Mars mission enters final countdown

 　　BEIJING,Nov. 9 (Xinhuanet) – Yinghuo-1, China's first interplanetary spacecraft, is set to hitch¹ a ride with Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mars mission in the early hours on Wednesday, after a two-year delay.

　　A Zenit-2SB rocket will carry Yinghuo-1 and Phobos-Grunt into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan.

　　It is China and Russia's first joint² Mars operation and also marks China's first voyage to the Red Planet, China Great Wall Industry Corp said in a news release on Tuesday.

　　Yinghuo-1 will work in orbit with Phobos-Grunt for more than 12 months in collecting data on the Martian atmosphere.

　　Both spacecraft will travel for more than 10 months before entering Martian orbit. During the trip, Yinghuo-1's power supply, communications and temperature gauge³ will be controlled from the Russian craft, scientists said.

　　Both craft will orbit the planet three times before decoupling. The 106-kg Yinghuo-1 will circle Mars in an elliptical orbit, while Phobos-Grunt will actually land on Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, and bring back soil samples to Earth.

　　"The collaboration⁴ with Russia will enhance China's ability in deep space exploration, improve spacecraft design and development, and promote planetary exploration," said an unnamed official with the corp, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace⁵ Science & Technology Corp. Russia's Lavochkin Research and Production Association signed a cooperation contract, based on an agreement between the Chinese and Russian governments, with China Great Wall Industry Corp in 2007.

　　Yinghuo-1, with a two-year lifespan, also has its own scientific goals.

　　These include analyzing⁶ the planet's magnetic environment and ionosphere (upper atmosphere), taking images of topographical features and studying gravity fields on the Martian equator.

　　Pang⁷ Zhihao, deputy editor-in-chief of the monthly publication, Space International, said China's focus on the planet's upper atmosphere is significant.

　　Twenty detectors⁸ have explored parts of Mars, but most of them have looked for traces of life or water or places suitable for setting up colonies, he said.

　　But studying the upper atmosphere is also vital if humans are to live on the planet, he said.

　　The mission was set for October 2009, but later postponed⁹ to this year to enhance the reliability¹⁰ of the project.

　　Only the United States, the former Soviet¹¹ Union and the European Union have succeeded in landing probes on Mars. Five are in operation, four belong to the US and one belongs to the EU.

　　At least 21 probes sent to the planet have failed. The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the CASC, which designed Yinghuo-1 in 23 months, said that the satellite posed a major technological¹² challenge as the furthest space destination for China before had been the moon. The moon's average distance from Earth is about 384,000 km. The distance between Mars and Earth, depending on orbits, ranges from approximately 55 million km to about 350 million km.

　　Yinghuo-1 will have to endure periods in the freezing dark side of the planet.

　　It underwent simulated tests that matched the Martian temperature, - 260 C.

　　Because of the distances involved, the satellite cannot rely on ground control to adjust position. It will rely on its own onboard computer, scientists said.

1 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

4 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

5 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

6 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

7 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

8 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

9 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

10 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

12 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。