印度的月球车怎么了？：英语精读讲义

The Chandrayaan spacecraft and its rover have been silent on the moon for a couple of weeks.

几周以来，“月船”探测器及其漫游车在月球上一直处于静默状态。

The moon is an incredibly harsh environment.

月球是一个极其严酷的环境。

A single night on the moon lasts for 14 days,

月球上的一个夜晚长达14天，

meaning the rover and its electronics have to survive mind-bogglingly cold temperatures. 習語

这意味着漫游车及其电子设备必须在极度寒冷的温度下生存下来。

Without any power to keep it alive, 語法

由于没有维持运转的电力，

the rover and its lander are most likely dead.

漫游车和着陆器很可能已经“死亡”了。

But when the sun comes up again,

但当太阳再次升起时，

there is a small chance that they could come back to life. 習語

它们仍有一线生机能够“复活”。

The Chandrayaan mission was incredible in many ways.

“月船”任务在许多方面都令人惊叹。

With just 14 days to live, 語法

在仅有14天的寿命里，

it performed experiments in an area of the moon that we know very little about.

它在我们知之甚少的月球区域进行了多次实验。

Not only was it India's first successful landing on the moon, 語法

这不仅是印度首次成功登月，

but they also did it with an extremely low budget.

而且还是在预算极低的情况下完成的。

The entire cost for the mission came to just $75 million, 短語動詞

这次任务的总成本仅为7500万美元，

less than half of what China spent on their lunar rover. 語法

还不到中国在月球漫游车上花费的一半。

So, what's going to happen to Pragyan?

那么，“普拉吉安”号漫游车接下来会怎样？

First, we have to look at where Pragyan actually is.

首先，我们得看看“普拉吉安”号到底在哪里。

In recent years, space agencies around the world have been racing to get to one particular part of the moon,

近年来，世界各地的航天机构都在竞相前往月球的一个特定区域——

the south pole.

月球南极。

It's predicted that this part of the moon has ice just below the surface, 語法

科学家预测，月球这一区域的地表之下藏有冰，

which could be used for drinking water and rocket fuel.

这些冰可以用来提供饮用水和火箭燃料。

The moon is already a hostile place,

月球本身就已经是个充满敌意的地方，

but the poles of the moon are even worse.

但月球两极的情况甚至更糟。

In fact, the coldest temperature ever recorded in our solar system was in Hermite crater near the moon's north pole. 語法

事实上，太阳系有史以来记录到的最低温度，就出现在靠近月球北极的埃尔米特陨石坑。

Since parts of this crater never receive any sunlight,

由于这个陨石坑的部分区域永远照不到阳光，

the temperature was an incredible -250 degrees.

这里的温度低到了不可思议的零下250度。

Although Chandrayaan didn't land directly at the south pole, 語法

尽管“月船号”没有直接降落在南极，

it still has to deal with much lower temperatures, 短語動詞

它仍然需要应对低得多的温度，

and of course, lunar night.

当然，还有月球之夜。

But why is the night so long?

但为什么月夜会这么长呢？

The moon orbits the Earth around every 28 days.

月球大约每28天绕地球运行一圈。

The side of the moon that we see from Earth is locked to Earth, 文化背景

我们从地球上看到的月球一面被地球潮汐锁定，

meaning this face is always pointing towards us.

这意味着这一面始终朝向我们。

And so for 14 days,

因此在这14天里，

this face is visible to the sun.

这一面能够被阳光照射到。

But for the following 14 days,

但在接下来的14天里，

it is facing away from the sun.

它是背对着太阳的。

And so with just 14 days of sunlight,

所以，由于只有14天的日照时间，

the rover had to get busy.

漫游车必须赶紧忙碌起来。

As soon as it landed on the surface, 語法

一降落到月球表面，

the rover was released and it immediately rotated so that its solar array was facing the sun. 語法

漫游车就被释放出来，并立即旋转机身，让太阳能电池板朝向太阳。

This solar array generates just 50 watts of power,

它的太阳能电池板只能产生50瓦的电力，

enough to move the rover at around 1 cm per second.

足以让漫游车以每秒约1厘米的速度移动。

The rover has no way of sending its data directly to Earth. 語法

漫游车无法将数据直接发送回地球。

So it sends it back to the lander via a small antenna.

所以它通过一根小天线将数据发送给着陆器。

From there,

从那里，

the data is sent up to an orbiter and then onwards to Earth.

数据会被发送到轨道飞行器上，然后再传回地球。

Because of this, 表達脈絡

正因如此，

the rover has to stay within 500 m of the lander in order to still communicate.

漫游车必须保持在距离着陆器500米以内，才能维持通信。

The rover is largely autonomous.

漫游车在很大程度上是自动驾驶的。

The team in India decides where they want it to go

印度的团队决定他们希望它去哪里，

and the rover tries to get there in the safest way possible. 語法

然后漫游车会尝试以最安全的方式抵达那里。

It has two cameras on the front of the vehicle,

车头前方配有两台摄像机，

which it uses to look out for dangerous obstacles. 短語動詞

用来观察是否有危险的障碍物。

This system saved the rover just a few days into the mission 短語搭配

就在任务开始几天后，这个系统拯救了漫游车，

when it was headed straight towards a 4-m wide crater. 短語搭配

当时它正径直驶向一个4米宽的陨石坑。

The rover stopped and turned to head in a different direction.

漫游车停了下来，掉头驶向了另一个方向。

That's when it came across this old warship. 短語動詞

就在那时，它发现了这艘古老的战舰。

Just kidding. 語氣意圖

开个玩笑。

It didn't find anything like this.

它根本没发现这样的东西。

But you can find incredible ships like this on War Thunder,

但你可以在《战争雷霆》(War Thunder) 中找到这样令人惊叹的战舰，

the sponsor of today's video.

这是今天视频的赞助商。

War Thunder is a free-to-play military action game

《战争雷霆》是一款免费游玩的军事动作游戏，

where you can battle other players online in these epic arenas.

你可以在史诗般的竞技场中与其他玩家在线对战。

Whether you want to fight on the ground in a Soviet tank, 語法

无论你想驾驶苏联坦克在地面作战，

fly above in an American fighter jet,

在空中驾驶美国战斗机，

or take over a giant naval ship,

还是接管一艘巨大的海军战舰，

War Thunder has you covered with a wide range of vehicles from over 10 nations. 習語

《战争雷霆》提供了来自10多个国家的各种载具，满足你的需求。

In fact, there is an entire War Thunder Wikipedia site with super in-depth details on every vehicle in the game,

事实上，还有一个专门的《战争雷霆》维基网站，上面有游戏中每辆载具的超详细信息，

like the USS Nevada, which Chandrayaan totally found on the moon.

比如“内华达号”战列舰，这也绝对是“月船号”在月球上“真的”找到的那个（笑）。

Each vehicle can be improved and upgraded with extra armor and equipment.

每辆载具都可以通过增加额外装甲和装备来进行改进和升级。

New things are constantly being added to the game,

游戏中不断有新内容加入，

so there are always fresh vehicles to try out.

所以总有新鲜的载具等你来体验。

You can play War Thunder on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Mac.

你可以在PC、Xbox、PlayStation和Mac上游玩《战争雷霆》。

And best of all, it's completely free.

最棒的是，它完全免费。

Download War Thunder today using the link in the description.

赶快点击简介里的链接下载《战争雷霆》吧。

All new players and those that haven't played for half a year

所有新玩家以及半年未登录的老玩家，

will get special bonus vehicles and a premium account for a week.

都将获得特殊的奖励载具和一周的高级账号。

In order for Chandrayaan and its rover to survive lunar night, 語法

为了让“月船”及其漫游车在月夜中生存下来，

it has to withstand negative 200-degree temperatures for a whole 2 weeks.

它必须在整整两周的时间里承受零下200度的严寒。

The rover has a small 10-amp-hour battery,

漫游车上配备了一块10安时的小电池，

but this is nowhere near enough to last for the full 14 days. 習語

但这远远不够维持整整14天。

Without power, it has no way of running its heaters,

没有电力，它就无法运行加热器，

a crucial part of keeping all of its electronics alive.

而加热器是保持所有电子设备正常运转的关键部件。

Because of India's tight budget, 短語搭配

由于印度的预算很紧，

the electronics weren't designed to survive the extreme temperatures of the lunar night.

这些电子设备在设计时并未考虑要在月夜的极端温度下生存。

And so, the rover's survival is down to fate. 習語

因此，漫游车能否存活只能听天由命了。

China's rover, on the other hand, 表達脈絡

相比之下，中国的漫游车

has an RHU, a small device that can heat the rover during the lunar night.

拥有一个RHU，即可以在月夜为漫游车供暖的小装置。

This device contains a radioactive material called plutonium 238.

这个装置含有一种名为钚-238的放射性物质。

As the material decays,

随着材料的衰变，

it produces a constant source of heat,

它会产生恒定的热源，

which can be redirected throughout the rover.

这些热量可以被输送到漫游车的各个部位。

The problem is, this material is extremely expensive.

关键问题是，这种材料极其昂贵。

And so India's rover had no choice but to simply go to sleep. 語法

所以印度的漫游车别无选择，只能直接进入休眠。

Nevertheless, India's 14 days on the moon were a huge success.

尽管如此，印度在月球上的这14天取得了巨大的成功。

A few days in,

任务开始几天后，

the rover used a laser detector to find out what elements were present on the lunar surface.

漫游车使用激光探测器找出了月表存在的元素。

This works by firing the laser into the surface,

它的工作原理是向地表发射激光，

turning a small portion of it into plasma.

将一小部分月壤转化为等离子体。

The light from that plasma is then captured and broken down into a spectrum. 短語動詞

然后捕获该等离子体发出的光，并将其分解为光谱。

This basically shows the level of light at different wavelengths.

这基本上展示了不同波长下的光强度。

Every element emits and absorbs light at specific wavelengths,

每种元素都会在特定波长下发射和吸收光，

creating a recognizable line on the spectrum.

从而在光谱上产生可识别的谱线。

By comparing these lines to the ones found in the plasma, 語法

通过将这些谱线与等离子体中发现的谱线进行比较，

we can determine which elements are present.

我们就可以确定存在哪些元素。

But what did they find?

那么他们发现了什么呢？

Well, they found a bunch of elements. 用詞

嗯，他们发现了一堆元素。

Things like aluminum, sulfur, iron, silicon, and even oxygen.

比如铝、硫、铁、硅，甚至还有氧。

These are all incredibly useful things that humans could mine if they were on the moon.

如果人类登上月球，这些都是可以开采的极其有用的东西。

But perhaps the most impressive experiment from Chandrayaan's 14 days on the moon happened below the surface.

但“月船号”在月球上这14天里最令人惊叹的实验，或许发生在地表之下。

Our knowledge of how the moon formed and its structure beneath the surface is largely theoretical.

我们对月球如何形成及其地表之下结构的了解，在很大程度上仍停留在理论层面。

We believe it has a solid iron core surrounded by a mantle and a crust.

我们认为它有一个固态铁核，被地幔和地壳所包围。

But there is still so much we don't know about our moon.

但关于我们的月球，仍有许多我们不知道的事情。

And so to find out what's going on below the surface, 短語動詞

所以为了弄清楚地表之下到底发生了什么，

the Chandrayaan lander drilled a temperature sensor 10 cm into the ground.

“月船”着陆器将一个温度传感器钻入地下10厘米处。

Scientists expected the surface of the south pole to be cool, 語法

科学家们原本预估月球南极的地表温度会比较凉，

around 20 degrees.

大约在20度左右。

But Chandrayaan found that the surface was much hotter at around 60 degrees.

但“月船号”发现地表温度要高得多，约为60度。

And just 8 cm below the surface,

然而就在地表下方仅8厘米处，

the temperature plummeted all the way to -10 degrees, 用詞

温度骤降至零下10度，

a 70-degree difference.

产生了70度的温差。

On Earth,

在地球上，

at this depth,

在这个深度，

the temperature would only change by a few degrees.

温度只会变化几度。

Being able to conduct experiments on the actual surface of the moon is incredibly valuable 語法

能够在真实的月球表面进行实验是极其宝贵的，

and something that only India and China have achieved in the 21st century.

这也是21世纪以来只有印度和中国才实现过的壮举。

On top of finding oxygen and sulfur, 表達脈絡

除了发现氧和硫之外，

Pragyan is also on the lookout for hydrogen, 習語

“普拉吉安”号还在寻找氢，

another key sign that ice exists below the surface.

这是地表下存在冰的另一个关键迹象。

But before the rover or lander could do any more work,

但在漫游车或着陆器能够进行更多工作之前，

they had to prepare for nighttime.

它们必须为黑夜做好准备。

In order to give the rover the best chance of survival, 短語搭配

为了给漫游车提供最大的生存机会，

engineers calculated exactly where the sun would rise in 14 days,

工程师们精确计算了14天后太阳升起的位置，

and they positioned the rover's solar panel to face that direction.

并将漫游车的太阳能电池板朝向那个方向。

Then, on the 3rd of September,

随后，在9月3日，

both the rover and the lander were put to sleep. 習語

漫游车和着陆器都被转入休眠状态。

After a while,

过了一会儿，

their batteries were depleted and all communication with Earth was shut off. 短語動詞

它们的电池耗尽，与地球的所有通信也被切断了。

As of the time of this video, 短語搭配

截至本视频制作时，

both vehicles have been enduring the harsh lunar night for 2 weeks, 語法

这两台设备已经在严酷的月夜中熬过了两个星期，

and the sun should be coming up any day now. 短語搭配

太阳这几天随时都会升起。

If the electronics have survived, 語法

如果电子设备存活了下来，

the solar panel will start to charge up the battery and the rover will attempt to communicate with the lander,

太阳能电池板将开始为电池充电，漫游车也会尝试与着陆器通信，

which will automatically try to send its signal over to us.

而着陆器将会自动尝试把信号发送给我们。

Our receivers here on Earth will be listening and waiting for that signal to come through. 短語動詞

我们在地球上的接收器将全天候监听，等待那个信号的到来。

If Chandrayaan has somehow survived these 14 days,

如果“月船号”奇迹般地熬过了这14天，

it will be an incredible achievement.

那将是一个令人难以置信的成就。

And this brave little rover will be able to continue exploring the moon.

这辆勇敢的小小漫游车也能继续探索月球了。

If that signal never comes through,

如果那个信号永远没有传来，

this rover will still go down in history as humanity's first venture into the south pole. 習語

这辆漫游车也依然会作为人类首次涉足月球南极的壮举而载入史册。

And now for the Primal Space giveaway.

接下来是 Primal Space 频道的抽奖环节。

The winner of the previous giveaway is Matt Thomford,

上一期抽奖的赢家是 Matt Thomford，

Congratulations.

恭喜你。

In the next video,

在下期视频中，

we'll be giving away this LEGO Perseverance rover.

我们将送出这个乐高“毅力号”漫游车。

All you need to do is sign up at the link below,

你所需要做的就是通过下面的链接注册，

hit the like button on the video,

点击视频的点赞按钮，

and leave a comment about what got you into spaceflight. 短語動詞

并留下一条评论，说说是什么让你对航天产生了兴趣。

Thank you very much for watching,

非常感谢您的观看，

and I'll see you in the next video.

我们下期视频再见。