2021双语新闻 国际空间站运行20年,它的未来在何方?

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Astronomical¹ birthday

国际空间站运行20年，它的未来在何方？

2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the International Space Station (ISS) since the first group of astronauts arrived at the ISS on Nov 2, 2000.

2020年是国际空间站运行20周年。2000年11月2日，第一批宇航员抵达国际空间站。

As a milestone² of space exploration, the ISS didn't come cheap.

作为太空探索的一块里程碑，国际空间站造价不菲。

It cost about 989 billion yuan, took decades to build and is by far the world's largest space project.

其耗资约9890亿元，历时数十年建成，是目前全球最大的太空项目。

When it comes to achievements, ISS has accommodated at least 3,000 research projects, from research on Alzheimer's to toothpaste.

在成就方面，国际空间站已为至少3000个研究项目提供平台，研究类别从阿兹海默症到牙膏。

But still, with a 26-billion-yuan bill annually³, ISS can't make ends meet.

但每年260亿元的花销仍令国际空间站入不敷出。

NASA has been promoting to commercialize ISS.

美国航空航天局一直在推动国际空间站商业化。

In 2019, NASA announced that the ISS would open for business to private citizens.

2019年，美国航空航天局宣布国际空间站将向个人开放。

According to Reuters, NASA will allow up to two private trips to the station per year, each lasting⁴ up to 30 days.

据路透社消息，美国航空航天局每年将允许最多两次私人的国际空间站旅行，每次旅行长达30天。

NASA estimated the cost of a flight would be around $50 million per seat.

美国航空航天局预计每次太空之旅的人均花费为5000万美元左右。

However, ISS isn't in the same state as it was in its youth.

然而，国际空间站却不复当年的状态。

After 20 years of circling the Earth, ISS has suffered multiple problems.

绕地球运行20年后，国际空间站存在诸多问题。

For example, there have been several air leak issues, the most recent of which was announced by NASA on Sept 29.

比如，国际空间站已发生几次气体泄漏问题，最近的一次由美国航空航天局于去年9月29日发布。

Meanwhile, without enough propellant, ISS will not stay in orbit and could fall, leading to disaster.

此外，如果没有充足的推进剂，国际空间站便停留在轨道上，或许会发生坠落，引发灾难。

"Worst, worst case, I guess it's a 911, right?" Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer⁵ at Harvard told Space.com.

“最坏、最坏的情况，我猜是像911那样的，对吧？”哈佛大学天文学家乔纳森·麦克道尔向太空网表示。

"Because it's at worst case a plane crashing, part of which is in a populated area."

“因为没有比飞机坠毁、其中一部分还落在人口密集区更糟糕的了。”

So how can the space station make a safe re-entry?

所以，国际空间站能够如何安全重新进入大气层呢？

Despite certain risks, NASA is considering a scheduled de-orbit – maneuvering⁶ the station to a special angle in its orbit, making the re-entry more predictable and allowing managers to target the debris⁷ to the vast, sparsely⁸ populated southern Pacific Ocean.

尽管存在一定风险，美国航空航天局正在考虑脱离轨道的计划——将空间站移至轨道中的特定角度，使其返回过程更可预测，以便管理人员将残骸投放至广阔无人的南太平洋。

An alternative is to launch new station modules¹⁰ to replace the old ones.

另一种方法是发射新的模块舱来取代旧的。

"Each module⁹ is going to be designed with its own guidance, navigation and control, its own thruster capabilities," said Christian¹¹ Maender, director of in-space manufacturing and research for Houston-based company Axiom.

“每个模块舱都将配有自身制导、导航和控制系统，并具备自主推进性能，”总部位于休斯顿的Axiom公司的太空制造和研究主管克里斯蒂安·马恩德说道。

"So when they need to, they can separate and return through Earth's atmosphere on their own."

“所以在有需要的时候，它们可以自行分离，自主穿过大气层返回地球。”

For now, ISS will continue through at least 2024.

目前，国际空间站运行延至2024年。

1 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

4 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

5 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

6 maneuvering   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的现在分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• This Manstein did, with some brilliant maneuvering under the worse winter conditions. 曼施坦因在最恶劣的严冬条件下，出色地施展了灵活机动的战术，终于完成了任务。 来自辞典例句
• In short, large goals required farsighted policies, not tactical maneuvering. 一句话，大的目标需要有高瞻远瞩的政策，玩弄策略是不行的。 来自辞典例句

7 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

8 sparsely   

adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地

参考例句：

• Relative to the size, the city is sparsely populated. 与其面积相比，这个城市的人口是稀少的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was sparsely covered with grass. 地面上稀疏地覆盖草丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

10 modules   

n.模块( module的名词复数 )；单元；（宇宙飞船上各个独立的）舱；组件

参考例句：

• The course consists of ten core modules and five optional modules. 这门课程包括十个必修单元和五个选修单元。
• Our English course is divided into modules on poetry, drama, and novels. 我们的英语课分为诗歌、戏剧和小说等单元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。