去月球掘金

    纽特•金里奇（前美国国会众议院议长——译注）所设想的在月球上采矿的庞大联邦计划可能并非无稽之谈。亿万富翁纳文•简也认为在238,855英里之外的太空的确存在着机会。简是微软（Microsoft）首批开发人员之一，并创建了网络内容提供商InfoSpace。月球上不少环形山是由富含金属的陨石撞击形成的，简打算从中挖掘氦-3和铂。简的新创企业Moon Express正在制造一台价值2,000万美元的月球登陆器（如右图所示），并计划于2013年发射。Moon Express与另外25家企业正在争夺谷歌（Google）赞助的3,000万美元的Lunar X-Prize奖项。简表示，氦-3可能成为新的非放射性能量来源。此外，想在发生全球性灾难后仍然能够延续血脉的人只需花费约50美元就可以将自己的DNA储存到月球上。还可以将全家福或求婚请求投影到月球表面，并将其放到互联网上。简说：“月球是少数尚未进行商业开发的处女地之一。”请现在就开始倒计时吧。——Jennifer Alsever

    译者：项航

    Newt Gingrich's idea for a massive federal program to mine the moon may not be totally insane after all. Billionaire Naveen Jain also agrees opportunity exists 238,855 miles away. One of the first Microsoft (MSFT) developers and founder of the web content provider InfoSpace (INSP), Jain wants to dig up the helium-3 and platinum deposited in moon craters by metal-rich asteroids. His startup, Moon Express, is building a $20 million moon lander (right) slated to launch in 2013. His is one of 26 ventures vying to win the $30 million Lunar X-Prize sponsored by Google (GOOG). Jain says helium-3 could be a new nonradioactive energy source. There's more. For about $50, those who want to make themselves immortal in case of global catastrophe can store their DNA there. You can also project a family picture or a marriage proposal on the moon's surface and put it on the web. "The moon is one of the few places left that hasn't been explored from an entrepreneurial aspect," he says. The countdown begins. --Jennifer Alsever