美国国家公共电台 NPR--NASA returns to its old training grounds: The moonlike lava fields of Arizona

NASA returns to its old training grounds: The moonlike lava¹ fields of Arizona

Transcript²

As NASA prepares to return humans to the moon in 2025, it is testing a rover and other gear on a piece of land in Arizona where astronauts and engineers tried out Apollo mission gear 60 years ago.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Fifty years after humans last walked on the moon, NASA wants astronauts to go back. So they have returned to their old training grounds, the moon-like lava fields of the Arizona desert. Melissa Sevigny reports from our member station KNAU.

(SOUNDBITE OF GRAVEL³ CRUNCHING)

MELISSA SEVIGNY, BYLINE⁴: An RV-sized moon rover with 12 wheels and a bubble of windows cocooning⁵ the driver's chair rumbles⁶ over the Black Point Lava Flow in northern Arizona. Bare, black earth split by canyons⁷ stretches to the horizon. And old volcanoes dot the skyline. Geologist⁸ Lauren Edgar says it's a lot like the moon.

LAUREN EDGAR: And I was lucky to be pulled into astronaut training, particularly because we do a lot of work out here in northern Arizona, in the Flagstaff area.

SEVIGNY: It's Edgar's job to give astronauts a crash course in geology. And this is the landscape to do it in.

EDGAR: So they'll go out to a station, explore. As soon as they move on, we go in and kind of ground truth what they were seeing.

SEVIGNY: These forays into the lunar-like landscape are part of a series of simulated moon missions. American and Japanese astronauts paired up and lived inside the pressurized rover for three-day stretches. The space is cramped⁹, with two fold-down beds and a toilet, but no stepping outside for a quick breath of fresh air. Edgar says this is a real practice run for the moon.

EDGAR: And we haven't done that since the Apollo era. So it was really exciting to ramp¹⁰ up that full-scale testing.

SEVIGNY: When the Apollo program ended in 1972, just 12 people had walked on the moon, all of them men. The Artemis program intends to put the first woman and first person of color on the moon. Marc Reagan is a manager of the simulated moon missions.

MARC REAGAN: The Artemis accords are about exploring the moon peacefully. And I liked seeing that we have this diversity of the population here on Earth starting to be represented in this.

SEVIGNY: The Arizona base camp bustles¹¹ with scientists and engineers from all over the country. Michael Miller¹² is with NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It's his job to make sure communications hardware will work in a lumpy landscape, like on the moon.

MICHAEL MILLER: I live in Florida. It's really flat and open and easy. Out here, there's a lot of mountains and plateaus and other things that affect the comms.

SEVIGNY: Industrial designer Lily Douglas has a 35-pound, prototype moon backpack stuffed with cameras and other gear.

LILY DOUGLAS: To be a part of hopefully making history, it's really, really awesome¹³.

SEVIGNY: The rover is the star of the simulated moon missions. Space historian Kevin Schindler watches the 10,000-pound vehicle make a pinpoint¹⁴ turn, each of its 12 wheels moving independently. He says astronauts drove rovers in northern Arizona during the Apollo era, too.

KEVIN SCHINDLER: And so to see that what they did 50 years ago isn't just a historic footnote but is the foundation for what's happening today and that - in just a couple of years, we're going back.

SEVIGNY: It's the goal of Artemis not just to explore the moon, but eventually put down roots there, with a permanent base camp that can be used to launch future missions to Mars or beyond.

SCHINDLER: We learned so much by going to space and learned so much about the solar system and our place in it. We're explorers at heart.

SEVIGNY: This November, NASA plans to launch the first test voyage of the Artemis Program, an uncrewed spacecraft that will orbit the moon on a nearly month-long flight. A lunar landing with humans is planned for 2025.

For NPR News, I'm Melissa Sevigny.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 cocooning   

v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的现在分词 )；营茧；结茧

参考例句：

• This is called nesting or cocooning. 这就是所谓的筑巢或结茧。 来自互联网
• The technique of comprehensive cocooning can keep the cocooned from rusting for 2-5 years. 综合封存技术可以保证被封存件2～5年不生锈。 来自互联网

6 rumbles   

隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If I hear any rumbles I'll let you know. 我要是听到什么风声就告诉你。
• Three blocks away train rumbles by. 三个街区以外，火车隆隆驶过。

7 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

8 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

9 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

10 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

11 bustles   

热闹( bustle的名词复数 )； （女裙后部的）衬垫； 撑架

参考例句：

• She bustles about cooking breakfast in a most officious manner. 她为准备早餐忙得团团转。
• Everyone bustles during rush hours. 上下班时间每个人都忙忙碌碌的。

12 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

13 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

14 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。