太空探索公司Moon Express創始人納文?杰恩上周四（12月1日）接受CNBC采訪時說，他相信十年后就能實現月球旅行。同時，作為首家獲美國政府批準的私營登月旅行公司，Moon Express希望在幫助人們登上月球方面發揮作用。

杰恩在采訪中表示：“我相信十年內，就會有位單膝跪地的紳士問他的愛人是否愿意跟自己到月亮上度蜜月。”

許多科技界人士都癡迷于太空探索。對科學和人類進步來說，太空代表著前所未有的眾多機遇。大大小小的公司都在思索怎樣創造出讓人們進行太空探索、登月甚至登上火星的技術。還有些公司則著眼于在太空旅行乃至提供食宿方面發揮作用。

這股“淘金熱”的關鍵在于降低太空旅行成本。杰恩告訴CNBC，雖然登月成本曾達到數十億美元，但Moon Express明年進行的無人登月項目僅會耗資700萬美元。隨著成本不斷下滑，他相信十年內登月成本就會降到只有1萬美元。他還說，更妙的是，登上月球將只需要4個小時。

不過，登上火星才是“終極大獎”。盡管自己的公司以登月旅行為主，但吉恩在CNBC上說“火星絕對是恰當的最終目標。”對于是否愿意實施火星登陸項目的問題，吉恩的答案是“絕對愿意”。他還相信，Moon Express或許可以和伊隆?馬斯克的SpaceX合作實現這個目標。

對于理論上的合作，吉恩說：“伊隆可以制造火箭，我們來制造火星車。大體上就是他負責鋪設電纜，我們來管最后一個環節。”

馬斯克也是電動汽車公司特斯拉的首席執行官。在推廣火星旅行方面，他一直是態度最積極的公司高管之一。今年9月，他公布了火星旅行計劃。馬斯克說，他希望最快在2018年用“重型獵鷹”火箭把SpaceX的龍飛船送上火星。可回收火箭及其他節約成本的技術將讓登陸火星的成本變得更易于承受。如果一切順利，馬斯克希望SpaceX在2024年首次實施載人火星項目，并于2025年在火星上登陸。到本世紀30年代，人類也許就能在火星上生活。

SpaceX和馬斯克尚未說明是否愿意跟吉恩和Moon Express合作。

無論雙方合作與否，從登陸月球到登陸火星（并返回）的飛躍，看來或許真的會成為我們生活的一部分。

譯者：Charlie

審校：詹妮

Speaking to CNBC in an interview published on Thursday, Naveen Jain, founder of a space exploration company called Moon Express, said that he believes lunar travel is just a decade away. And his company, which is the first private firm to get approval from the U.S. government to secure moon travel, wants to play a role in helping folks get to the lunar surface.

“I believe in the next ten years, there is going to be a gentleman on their knees asking their sweetheart to say honey will you go to the moon with me for honeymoon,” Jain told CNBC in the interview.

Space exploration has become an obsession for many in the technology and scientific communities. Space presents an unprecedented number of opportunities for scientific and human advancement. Companies, big and small. are determining how they can create technologies that would allow people to explore space, the moon, and even Mars. Other companies are eyeing ways to play a role in space travel and even hospitality.

The linchpin for that gold rush has been the declining cost of actually getting to space. Jain told CNBC that while it once cost billions of dollars to go to the moon, his company’s unmanned mission next year will cost just $7 million. As costs continue to decline, he believes that within the next decade, getting to the moon will cost just $10,000. Better yet, it’ll take just four hours to get there, he told CNBC.

Still, Mars is the ultimate prize. And even Jain, whose company will focus on Moon travel, told CNBC that “Mars is absolutely the right place to be ultimately.” When asked if he’d like to stage missions to Mars, Jain said “absolutely,” adding that he believes Moon Express could partner with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to make that happen.

“Elon will build the rocket and we do the rover,” Jain said of a theoretical partnership. “Essentially, he lays the cables and we do the last mile.”

Musk has been the most outspoken of executives in promoting missions to Mars. In September, Musk, who also serves as chief executive at electric vehicle company Tesla, outlined his plans for traveling to Mars. He said he hopes to send his company’s Dragon cargo capsule to Mars as early as 2018 using its Falcon Heavy rocket. Using reusable rockets and other cost-effective technologies will make it more affordable to get to Mars. And if all goes well, Musk hopes to get the first human SpaceX mission off the ground in 2024 and arrive on the red planet in 2025. Humans might be living on Mars in the 2030s.

SpaceX and Musk have not said whether they would work alongside Jain and Moon Express.

Either way, it looks like hopping from the Moon to Mars (and back) might be just a part of our lives.