A US company has secured funding to become the first private entity¹ to travel to the moon, with a planned 2017 voyage that will be an international milestone² in space exploration.

一家美国公司已筹集到资金确保其成为首个赴月的私人公司，他们计划于2017年开启月球之旅，此举将成为国际空间探索中的里程碑。

Moon Express, a Florida-based firm, said it had raised $20m in financing, which will allow it to send a robotic spacecraft³ to the moon's surface later this year.

总部位于佛罗里达州的月球快递公司称，他们已筹集到2000万美元，这笔资金足够他们在今年晚些时候向月球表面发射一个无人航天器。

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.

这笔资金是助其成为全球首个赴月的私营企业的关键一步。

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 celestial⁴ world, requires governments to authorize⁵ and supervise "non-governmental entities⁶" seeking to travel in outer space.

去年，月球快递向联邦航空管理局递交申请后，获得了美国政府的批准，这是一个历史性的决定。联合国通过的《外层空间条约》规范了对太空的探索，要求各国政府对进入太空的“非政府实体”进行授权和监督。

"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."

月球快递公司首席执行官鲍勃•理查德斯在一份声明中宣布了募资成果，他说，“现在我们所需的一切赴月资源都已到位。我们的目标是将地球的社会和经济领域拓展到基本没有被开发的第八块大陆——月球上，为学生、科学家、太空机构以及商业利益开启低成本探索开发月球的全新时代。

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 colonization⁷ of the moon, and eventually of Mars.

月球快递表示其目的是开采月球矿藏，该公司联合创始人兼董事长内维•杰恩称，他希望降低太空旅行的成本，为定居月球并最终在火星定居做好准备。

"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，在月球快递获得联邦政府的批准后，杰恩曾在一份声明中表示，“天空不是我们的边界，而是我们的发射台。这一突破性的决定是人类的又一次巨大飞跃。太空旅行是我们确保生存并为子孙后代创造无限未来的唯一途径。”

The more immediate⁸ 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".

杰恩称，公司2010年设立的近期目标是从月球上带回金属、岩石等资源。他相信在15年内月球将成为地球经济的重要组成部分，并有“可能成为人类的第二故乡”。

The company has said it believes the moon can "produce resources essential to humanity's future on Earth and in space".

月球快递表示，他们相信在月球上可以“生产出对人类在地球和太空中的未来至关重要的资源”。

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.

月球快递是参与谷歌月球X奖金活动的16支竞赛队伍中的一支，该活动发起于2007年，为的是鼓励私营公司开发技术和行星探测计划。

Moon Express said it has raised a total of more than $45m from individuals and venture funds.

月球快递表示他们已经从个人和风投基金筹集到共计超过4500万美元。

Last year, the US government advanced the process to establish rules for space launches in compliance⁹ with international treaties after Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates pushed forward with similar efforts.

继卢森堡和阿联酋通过类似决定之后，美国政府去年推进了符合国际条约的太空发射规则建设进程。

Motley Fool, a financial services site, has estimated that the mineral wealth of the moon may be quadrillions of dollars.

金融服务网站Motley Fool估算月球的矿产财富可能价值数万亿美元。