NASA将向公众开放国际空间站 每人每晚3.5万美元 Got $50 million for a vacation? NASA to open space station to private citizens

去国际空间站住上一个月，领略太空之美，每晚花费3.5万美元，这样的太空之旅让你心动吗？美国国家航空航天局近日宣布，最早将在明年开展这种商业项目。

NASA will allow private citizens to stay at the International Space Station (ISS) for month-long getaways at a cost of about $35,000 per night, the US space agency said on Friday.

美国国家航空航天局上周五（6月7日）表示，将允许普通民众在国际空间站停留一个月，费用为每晚大约3.5万美元（约合24.2万元人民币）。

getaway ['getəweɪ]：n.短假；适合旅行的地方

The shift reverses a long-standing prohibition against tourists and private interests at the orbiting research lab, and reflects a broader push to expand commercial activities at the ISS and in space more generally.

长期以来，轨道研究实验室都禁止游客和私人机构到访，而这一转变推翻了这一禁令，同时也表明美国国家航空航天局将在国际空间站和太空中更广泛地扩大商业活动。

It paves the way for private citizens to travel to the ISS aboard rocket-and-capsule launch systems being developed by Boeing Co and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The two companies are set to ferry astronauts to the ISS from US soil for the first time in nearly a decade.

这为普通民众搭乘波音公司和埃隆·马斯克的太空探索技术公司研发的火箭及太空舱发射系统前往国际空间站铺平了道路。这两家公司都准备近十年内首次将太空旅行者从美国送到国际空间站。

NASA will allow up to two private trips to the station per year, each lasting up to 30 days, NASA said. The first mission could be as early as 2020.

美国国家航空航天局表示，每年最多允许两次私人国际空间站之旅，每次最长30天。此类飞行最早可能会在2020年实现。

But the ride won’t be cheap.

不过太空之旅的费用可不低。

NASA estimated the cost of a flight would be around $50 million per seat. In addition, NASA will charge visitors for food, storage and communication once at the station.

据美国国家航空航天局估计，每位乘客的飞行花费约为5000万美元（约合3.47亿元人民币）。此外，抵达国际空间站之后，美国国家航空航天局还会向游客收取食物、保管和通讯费用。

“If you look at the pricing and you add it up, back of a napkin, it would be roughly $35,000 a night, per astronaut,” NASA’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit told a news conference in New York.

美国国家航空航天局首席财务官杰夫·德威特在纽约举行的记者招待会上说：“看一下价格，粗略地算一下，每位太空旅行者每晚要花费3.5万美元。”

“But it won’t come with any Hilton or Marriott points,” DeWit deadpanned.

德威特面无表情地说：“不过这可没有希尔顿或万豪酒店的积分。”

deadpan ['dedpæn]：v.面无表情地表达、表演或行动

NASA’s Russian counterpart Roscosmos has already allowed a number of private citizens at the station.

此前，俄罗斯联邦航天局已经允许几位普通民众进入空间站。

NASA officials also said opening the door to private enterprise gives the agency more room to focus on the Trump administration’s goal of returning to the moon by 2024, which could be fueled in part by revenue generated from new commercial services and paying astronauts.

美国国家航空航天局的官员还表示，向私营企业敞开大门使其更有能力完成特朗普政府提出的美国2024年重返月球的计划，新的商业服务和太空旅行者方面的收入也可为实现这一计划提供部分资金来源。

Arrangements for the trip were being left to Boeing and SpaceX, NASA said.

美国航天局表示，太空旅行安排由波音公司和太空探索技术公司负责。

英文来源：路透社

翻译&编辑：yaning