据CNN报道，美国国家航空航天局(NASA)计划加速其下一次登陆月球的计划，以推进其下一项任务：登陆火星。

　　NASA wants to accelerate its timeline for the next moon landing while keeping its eyes on a bigger prize: Mars.

　　美国航天局的管理人员吉姆•布里登斯廷在周二的国会听证会上表示，航天局的目标是在2033年前将宇航员送往火星。

　　The space agency aims to send astronauts to Mars by 2033, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said at a Tuesday congressional hearing.

　　“我们可以通过提前登陆月球(到2024年)，来实现未来登陆火星的计划。”布里登斯廷告会上表示，“我们需要学习如何在另一个世界生活和工作。月球是实践这些能力和技术的合适地点。我们越早能够实现月球目标，就能越早进入火星。”

　　"We can move up the Mars landing by moving up the moon landing (to 2024)," Bridenstine told the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. "We need to learn how to live and work in another world. The moon is the best place to prove those capabilities and technologies. The sooner we can achieve that objective, the sooner we can move on to Mars."

　　加速计划的预算仍待获批

　　The budget for the accelerated timeline still needs to be approved

　　最初的重返月球计划是在2028年，NASA是否能在新的计划内完成尚是一个未知数。波音公司为月球任务建造的火箭——太空发射系统(Space Launch System，SLS)——已经遭遇了延迟。

　　The original return to the moon was scheduled for 2028, and it's unclear if NASA will be able to meet the new deadline. The rocket that Boeing is building for the moon mission -- called the Space Launch System or SLS -- has experienced delays.

　　NASA已经在SLS上投入了至少119亿美元，该系统本应在2017年12月之前就能就绪。如今要实现2024年的登月目标，飞船的研发也势必需要加速推进。

　　NASA has already spent at least $11.9 billion on the SLS, which was supposed to be ready by December 2017. The 2024 target would require a drastic acceleration in the spacecraft's development.