Asgardia, a proposed “space nation,” inaugurated its first head of state Monday during a ceremony at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, which was attended by diplomats¹, researchers, engineers and legal experts from around the world.

“太空国家”阿斯加迪亚6月25日在奥地利维也纳霍夫堡宫举行首位国家元首就职典礼，来自世界各地的外交官、研究人员、工程师和法律专家参加了仪式。

The new head of nation, Igor Ashurbeyli—a Russian scientist, billionaire and philanthropist—took an oath of office during an event with no shortage of pomp and circumstance. He went on to unveil ambitious goals for the first space nation: notably², to have permanently³ inhabited space stations in low Earth orbit and stationary⁴ settlements on the Moon within the next 25 years.

新元首伊戈尔?阿舒尔贝利是俄罗斯科学家、富豪和慈善家，他在盛大而隆重的仪式上宣誓就职。他还宣布了首个太空国家的宏伟目标：25年内要在地球近地轨道建立永久有人居住的太空站，在月球上建成固定定居点。

"We have established all branches of a nation," Ashurbeyli said in a speech at the ceremony. "I can declare that Asgardia has been born."

阿舒尔贝利在就职典礼上发表演讲说：“我们已经成立了一国应有的各类机构。我宣布阿斯加迪亚正式成立。”

Asgardia—named after Asgard, a sky city in Norse mythology⁵ which was said to house the gods—was founded by Ashurbeyli and several prominent space experts in October 2016. The aim of the project is to “create a free independent nation outside of planet Earth” with “equal access to space for all people regardless of the country of origin, nationality, location, age, gender⁶, sex, race, etc.”

阿斯加迪亚这个名字源自挪威神话中的天空之城阿斯加德，据说那里是众神的聚居地。该项目由阿舒尔贝利和几位著名航空专家于2016年10月筹建。项目宗旨就是“在地球之外创建一个自由独立的国家，不论国籍、民族、地理位置、年龄、性别、性特征、种族等因素，人们都能进入其中”。

Currently, the international Outer Space Treaty requires governments to authorize⁷ and supervise all space activities, including those of commercial and non-profit organizations. The founders⁸ of Asgardia hope to avoid the tight restrictions⁹ that this system imposes.

目前，国际《外层空间条约》规定由各国政府授权并监督所有外层空间活动，包括商业和非营利组织的活动。阿斯加迪亚的缔造者希望避开这套制度的严格规定。

“Access to outer space should be a human right, beyond the control of any Earthly nation,” Ashurbeyli, who is also head of the UNESCO Commission on Space Science, said in a statement.

身为联合国教科文组织空间科学委员会主席的阿舒尔贝利在声明中说：“进入外太空应当成为一项人权，不受地球上任何国家的控制。”

“We believe that the creation of a new legal platform for the exploration of near-Earth and deep space is crucial to keep pace with humanity’s rapid technological¹⁰ and scientific expansion off-planet.”

他说：“我们认为，为了跟上人类向星外空间的快速科技扩张，创建新的法律平台用于探索近地和外层空间至关重要。”

Aside from the long-term objective of setting up habitable platforms in space, Asgardia has a number of other goals. These include ensuring the peaceful use of space and preventing future space wars; protecting the Earth from space hazards, such as large asteroids¹¹; and creating a platform for scientific research.

除了设立可居住的外层空间平台这一长期目标，阿斯加迪亚还有大量其他目标，包括：确保和平使用外层空间，防止未来发生太空战争；保护地球免遭太空灾难，如来自大型小行星的威胁；创建科研平台。

Ultimately, Asgardia hopes to apply to the United Nations as a fully fledged nation-state. It has already made its first foray into space with the launch of the Asgardia-1 satellite in December 2017, which it regards as sovereign territory.

最终，阿斯加迪亚希望向联合国申请，注册成为一个全面发展的国家。2017年12月，它已发射“阿斯加迪亚-1”号卫星，首次正式进入自视为主权领土的外层空间。

Some legal experts have questioned the validity of this claim because Asgardia has not yet been recognized as an independent state. Nevertheless, since its establishment, Asgardia has adopted a constitution, flag and national anthem¹², and is also developing a bank and its own cryptocurrency system, called SOLAR.

一些法律专家质疑其合法性，因为阿斯加迪亚尚未被承认为独立国家。可是，自创建以来，阿斯加迪亚已通过了宪法、国旗和国歌，而且正在创办银行及其加密货币体系，称作“太阳币”。

People from around the world have been invited to register online for Asgardian citizenship¹³. So far, the number of individuals that have signed up stands at around 200,000—although the aim is not to move all of these members into space.

世界各地的人都应邀网上注册成为阿斯加迪亚的公民。迄今，已签名注册的人数约有20万，不过，现在的目标并不是将所有人送入太空。

Asgardia has even held parliamentary elections during which 140 representatives were chosen, while it is also in the process of forming various governmental bodies. These will be responsible for different aspects of the running of the state.

阿斯加迪亚甚至还举行了议会选举，选出了140名议员，同时还在组建各级政府机构，负责国家管理工作的方方面面。

At the ceremony, Ashurbeyli also announced details regarding the development of Asgardia’s infrastructure¹⁴ and economy.

在就职典礼上，阿舒尔贝利还宣布了发展阿斯加迪亚基础设施和经济的具体安排。

"Asgardia will build an infrastructure that is independent from ground-based systems on Earth," Ashurbeyli said in his speech. "Asgardians will carry handheld devices with integrated passports, credit cards and conventional smartphones."

他在演讲中说：“阿斯加迪亚将修建独立于地球地面系统的基础设施。阿斯加迪亚人将携带集护照、信用卡和普通手机于一体的手持设备。”

"A network of low-earth orbit satellites will be deployed¹⁶ delivering global internet coverage," he added. "Core satellites will be placed in high-earth orbit providing a full range of digital services to Asgardian citizens and businesses, as well as free access to space technologies for earthlings regardless of their nationality on earth."

他还说：“将在近地轨道设置卫星网络，提供覆盖全球的互联网。将在远地轨道设置远地轨道核心卫星，向阿斯加迪亚公民和企业提供全面数字服务，地球各国居民均可免费使用太空技术。”

Furthermore, he outlined how Asgardia planned to deploy¹⁵ a space fleet to defend Earth from threats emanating¹⁷ from outer space and how the nation would achieve recognition from other states.

此外，他还概括介绍了阿斯加迪亚计划如何部署一支太空舰队，保护地球免受源自外层空间的威胁，以及阿斯加迪亚如何获得其他国家的承认。

"Asgardia will achieve recognition as an independent space state by means of bilateral¹⁸ agreements with as many states on earth as possible, as well as accession to international organizations both intergovernmental and non-governmental," he said.

他说：“阿斯加迪亚将通过与地球上尽可能多的国家达成双边协议以及加入政府间和非政府间国际组织的形式获得承认，成为一个独立的太空国家。”

Exactly how Asgardia will achieve all of its lofty goals is unclear at present, with plans still in their embryonic¹⁹ stages. What is clear is that the space nation will require vast amounts of money to fund its ventures.

眼下，阿斯加迪亚究竟将如何实现所有远大目标尚不清楚，各项计划仍处于萌芽阶段。不过，这个太空国家需要巨额资金资助冒险活动。

But if it can achieve its aims, Ashurbeyli sees Asgardia as a safeguard for humanity's future.

阿舒尔贝利认为，如果能够实现目标，阿斯加迪亚将成为人类未来的保障。

"Outer space is endless and space exploration will give homo sapiens the chance to become immortal²⁰ as a species," he concluded.

他说：“外层空间没有尽头，太空探索将赋予智人成为永生物种的机遇。”