美国国家公共电台 NPR--What time is it on the moon? Scientists are trying to figure that out

What time is it on the moon? Scientists are trying to figure that out

Transcript¹

Scientists like Brice Dellandrea are trying to determine what time it is on the moon. Dellandrea is with the European Space Agency which is thinking about giving the moon its own time zone.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR West, where you are, is in a different time zone than Studio 31 here in Washington, where I am now with our crew. But what time is it on the moon? I'd never really wondered that question before, but scientists like Brice Dellandrea are trying to figure this out.

BRICE DELLANDREA: Counting time is not straightforward². We are used to count time like 24 hours a day, 60 minutes per hour, 60 seconds per minute. But it's not absolute. It's what we are used to experience on Earth, but it's not happening like that out of Earth

INSKEEP: At this time, Dellandrea is with the European Space Agency, where they're thinking about giving the moon its own time zone.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Yeah, that might be easier said than done. For one thing, a day on the moon is equal to 28 days on Earth, and clocks run slightly faster on the moon because gravity is different there.

INSKEEP: Which matters to space crews coordinating³ complex missions with scientists on Earth. The tiniest discrepancy⁴ can throw off calculations of space and distance and could mean life or death for astronauts on the moon.

DELLANDREA: The oxygen and the gas is what you have. I mean, you cannot wait for someone to come and get you. You have to go back to your base. So if you make a mistake on the positioning and you miss your spot, it can become very dangerous.

MART?NEZ: Space historian and author Andrew Chaikin says it's not a new problem.

ANDREW CHAIKIN: The astronauts who went to the moon on the Apollo missions - they set their watches to Houston time because that's where Mission Control was. But really, what they referred to was something called Mission Elapsed Time, which was the time that had elapsed from the moment that their rocket lifted off the Earth. And that was the common language.

INSKEEP: International missions today often use Coordinated⁵ Universal Time, the time, the standard that most countries use to set their clocks. But as space exploration missions grow more sophisticated, the clock will need to be even more precise.

MART?NEZ: Brice Dellandrea estimates about a hundred scientists are working on a lunar time zone, so it could take a lot of time - years, in fact, actually - to figure all that out.

(SOUNDBITE OF PINK FLOYD SONG, "TIME")

1 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。

2 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

3 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

4 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

5 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法