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VOA标准英语2014--2014年,太空标准检查技术遭遇挫折

时间:2014-12-28 12:54:38

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2014 Year of Space Technology Benchmarks, Setbacks 2014年,太空标准检查技术遭遇挫折

WASHINGTON—

Space technology this year reached some important goals, culminating with the spectacular landing of a space probe on a comet, millions of kilometers from Earth.  But there were some setbacks, too.

The biggest achievements of 2014 happened in the last half of the year.

In August, after a decade-long flight, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft became the first man-made object to enter into orbit around a comet, more than 400 million kilometers away.

In November, Rosetta launched a probe, named Philae, that made the first soft landing on the comet.

Its rugged1 surface caused the probe to settle down in partial shade, but lander manager Stephan Ulamec counseled patience.

“Our original fear that the lander would overheat is not relevant anymore," he said. "We are in the shadow. So we can operate much longer in principle but we have to be patient and wait for a little bit more time until we have enough solar power to reactivate Philae.”

Orbiting Mars

In September, the U.S. scientific satellite MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile2 Evolution Mission) entered an orbit around Mars, with the mission of learning what happened to the Red Planet's atmosphere and water.

MAVEN principal investigator3 Bruce Jakosky says scientists now know that Mars once had a much denser4 atmosphere and that it has changed significantly over the last few billion years. What they still don’t know is how and why that happened.

“We are trying to understand what the cause of that climate change has been, and we are looking at the role that escape to space may have played in removing the atmosphere and changing the atmosphere,” Jakosky said.

A few days later, MAVEN was joined by India’s spacecraft Mangalyaan, making India the first nation to reach Mars' orbit successfully in the first attempt. Its mission was to develop technologies and experience for future explorations.

NASA's Orion capsule

In December, using its largest rocket, the Delta5 IV Heavy, NASA conducted a nearly perfect first launch and retrieval of its new space capsule Orion, designed for manned deep space explorations.

Orion program manager Mark Geyer said it was hard to have a better day.

“It’s a difficult mission. It’s a tough environment to fly through," said Geyer. "It's tough objectives that we set up for this flight.  But it appears that Orion and the Delta IV Heavy were nearly flawless. Great job by the team.”

In the future, the Orion capsule will fly on top of a more powerful rocket, the Space Launch System.

NASA plans to send it to circumnavigate the moon in 2018, while the first flight with astronauts is planned for 2021.

Setbacks for private space industry

The budding private space industry in the U.S. suffered two setbacks this year. In October, Orbital Sciences Corporation’s cargo6 rocket Antares, bound for the International Space Station, exploded soon after liftoff.  Later that month, Virgin7 Galactic’s experimental space vehicle SpaceShip Two broke up in the middle of a test flight, killing8 one of the two pilots.

Both companies said the mishaps9 will not deter10 them from trying to develop reliable spacecraft for near orbit flights.


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1 rugged yXVxX     
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的
参考例句:
  • Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
  • The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。
2 volatile tLQzQ     
adj.反复无常的,挥发性的,稍纵即逝的,脾气火爆的;n.挥发性物质
参考例句:
  • With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定,投资冒着很大的风险。
  • His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱,喜怒无常。
3 investigator zRQzo     
n.研究者,调查者,审查者
参考例句:
  • He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
  • The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。
4 denser denser     
adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的
参考例句:
  • The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民,对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
  • As Tito entered the neighbourhood of San Martino, he found the throng rather denser. 蒂托走近圣马丁教堂附近一带时,发现人群相当密集。
5 delta gxvxZ     
n.(流的)角洲
参考例句:
  • He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
  • The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔,形成了一个三角洲。
6 cargo 6TcyG     
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句:
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
7 virgin phPwj     
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的
参考例句:
  • Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗?
  • There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。
8 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
9 mishaps 4cecebd66139cdbc2f0e50a83b5d60c5     
n.轻微的事故,小的意外( mishap的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a series of mishaps 一连串的倒霉事
  • In spite of one or two minor mishaps everything was going swimmingly. 尽管遇到了一两件小小的不幸,一切都进行得很顺利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
10 deter DmZzU     
vt.阻止,使不敢,吓住
参考例句:
  • Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
  • Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

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