美国要在月球建立永久基地
Fifty years after America first landed men on the moon, it’s long past time we established a permanent U.S. base there – and shelve far more costly plans to land astronauts on Mars for at least the next two or three decades.
距美国首次把人送上月球已过去50年，我们很久以前就在那里建立了一个永久性的美国基地，让宇航员登上火星这样更为昂贵的计划至少二三十年内都还实现不了。
America’s national security and economic security demand a permanent U.S. moon base.
美国的国家安全和经济安全要求要有一个永久的美国月球基地。
In sharp contrast, sending astronauts to Mars would amount to an incredibly expensive and risky photo op that simply wouldn’t provide the benefit to justify the cost.
与此形成鲜明对比的是，将宇航员送上火星只是一个极其昂贵又冒险的拍照机会，创造的利益根本不值得如此付出。
As we prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing Saturday, we need to accept the reality that our country has many priorities requiring large amounts of federal spending.
周六我们为阿波罗11号登月50周年纪念做准备，有一个需要接受的事实，那就是我们国家有很多需要大量联邦开支的优先事项。
Our space program is important, but it’s unrealistic to expect federal officials to take a “money is no object” view of spending on space exploration.
我们的太空计划很重要，但针对太空探索想要联邦政府拿出“钱不是问题”的态度是不现实的。
So like a family setting spending priorities – saving for college tuition instead of a luxury car or an expensive cruise – our elected officials need to concentrate on spending on a moon base today and leave a manned mission to Mars for the next generation or the one after that.
就像家庭消费优先项是攒大学学费，而不是买豪车或坐豪华游轮一样，我们选举出来的政府现在需要把钱花在月球基地上，而把人送上火星的任务还是留给下一代或再下一代去完成吧。
While researching my first book, I had the high honor to interview all 12 courageous astronauts who walked on the moon. After that, I spent parts of three years working on various space issues for the Defense Department. And later I served as a consultant to a private-sector space firm and the U.S. government for over a decade.
写第一本书时我很荣幸采访了12位在月球上行走过的勇敢的宇航员。那之后的三年中一部分时间我在为国防部处理各种太空问题，后来又做了十多年私人航天公司和美国政府的顾问。
The most important lesson I learned during all those years is that space is a hostile and unforgiving environment and that every single taxpayer dollar spent on space exploration is precious and must be allocated to missions that directly benefit the American people.
这些年我学到的最重要一课就是太空是一个充满敌意和无情的环境，花在太空探索上的每一分纳税人的钱都很宝贵，一定要用在能直接造福美国人民的任务上。
