一家商业太空公司让航天器着陆到月球上又近了一步。一项监管举措可能有助于将超出地球运动轨迹的空间探索活动，开放至私人公司。
A commercial space company could be one step closer to landing its spacecraft on the moon, in a regulatory move that might help open space exploration beyond Earth’s orbit to private firms.
《华尔街日报》本月早前报道称，美方监管者计划批准一家来自加利福尼亚州的名为“月亮快车”的公司，的MX-1着陆器月球着陆计划，该公司预计开展为期两周的操作。在过去，只有国家执行过超出地球运动轨迹的飞行任务。
The Wall Street Journal reported early this month that US regulators were set to give “mission approval” to the California-based company Moon Express to land its MX-1 lander on the moon and to conduct a two-week operation. Previously, only nations have launched missions beyond Earth’s orbit.
《华尔街日报》称联邦航空管理局 (FAA) 将会于未来几周公布经其协调的官方举措，允许并授权商业火箭开发。
The Journal said official action coordinated through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which licenses and approves all commercial rocket launches, could come in the next few weeks.
一个像正在策划中的月亮快车一样的任务需要跨越一系列独特的监管障碍。一方面，月亮快车受制于1967年的《外层空间条约》。这是一个由美国和俄罗斯发起的国际性监管合约。
A mission like the one Moon Express is planning has to climb a unique set of regulatory hurdles. For one thing, Moon Express is subject to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, an international regulatory agreement initiated by the US and Russia.
条约要求月球及其他天体应当只能被用作和平用途，而不能用于测试任何一种武器。它还规定非政府的实体需要获得一个特定国家的准许才能在外太空开展活动。
The treaty mandates that the moon and other celestial bodies be used only for peaceful purposes and not for testing weapons of any kind. It also states that nongovernmental entities must get approval from a particular country for activities in outer space.
太空先驱
Space pioneer
毕竟此前所有的商业活动都在地球的轨迹范围内，月亮快车的策划代表了一个许可和监管过程中的新挑战，美国佐治亚州理工学院的助理教授玛利尔•波洛维兹说道。她称月亮快车获得批准的可能性为未来私人太空活动，例如太空探索技术公司的2018年前往火星计划，提供一个得到许可的蓝图。
Since all prior commercial activity has been within Earth’s orbit, Moon Express’ plan presents a new challenge for licensing and regulatory processes, said Mariel Borowitz, assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, US. She said the potential approval for Moon Express could provide a framework for the future licensing of private space activity such as SpaceX’s plans to go to Mars in 2018.
“在我看来，月亮快车正在为超出地球运动轨迹的商业活动铺路，”波洛维兹说道。
“Moon Express, I think, is paving the way for commercial activity outside of Earth orbit,” Borowitz said.
在一项声明中，FAA称他们正在进行一个跨部门的流程，以确保“有一个允许正在涌现的商业太空运营的恰当机制，比如月亮快车曾公开评论的这一个”。
In a statement, the FAA said it is working through the interagency process to ensure a “mechanism is in place that permits emerging commercial space operations, such as the one that Moon Express has publicly commented on”.