最近波音的股價像坐了火箭——今年漲幅接近68%，但和該公司正在新奧爾良建造的那枚火箭相比，這根本不值一提。

本周三在華盛頓的《財富》最具影響力女性峰會上，波音國防、航天和安全業(yè)務(wù)首席執(zhí)行官琳恩·卡雷特總結(jié)了這家飛機制造商的宇航夢：“我們正在打造最大的火箭，它將把我們送上火星?！?/p>

這枚為美國宇航局設(shè)計的火箭被稱為太空發(fā)射系統(tǒng)，它將成為史上最強大的火箭。但對波音的宇宙飛船，卡雷特的腦海里有著更為實際的設(shè)想，其中包括休閑旅游和度假。她在會上這樣問道：“有人想和我一起去火星度假嗎？”

當(dāng)然，在火星上度假所需的籌劃工作甚至比在地球上最怪異的地方度假還要多一些。

卡雷特說：“登月比登上火星容易，因為往返于火星和地球之間要花那么長的時間?！彼烙嫽鹦锹眯械膯纬虝r長約為兩年，“這取決于我們的年齡?！?/p>

卡雷特還開玩笑說：“你們可得把按揭全都還清了。出發(fā)前要把一切都打典好——可不能說，‘噢，我給他們發(fā)個電郵就行了?！?/p>

這枚火箭剛開始飛往火星時不會載人，就像最初的幾次登月一樣。但最終會開啟載人火星之旅——卡雷特說，“‘載人’的意思是有男性和女性”，她相信這件事在自己這輩子就能實現(xiàn)。

除了夢想著造訪那顆紅色星球，卡雷特還得確保波音的衛(wèi)星順利運轉(zhuǎn)——美國政府要靠它們收集數(shù)據(jù)，消費者的智能手機要靠它們才得以實現(xiàn)無數(shù)的功能，比如GSP和基于方位的app?？ɡ滋亟忉屨f，這可不是小事，因為外國的間諜衛(wèi)星和潛在攻擊都構(gòu)成了“有威脅的環(huán)境，而我們想要的是保險的地方” 。

登陸火星對卡雷特來說很特殊，這可不光是因為她想在地球以外度假?？ɡ滋氐母改敢苍诓ㄒ艄ぷ?，他們是在為第一艘載人登月飛船“阿波羅”建造農(nóng)神五號火箭時認識的，而且恰恰就是在卡雷特現(xiàn)在負責(zé)建造新火星火箭的路易斯安那州工廠里。她說：“這是多么神奇??！”（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Charlie

If Boeing stock has seemed like a rocket lately—it’s up nearly 68% this year—that’s nothing compared to the one the company is building down in New Orleans.

Leanne Caret, CEO of Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security division, boiled down the aerospace manufacturer’s astronomical ambitions at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday: “We’re building the largest rocket that’s going to take us to Mars.”

Designed for NASA, the so-called Space Launch System will be the most powerful rocket in history. But Caret has a more practical purpose in mind for the Boeing (BA, +0.19%) spaceship, including leisure travel and vacation. “You want to go with me?” she asked at the conference.

Of course, vacationing on Mars would require some planning beyond what’s necessary for even the most exotic earthly destinations.

“The moon would be easier than Mars, because it takes you so long to get to Mars and back,” she said, estimating the length of the journey at around two years each way. “It depends on how old we are.”

“You have to be really paid up on your mortgage,” she joked. “You’ve got to have things kind of worked out before you leave—it’s not just, ‘Oh I’ll just email them, it’ll all be fine.'”

At first, the rocket will travel to Mars unmanned, just as the first trips to the moon were. Eventually, though, the missions to Mars will be manned—”‘manned’ being men and women,” said Caret, who believes it will happen in her lifetime.

When she’s not dreaming of visiting the red planet, Caret is also working to ensure the smooth operation of Boeing satellites, which are relied on by both the U.S. government for data collection, and consumers for myriad smartphone functions, such as GPS and location-based apps. That’s no small task, she explained, when the “threat environment” can range from Chinese spy satellites to a potential attack by North Korea. “We want assured space,” Caret said.

But the Mars mission is special to Caret not only because she looks forward to taking an extraterrestrial holiday. Her parents. who also worked for Boeing, met while building the Saturn V “Apollo” spacecraft that launched the first man to the moon—at the very same Louisiana factory where Caret is now overseeing the new Mars rocket, she said: “How ironic is that!”