VOA慢速英语：美国政府允许私人公司发射航空器到月球
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美国政府允许私人公司发射航空器到月球
The United States government has given a private American company permission to send a commercial flight to the moon.
美国政府允许了私人美国公司发射商业飞行到月球。
Moon Express, Inc. plans to send a robotic lander to the moon. The vehicle has been reported to be the size of the R2-D2 robot from the Star Wars movie series.
月亮快递公司计划发射机器人着陆器到月球。据报道，这种机器和《星球大战》电影系列中的R2-D2一样大。
“It’s a huge milestone for us,” said Bob Richards, who heads Moon Express.
月亮快递首席执行官鲍勃 理查德说：“对于我们来说，这是一个巨大的里程碑”
Until now, private space exploration companies have limited their activities to Earth’s orbit.
目前，私人太空探险公司已经限制他们对地球轨道的活动。
Moon Express hopes to begin flights to the moon in 2017, the year in which Google, the technology company, presents its Lunar X Prize. The prize will go to the first privately-funded business to land a vehicle on the moon.
月亮快递公司希望2017年开始月球航行，在这一年谷歌科技公司提供了它的月球X奖金。该项奖金将用来支持首家登陆月球的私人公司。
Moon Express joined the race to the moon in 2012. There are now 16 other companies in the competition.
月亮快递公司加入了2012年的月亮竞赛。目前已经有其他16家公司加入了竞赛。
Other private companies and individuals would like to explore space. SpaceX, an American aerospace company, has announced plans to launch its “Red Dragon” spacecraft to Mars as early as 2018. Another company, Planetary Resources, is making plans to mine asteroids for minerals.
其他私人企业和个人也想要探索太空。X空间和美国航空宇宙公司发表声明：计划最早在2018年发射龙飞船到火星。其他公司，行星资源制定计划开采小行星的矿物质。
Moon Express has said it wants to mine for minerals on the moon.
月亮快递公司也表示想要开采月球上的矿物质。
I’m Anne Ball.
安妮波尔报道。
The United States government has given a private American company permission to send a commercial flight to the moon.
Moon Express, Inc. plans to send a robotic lander to the moon. The vehicle has been reported to be the size of the R2-D2 robot from the Star Wars movie series.
“It’s a huge milestone for us,” said Bob Richards, who heads Moon Express.
Until now, private space exploration companies have limited their activities to Earth’s orbit.
Moon Express hopes to begin flights to the moon in 2017, the year in which Google, the technology company, presents its Lunar X Prize. The prize will go to the first privately-funded business to land a vehicle on the moon.
Moon Express joined the race to the moon in 2012. There are now 16 other companies in the competition.
Other private companies and individuals would like to explore space. SpaceX, an American aerospace company, has announced plans to launch its “Red Dragon” spacecraft to Mars as early as 2018. Another company, Planetary Resources, is making plans to mine asteroids for minerals.
Moon Express has said it wants to mine for minerals on the moon.
I’m Anne Ball.
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Words in This Story
milestone – n. a very important event
asteroids – n. any one of thousands of small planets that circle around the sun
commercial – adj. concerned with or involving trade, business
funded – adj. financed; provided with money for a special purpose
