Big Space Missions Planned for 2024

Big Space Missions Planned for 2024

计划于2024年进行的大型太空任务

【听力音频】

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　　By Bryan Lynn

　　07 January 2024

　　A series of new space missions are planned for the coming year. Here is a look ahead at some of the ones to watch out for in 2024.

　　Artemis II

　　The American space agency NASA launched its first flight in the Artemis program in 2022. That mission, called Artemis I, sent the Orion spacecraft on a trip to fly around the moon.

　　Artemis aims to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

　　Artemis I was a test of the Orion spacecraft, or capsule, as well as NASA's huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that carried it into space. That mission sent Orion more than 400,000 kilometers away from Earth and completed a close fly-by of the moon. NASA officials declared Artemis I a huge success.

　　NASA plans to launch Artemis II in late 2024. It is expected to take the same path that Artemis I took around the moon, but this time it will be carrying four NASA astronauts aboard Orion.

　　NASA says Artemis II aims "to confirm all of the spacecraft's systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space."

　　Moon lander launches

　　While Artemis II will not complete a landing, several other lunar landers are expected to touch down on the moon's surface in 2024.

　　The first of these launches is planned for January 8. It involves a lander named Peregrine. The 1.9-meter-tall spacecraft is made by the private, American space company Astrobotic Technology. It will launch aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket, made by United Launch Alliance (ULA).

　　Peregrine is expected to carry 20 research experiments to the moon for seven countries. It will aim to land in an area known as Sinus Viscositatis. NASA says the area sits next to the Gruithuisen Domes, the largest dark spot on the near side of the moon.

　　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 VIPER. VIPER is designed to search for water sources on the moon.

　　In addition to those, American space company Intuitive Machines is providing two landers to NASA expected for launches next year.

　　Japan will also attempt to become the fifth nation to reach the surface of the moon in mid-January. The country's space agency launched the spacecraft, called SLIM, in September. SLIM's mission goal is to test the possibility that spacecraft can land on very specific targets.

　　ESA's Hera mission

　　The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch its Hera spacecraft in October on a mission to return to an asteroid system visited by NASA's DART spacecraft in 2022. Hera is designed to collect data on the targeted system, called Didymos. The spacecraft is expected to closely examine the physical properties of Didymos and measure detailed effects of DART's crash.

　　Europa Clipper

　　NASA hopes to launch its Europa Clipper mission in October. This orbiter is designed to carry out close examinations of Jupiter's moon Europa. Specifically, the mission will look for signs that the icy moon might hold the right conditions to support life. NASA says the orbiter will fly in orbit around Jupiter and "perform repeated close flybys of the ice moon."

　　Boeing's Starliner test flight

　　NASA and Boeing have said they plan to launch the first crewed test flight of the company's Starliner spacecraft. NASA says it is targeting March 2024 to have Starliner ready for flight. A launch date is to be set later.

　　The spacecraft completed its first uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station (ISS) last May. But Boeing has experienced several technical difficulties with Starliner during the mission and has worked with NASA to fix the problems as it prepares for the planned crewed flight.

　　SpaceX Starship test

　　SpaceX, another NASA partner, has been successfully using its rockets and spacecraft to transport astronauts and materials to the ISS since 2020. But the company will be seeking a successful test flight in 2024 for its super-heavy Starship spacecraft.

　　SpaceX experienced two failed Starship tests in 2023 – one in April and the other in November – which resulted in explosions. The April blast caused major damage to the launch structure in the state of Texas. SpaceX has said it has been examining the issues related to the explosions and plans to carry out another test of Starship as soon as possible. But it will have to wait until the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) completes its investigation of the launch site damage and approves a new test.

　　I'm Bryan Lynn.

　　Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and NASA.

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　　作者：Bryan Lynn

　　日期：2024年1月7日

　　一系列新的太空任务计划在来年进行。以下是2024年值得关注的一些任务。

　　阿尔忒弥斯二号

　　美国航天局NASA在2022年启动了阿尔忒弥斯计划的首次飞行。那次任务，名为阿尔忒弥斯一号，将奥赖恩飞船送上了绕月球飞行的旅程。

　　阿尔忒弥斯计划旨在让宇航员自1972年NASA的阿波罗17号任务以来首次返回月球。

　　阿尔忒弥斯一号是对奥赖恩飞船或太空舱，以及NASA巨大的太空发射系统（SLS）火箭的测试，该火箭将其送入太空。那次任务使奥赖恩离地球超过400,000公里，并完成了对月球的近距离飞越。NASA官员宣布阿尔忒弥斯一号取得了巨大成功。

　　NASA计划在2024年底发射阿尔忒弥斯二号。预计它将沿阿尔忒弥斯一号绕月球的同样路径飞行，但这次它将搭载四名NASA宇航员乘坐奥赖恩。

　　NASA表示，阿尔忒弥斯二号的目标是“确认所有飞船系统在深空实际环境中都能按设计运行”。

　　月球着陆器发射

　　虽然阿尔忒弥斯二号不会完成着陆，但预计还有几个月球着陆器将在2024年登陆月球表面。

　　这些发射的第一次计划在1月8日进行。它涉及一个名为Peregrine的着陆器。这个1.9米高的航天器由美国私人航天公司Astrobotic Technology制造。它将搭载由联合发射联盟（ULA）制造的火神半人马火箭发射。

　　预计Peregrine将为七个国家携带20个研究实验到月球。它将目标定在一个被称为Sinus Viscositatis的区域。NASA表示，该区域位于Gruithuisen Domes旁边，这是月球近侧最大的黑点。

　　另一个Astrobotic的着陆器，名为Griffin，计划在2024年底发射到月球南极。它将携带一个名为VIPER的探索机器人，或者说是月球车。VIPER的设计目的是在月球上寻找水源。

　　除此之外，美国航天公司Intuitive Machines还将为NASA提供两个预计明年发射的着陆器。

　　日本也将在1月中旬尝试成为第五个到达月球表面的国家。该国的航天局在9月份发射了名为SLIM的航天器。SLIM的任务目标是测试航天器能否在非常特定的目标上着陆。

　　欧洲航天局的赫拉任务

　　欧洲航天局（ESA）计划在10月份发射其赫拉航天器，返回到NASA的DART航天器在2022年访问过的小行星系统。赫拉的设计目的是收集关于目标系统Didymos的数据。预计该航天器将对Didymos的物理属性进行详细检查，并测量DART撞击的详细效果。

　　欧罗巴号

　　NASA希望在10月份发射其欧罗巴号任务。这个轨道飞行器的设计目的是对木星的卫星欧罗巴进行近距离检查。具体来说，该任务将寻找冰月可能具备支持生命的适宜条件的迹象。NASA表示，这个轨道飞行器将在木星周围飞行，并“对冰月进行反复的近距离飞越”。

　　波音的Starliner测试飞行

　　NASA和波音公司已经表示，他们计划发射该公司的Starliner宇宙飞船的首次载人试飞。NASA表示，他们的目标是在2024年3月之前让Starliner准备好飞行。具体的发射日期将在稍后确定。

　　这个宇宙飞船在去年5月完成了首次无人飞行测试，飞往国际空间站（ISS）。但是，在任务过程中，波音公司在Starliner上遇到了几个技术问题，并已经与NASA一起解决了这些问题，以准备计划中的载人飞行。

　　SpaceX星舰测试

　　另一个NASA的合作伙伴SpaceX，自2020年以来已经成功地使用其火箭和宇宙飞船将宇航员和物资运送到ISS。但是，该公司将在2024年寻求其超重型星舰宇宙飞船的成功试飞。

　　SpaceX在2023年经历了两次星舰测试失败 - 一次在四月，另一次在十一月 - 这两次都导致了爆炸。四月的爆炸对德克萨斯州的发射结构造成了重大损害。SpaceX表示，它一直在研究与爆炸相关的问题，并计划尽快进行另一次星舰测试。但它必须等待美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）完成对发射场损害的调查并批准新的测试。

　　我是Bryan Lynn。

　　Bryan Lynn为VOA学习英语撰写了这篇报道，报道基于美联社、路透社、法新社和NASA的报道。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　mission – n.做一些被认为非常困难或不可能的事情

　　asteroid – n.一种由岩石和金属构成，围绕太阳运行，但比行星小的物体