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“嫦五奔月”刷屏外媒!美专家:任务复杂,但中国能搞定

2020-11-26来源:和谐英语

11月24日,万众瞩目的嫦娥五号一飞冲天,进入预定轨道,发射取得圆满成功,开启我国首次地外天体采样返回之旅。

作为人类探索月球的又一次伟大尝试,这一新闻也引爆了外媒的热情。

 《纽约时报》:中国开启月球任务,将带回月壤

上一次月球样品被带回地球,还是40多年前,这次嫦娥五号带回的丰富样本将具有巨大科研价值

 国家地理:中国的最新月球任务将带回1976年以来第一抔月壤

嫦娥五号航天器踏上征途,将为地球采回最新鲜的月壤,帮助科学家解开月球历史之谜

 美联社:中国迄今最具野心的月球任务将带回月岩

外媒提到,此次任务将使中国成为继美国和前苏联后第三个采回月球样本的国家。《卫报》报道称:

The Chang’e 5 mission, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, will seek to collect lunar material to help scientists understand more about the moon’s origins and formation. The mission will test China’s ability to remotely acquire samples from space before more complex missions.
以中国古代月宫仙女命名的嫦娥五号将采集回月球样本,让科学家更多地了解月球的来源和形成。这一任务将考验中国地外天体采样返回的能力,从而继续推进更为复杂的太空任务。

If successful, the mission would make China only the third country to have retrieved lunar samples, joining the United States and the former Soviet Union.
此次任务成功的话,中国将成为继美国和前苏联后第三个采回月球样本的国家。

外国专家:这次任务意义非凡


外国专家对于这次任务也充满期待。


据《纽约时报》报道,美国宇航局(NASA)副首席科学家戴维·德雷珀(David S. Draper)评论称:

"This is a really audacious mission. They’re going to move the ball down the field in a big way with respect to understanding a lot of things that are important about lunar history."
这真是一次非常大胆的任务。将大大推进人类对于月球的了解,掌握更多与月球历史相关的知识。

嫦娥五号探测器是迄今为止我国研制的最为复杂的航天器系统,由轨道器、返回器、着陆器、上升器4个器以及15个分系统组成。

美国海军军事学院的太空专家琼·约翰逊-弗里兹(Joan Johnson-Freese)认为,该探测器的技术复杂性使其“在很多方面都具有非凡意义”(remarkable in many ways):

If successful, it could be a blueprint for a Mars sample return or even a crewed lunar mission, Johnson-Freese said.
约翰逊-弗里兹说,如果任务成功,它将成为未来火星采样返回,甚至载人登月任务的蓝本。

"China is showing itself capable of developing and successfully carrying out sustained high-tech programs, important for regional influence and potentially global partnerships," she said.
她说:“中国开始展现出研发和成功实施可持续高科技项目的能力,这对于增强地域影响力和加强潜在国际合作都至关重要。”

任务很复杂,但“中国能搞定”

在此次任务中,“嫦娥五号”将经过着陆器落月、月表采样、月球起飞、轨道对接、样品转移、返回器返回等11个阶段,20余天的在轨飞行过程,采集约2千克月球样品返回地球。

任务难度非常之大,但哈佛-史密森天体物理中心的天文学家乔纳森·麦克道尔(Jonathan McDowell)认为,“中国肯定能搞定”(China can pull this off),他的理由也很充分:

The mission is "indeed challenging," but China has already landed twice on the moon with its Chang'e 3 and Chang'e 4 missions, and showed with a 2014 Chang'e 5 test mission that it can navigate back to Earth, re-enter and land a capsule, said Jonathan McDowell.
麦克道尔说,这次任务“确实很有挑战性”,但中国已经通过嫦娥三号和嫦娥四号登陆了月球,2014年,嫦娥五号“探路兵”的再入飞行试验成功,证明中国有能力执行月地返回、再入返回和返回舱着陆回收的任务。

All that's left is to show it can collect samples and take off again from the moon, McDowell said. "As a result of this, I’m pretty optimistic that China can pull this off," he said.
现在剩下的就是展示它采集样本、重新从月球起飞的能力。麦克道尔说,“所以说,中国肯定能搞定,我对此非常乐观。”

《纽约时报》:中国起步晚,但进步快

《纽约时报》还盘点了中国近年来探索太空的努力,指出中国是本世纪唯一个将机器人巡视器送上月球的国家。

In this century, so far only China has successfully put robotic spacecraft on the surface of the moon: Chang’e 3 in December 2013, and Chang’e 4, which in January 2019 became the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon. Chang’e 4’s rover, called Yutu 2, is still operating, studying lunar geology nearly two years later.
在本世纪,目前只有中国成功将机器人航天器送上月球:2013年12月的嫦娥三号,和2019年1月的嫦娥四号,后者是首个在月球背面着陆的探测器。嫦娥四号的巡视器,玉兔二号,现在仍在工作,在着陆近2年后还在研究月球地质。

Although China ventured into space much later than the United States and the former Soviet Union, the country has made huge progress over the past decade, and is now among the elite ranks of space-faring nations.
虽然中国进入太空领域的时间远晚于美国和前苏联,但该国在过去十年成绩斐然,现已跻身航天大国之列。

In addition to the lunar missions, China’s astronauts have docked in orbit with space stations of the country’s own construction three times. In July, the Tianwen 1 mission set course for Mars, and will try to land on the red planet’s surface next year.
除了探月计划,中国还在低地轨道实现三次与空间站的载人交会对接任务。今年7月,天问一号开启探索火星的征程,将于明年降落在这颗红色星球上。