VOA科学技术2023 美国宇航局意图开发月球资源（在线收听）

US Space Agency Aims to Develop Moon Resources

美国宇航局意图开发月球资源

A NASA scientist recently told a mining conference in Brisbane, Australia, that the U.S. space agency aims to develop resources on the moon.

美国宇航局的一位科学家最近在澳大利亚布里斯班的一次采矿会议上表示，美国宇航局的目标是开发月球资源。

Gerald Sanders has been a rocket scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Centre for 35 years. He said that the first resources NASA wants to develop are oxygen and water. Later, he said, the space agency may try to mine iron and rare earth metals.

杰拉尔德·桑德斯在美国宇航局约翰逊航天中心担任火箭科学家已有35年。他说，美国宇航局想要开发的第一批资源是氧气和水。他说，航天局随后可能会尝试开采铁和稀土金属。

NASA is taking steps to be able to dig into the moon's soil in 2032.

美国宇航局正在采取措施，以便能够在2032年挖掘月球土壤。

The U.S. space agency plans to return Americans to the moon as part of its Artemis mission. The goal is to learn from the mission and plan for explorations deeper into space.

作为阿尔忒弥斯任务的一部分，美国航天局计划让美国人重返月球。其目标是借鉴这项任务，并为深入太空探索做计划。

An important part of the Artemis mission is advancing commercial use of space. The agency plans to measure possible resources, including energy, water and lunar soil, to gain outside investment, Sanders said.

阿尔忒弥斯任务的一个重要部分是推进太空的商业利用。桑德斯说，该机构计划估量潜在资源的价值，包括能源、水和月球土壤，以获取外部投资。

He added that developing resources on the moon will be important to cutting costs and creating a circular economy. A circular economy is a system that is based on reuse of materials or products.

他补充说，开发月球资源对削减成本和发展循环经济来说至关重要。循环经济是一套基于材料或产品再利用的系统。

"We are trying to invest in the exploration phase, understand the resources...to (lower) risk such that external investment makes sense that could lead to development and production," Sanders told the mining conference.

桑德斯在矿业会议上表示：“我们正努力投入到勘探阶段，了解月球资源，以降低风险，这样使外部投资更具意义，从而促进开发和生产。”

"We are...just scratching the surface," he said.

他说：“不过我们实际上还有待深入。”

NASA plans to send a test drilling device to the moon soon and plans a larger digging project for moon soil, sometimes called regolith, and a testing processing system in 2032.

美国宇航局计划很快向月球发射一个测试钻探设备，并计划在2032年进行月球土壤或所谓风华层进行更大规模挖掘，并建立一个测试处理系统。

The first customers are expected to be commercial rocket companies that could use the moon's resources for fuel or oxygen.

预计首批客户将是商业火箭公司，这些公司可以利用月球资源获取燃料或氧气。

The Australian Space Agency is involved in developing a device that will take regolith samples on a NASA mission as early as 2026, said Samuel Webster. He is an assistant director at that agency.

塞缪尔·韦伯斯特表示，澳大利亚航天局正在参与研发一款设备，该设备最早将于2026年在美国宇航局的任务中采集风化层样本。他是澳大利亚航天局的助理主任。

The rover will demonstrate the collection of lunar soil that contains oxygen in the form of oxides.

月球车将展示月球土壤的收集，这些土壤含有氧化物形式的氧气。

Using separate equipment sent to the moon with the rover, NASA will aim to extract that oxygen, Webster said.

韦伯斯特说，美国宇航局将利用与月球车一起送往月球的单独设备，致力于提取氧气。

He added that finding resources on the moon was an important step towards establishing a lasting "human presence on the moon, as well (as) supporting future missions to Mars."

他补充说，在月球上寻找资源是建立“人类在月球上的持久存在，以及支持未来火星任务”的重要一步。