋通過類似決定之后，美國政府去年推進了符合國際條約的太空發射規則建設進程。

Motley Fool, a financial services site, has estimated that the mineral wealth of the moon may be quadrillions of dollars.
金融服務網站Motley Fool估算月球的礦產財富可能價值數萬億美元。

英文來源：衛報
翻譯&編輯：董靜
審校：yaning