Speaking in an interview, Naveen Jain, founder of a space exploration company called Moon Express, said that he believes moon travel is just a decade away. And his company, which is the first private firm to get approval from the U.S. government to carry out the project of moon travel, wants to play a role in helping people get to the moon surface.
''I believe in the next ten years, there is going to be gentlemen on their knees asking their sweethearts, honey, will you go to the moon with me for honey moon?'' Jain said in the interview.
Many people in the technology and scientific communities are crazy about space exploration. Space presents an unprecedented(史无前例的)number of chances 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.
The key of that gold rush has been the declining cost of actually getting to space. Jain said that while it once cost billions of dollars to go to the moon, his company's unmanned space flight next year will cost just 7 million. As costs continue to decline(减少),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.
Still, Mars is the final prize. And even Jain, whose company will focus on moon travel, said that ''Mars is certainly the right place to be finally. '' When asked if he'd like to stage space fights to Mars, Jain said ''of course'', 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 travelers,'' Jain said of a theoretical partnership. ''Generally, he lays the cables and we do the last mile.''
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.
