新奇事件簿 盧森堡支持小行星采礦業(yè)

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The tiny European nation of Luxembourg is not well known as a major player in the space race. However, its government has just made big investments in the future industry of asteroid mining. Private companies will mine asteroids near the Earth for water and minerals. Some of the things they mine will one day help fuel trips to Mars and beyond. Luxembourg's government is looking at research and development projects to make sure it is one of the leading countries in this new industry. Minister for the economy Etienne Schneider said: "Our aim is to open access to a wealth of previously unexplored mineral resources on lifeless rocks speeding through space, without damaging natural habitats."

就太空競賽而言，歐洲小國盧森堡名不見經(jīng)傳。然而，盧森堡政府將支持太空采礦業(yè)。私人企業(yè)有望在地球附近的小行星上采集礦產(chǎn)和水資源。這些礦產(chǎn)資源或將為登陸火星，或更遙遠行星提供動力。政府正進行研發(fā)，確保盧森堡成為該領域先驅。經(jīng)濟大臣埃蒂安·施耐德表示：“我們的目的是要在不破壞自然生態(tài)的情況下開發(fā)礦產(chǎn)業(yè)，這片尚未被開發(fā)的太空資源。”

Luxembourg is not the only country to look up to the skies for new places to mine. In 2015, US president Barack Obama signed a law that will let American companies mine space resources. In January, the European Space Agency shared a vision for a research village on the Moon. This would be used as a base for mining companies. The US company Deep Space Industries said space resources will allow greater exploration of the solar system without the need to mine resources on Earth. However, there could be problems ahead for mining companies. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 says that natural resources in space are part of mankind's 'common heritage'. This means private companies may not be able to mine asteroids.

然而，盧森堡卻不是唯一一個支持太空采礦的國家。2015年，總統(tǒng)奧巴馬通過太空采礦法案。1月份，歐洲航天局要建“月球村”。它將成為采礦公司的基地。美國公司“深空工業(yè)”表示，太空資源將讓人類更好地探索太陽系，而無需開采地球的礦產(chǎn)資源。然而，礦產(chǎn)公司也將麻煩重重。據(jù)1967年《外層空間條約》規(guī)定，外太空自然資源為人類“共同遺產(chǎn)”。這意味著私人公司無權開采小行星。