VOA科学技术2024--US Company Launches First Private Mission to the Moon

An American company successfully launched a mission Monday to explore the moon. The launch of a robotic lander marked the first time a private space vehicle has been sent to the lunar surface.

However, the company reported a serious fuel leak about seven hours after the launch. The 1.9-meter-tall lander, called Peregrine, launched at 07:18 UTC from Cape¹ Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The spacecraft was built by Astrobotic Technology, a company based in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was carried into space on a Vulcan Centaur² rocket. The rocket was built by American space launch company, United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint³ venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Earlier, Astrobotic chief executive John Thornton said if all goes as planned, Peregrine will attempt to land on the moon February 23.

However, Astrobotic said in a statement it is currently assessing possible changes to the mission to see what might be possible. If the fuel issue is serious, it "threatens the ability of the spacecraft to soft land on the moon," the company said.

Astrobotic said in a press release Peregrine is loaded with 20 research experiments involving seven different countries. It is equipped to collect data on radiation and materials found on the moon's surface.

The lander also carried a small robotic explorer and other materials. These included a physical bitcoin, a piece of rock from Mount Everest and the ash remains⁴ of famous space lovers Gene⁵ Roddenberry and Arthur C. Clarke. Roddenberry was creator of the popular science fiction television show Star Trek⁶ and Clarke was a science fiction writer.

The Navajo Nation recently sought to have the launch delayed because of the inclusion of the remains. The head of the Native American group called the sending of remains a "desecration⁷" because Native Americans consider the moon a sacred space.

In a message on X, formerly⁸ Twitter, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said, "The suggestion of transforming (the mission) into a resting place for human remains is deeply disturbing and unacceptable to our people and many other tribal⁹ nations."

Astrobotic's Thornton answered the criticism by saying the Navajo's Nation's objections came too late to reach an agreement on the issue. But he promised to try to find "a good path forward" with the Navajo Nation for future missions.

So far, only four nations have successfully landed spacecraft on the moon: the United States, China, the Soviet¹⁰ Union and India. The last time the United States landed on the moon was in 1972 with its Apollo 17 mission.

NASA is currently moving ahead with its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon.

Astrobotic is trying to be the first private business to successfully land on the moon in an effort to support the Artemis Program. But The Associated Press reports another space company's lander might beat Peregrine to the lunar surface.

This is because that lander, called Nova-C, is set to take a more direct path to the moon. It plans to launch next month on a SpaceX Falcon¹¹ 9 rocket. Nova-C was built by Texas-based space company Intuitive Machines. The company also plans to send the lander to the moon for another mission later this year.

Private companies from Japan and Israel tried in the past to land spacecraft on the moon, but those attempts failed.

Japan's space agency will attempt another moon landing in mid-January. The agency, JAXA, launched the SLIM spacecraft on its way to the moon in September. SLIM's goal is to test the possibility that spacecraft can land on very specific targets.

Another Astrobotic lander, called Griffin, is set to launch to the moon's south pole in late 2024. It will be carrying an exploring robot, or rover, called VIPER¹². VIPER is designed to search for water sources on the moon.

All the private space missions were developed through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The program aims to turn over the country's major missions to private companies in an effort to operate at reduced costs.

Words in This Story

mission – n. to do something considered very difficult or impossible

joint venture –n. a new business activity involving two or more businesses that aim to combine their resources

desecrate¹³ – v. to damage or show a lack of respect toward something holy or highly respected

sacred – adj. relating to religion or considered to be holy

transform –v. to change something from one form to another

disturbing – adj. making you feel worried or upset

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 centaur   

n.人首马身的怪物

参考例句：

• His face reminded me somehow of a centaur.他的脸使我想起半人半马的怪物。
• No wonder he had soon been hustled away to centaur school.也难怪父母匆匆忙忙就把他送到了半人马学校。

3 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。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

6 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

7 desecration   

n. 亵渎神圣, 污辱

参考例句：

• Desecration, and so forth, and lectured you on dignity and sanctity. 比如亵渎神圣等。想用尊严和神圣不可侵犯之类的话来打动你们。
• Desecration: will no longer break stealth. 亵渎：不再消除潜行。

8 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

9 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

10 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。

11 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

12 viper   

n.毒蛇；危险的人

参考例句：

• Envy lucks at the bottom of the human heart a viper in its hole.嫉妒潜伏在人心底，如同毒蛇潜伏在穴中。
• Be careful of that viper;he is dangerous.小心那个阴险的人，他很危险。

13 desecrate   

v.供俗用，亵渎，污辱

参考例句：

• The enemy desecrate the church by using it as a stable.敌人亵渎这所教堂,把它当做马厩。
• It's a crime to desecrate the country's flag.玷污国旗是犯罪。