20世纪60年代的一项条约宣布，任何人都不能拥有外层空间。半个世纪后的今天，亿万富翁和超级大国依然认为其中蕴含巨大财富。
Who Owns the Moon? A treaty from the 1960s declared that nobody can own outer space. Half a century later, billionaires and superpowers see fortunes to be made nonetheless.
在罗伯特·海因莱因1950年的中篇小说《卖月亮的人》中，一位大亨踏上成为首位登月人类的征程，并着手拍卖月球表面的所有权。
In Robert Heinlein’s 1950 novella “The Man Who Sold the Moon,” a tycoon embarks on a quest to be the first human on the moon, and proceeds to auction off title rights to the lunar surface.
他对其他商人说：“总有一天，会有一场关于谁拥有月球的激烈争斗。我希望我们能稳操胜券。”在那个时代，随着美国和苏联竞相登月，海因莱因先生所设想的未来似乎真的要成真了。为了消除这种担忧，超级大国达成了1967年的《外层空间条约》。100多个国家一致认为，月球不属于任何人。如今，这一问题的答案似乎不再那么明确。
“There is going to be one hell of a fight one of these days over who owns the moon,” he tells his fellow businessmen. “I want the deck stacked so that we win.”In that era, as the United States and the Soviet Union raced to the moon, the future that Mr. Heinlein envisioned looked like it might come true. To head off this concern, the superpowers made an agreement, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. The moon, more than 100 countries agreed, belonged to no one. These days, the matter appears less settled.
世界超级大国现在正竞相建设核动力月球基地，而企业领袖们也有自己的月球梦想。海因莱因作品的粉丝埃隆·马斯克设想包括月球数据中心和用于将卫星发射到更深太空的弹射器在内的“万亿美元市场”。杰夫·贝佐斯希望将重工业转移到月球，让地球成为“花园星球”。美国政府正关注月球南极附近的氦、冻结水和其他资源。中国也进行了自己的勘探，并计划与俄罗斯合作，在同一个南极附近建立基地。
The world’s superpowers are now racing to build nuclear-powered lunar bases, and corporate leaders have their own moon dreams. Elon Musk, a fan of Mr. Heinlein’s work, envisions “trillion-dollar markets” including lunar data centers and a catapult for launching satellites deeper into space. Jeff Bezos wants to move heavy industry to the moon and leave Earth a “garden planet.”The United States government is eyeing the helium, frozen water and other resources near the moon’s south pole. China has done its own prospecting and, in partnership with Russia, wants to build its base near the very same pole.