寻找阿波罗10号登月舱：英语精读讲义

This is the Apollo 10 crew getting ready to leave behind Snoopy, 短語動詞

这是阿波罗10号机组人员正准备留下Snoopy，

the lunar module.

也就是登月舱。

This was an important step before the crew could return to Earth.

这是机组人员返回地球前的重要一步。

But, it didn't quite go as planned. 短語搭配

但是，事情并没有完全按计划进行。

As the explosive bolts released,

当爆炸螺栓释放时，

it blew a hole in the lunar module's hatch.

它在登月舱的舱门上炸出了一个洞。

This caused all of the air to rush out,

这导致所有的空气喷涌而出，

making Snoopy shoot off much faster than expected. 語法

使得Snoopy以比预期快得多的速度射出。

In the blink of an eye, 習語

眨眼之间，

the crew lost track of the now abandoned spacecraft 短語搭配

机组人员就跟丢了这艘现在被废弃的航天器，

as it went into the sun's glare.

因为它飞进了太阳的强光中。

This was the last time the lunar module was ever captured on camera.

这是登月舱最后一次被相机拍摄到。

A few hours later,

几个小时后，

NASA lost track of the spacecraft,

NASA失去了这艘航天器的踪迹，

and its location remained completely unknown for decades.

几十年内它的位置一直完全无人知晓。

But, in 2018,

但是，在2018年，

astronomers discovered an object flying by Earth

天文学家发现了一个飞过地球的物体，

that might just be this lost lunar module from 1969. 語法

它可能就是这艘1969年丢失的登月舱。

But, where had it been this entire time? 語法

但是，这整段时间它都在哪里呢？

In this video,

在这个视频中，

we're going to look at the crazy journey of Apollo 10's lunar module 表達脈絡

我们将了解阿波罗10号登月舱的疯狂旅程，

and how astronomers might have managed to find it

以及天文学家可能是如何设法找到它的，

after 50 years in space.

在它于太空中漂泊了50年之后。

We'll also be giving away this Apollo 11 poster.

我们还将赠送这张阿波罗11号的海报。

So, stick around to the end of the video

所以，请看到视频最后，

to see how you could win.

看看你如何能够中奖。

Over the course of the Apollo missions, 短語搭配

在阿波罗任务期间，

a total of 10 lunar modules were flown in space.

共有10个登月舱在太空中飞行过。

Two were used for testing around Earth

其中两个用于在地球周围进行测试，

and eventually burned up in the atmosphere.

并最终在大气层中烧毁。

On the famous Apollo 13 mission,

在著名的阿波罗13号任务中，

one served as a lifeboat for the crew 習語

其中一个被用作机组人员的救生艇，

before also burning up in Earth's atmosphere.

之后同样在地球大气层中烧毁。

The rest were purposely crashed into the moon

其余的则在成功完成任务后，

after successfully completing their mission.

被故意撞向月球。

But, Apollo 10 was a bit different.

但是，阿波罗10号有些不同。

Designed as a rehearsal for the upcoming Apollo 11 mission, 語法

作为即将到来的阿波罗11号任务的演习，

Apollo 10 did everything

阿波罗10号完成了所有工作，

apart from actually landing on the moon. 語法

除了实际登陆月球。

Once in lunar orbit,

一旦进入月球轨道，

astronauts Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan

宇航员托马斯·斯塔福德和尤金·塞尔南

descended to just 15 km above the lunar surface.

下降到距离月球表面仅15公里的高度。

After testing out Snoopy's systems, 短語動詞

在测试了Snoopy的系统之后，

the bottom half of the lunar module was ditched

登月舱的下半部分被抛弃，

and eventually crashed into the moon.

并最终坠毁在月球上。

Now, with just the top half,

现在，只剩下上半部分，

the astronauts returned to the command module

宇航员们回到了指令舱，

and prepared to leave Snoopy behind.

准备将Snoopy留下。

But, after releasing Snoopy,

但是，在释放Snoopy之后，

it disappeared behind the sun's glare,

它消失在了太阳的强光后，

and the astronauts lost track of where it went.

宇航员们也失去了它的去向。

Because it was following the same path as the crew,

因为它正沿着与机组人员相同的路径飞行，

NASA was worried that its orbit might come back

NASA担心它的轨道可能会折返，

and collide with the command module.

并与指令舱相撞。

However, it still had a lot of fuel left over. 短語動詞

然而，它仍然剩下很多燃料。

And so,

因此，

instead of letting it crash into the moon, 語法

NASA决定不让它撞向月球，

NASA decided to fire its engines

而是决定启动它的引擎，

and send it on a trajectory

将它送入一条轨道，

far away from the astronauts.

远离宇航员。

Snoopy continued burning until it ran out of fuel 短語動詞

Snoopy继续燃烧，直到燃料耗尽，

a few minutes later.

那是几分钟后的事了。

Despite losing track of it initially, 語法

尽管一开始失去了它的踪迹，

the astronauts on board the command module

但指令舱上的宇航员

actually saw Snoopy performing its burn.

实际上看到了Snoopy进行燃烧。

This was the last time Snoopy was ever seen by humans.

这是人类最后一次看到Snoopy。

Many decades went by,

几十年过去了，

and astronomers started to look for the abandoned spacecraft.

天文学家开始寻找这艘废弃的航天器。

But, in order to find Snoopy after 50 years in space, 表達脈絡

但是，为了在太空漂泊50年后找到Snoopy，

they needed to know exactly

他们需要确切知道

where it went after leaving the moon.

它离开月球后去了哪里。

To understand where Snoopy went after its burn,

要了解Snoopy在燃烧后去了哪里，

we need to look at how the Earth and Moon were positioned.

我们需要看看地球和月球的位置。

The Earth orbits the sun counter-clockwise 用詞

地球逆时针绕太阳公转，

at around 30 km/s.

速度约为30公里/秒。

The Moon orbits the Earth counter-clockwise at around 1 km/s.

月球逆时针绕地球公转，速度约为1公里/秒。

And so, relative to the sun,

因此，相对于太阳，

the Moon also moves at roughly 30 km/s.

月球也以大约30公里/秒的速度移动。

The Apollo 10 crew were orbiting the Moon clockwise,

阿波罗10号的机组人员正在顺时针绕月飞行，

so in the opposite direction

所以方向刚好与

to the Moon's orbit around Earth.

月球绕地球的轨道相反。

When Snoopy did its final burn,

当Snoopy进行最后一次燃烧时，

the Moon was around here,

月球大约在这个位置，

on the Earth's trailing side. 用詞

在地球的后侧。

This burn added an extra 1 km/s to its Moon velocity,

这次燃烧为它的月球速度增加了额外的1公里/秒，

allowing it to escape the Moon's gravity. 語法

让它逃脱了月球的引力。

But, because this velocity was in the opposite direction to its motion around the sun,

但是，因为这个速度与它绕太阳运动的方向相反，

Snoopy's speed relative to the sun

Snoopy相对于太阳的速度

was now slower than that of Earth. 語法

现在比地球还要慢了。

This burn effectively slammed on the brakes 習語

这次燃烧有效地踩下了刹车，

while the Earth and Moon carried on as normal. 短語動詞

而地球和月球则照常前进。

This meant Snoopy now had a little bit less velocity

这意味着Snoopy现在用来对抗太阳引力的速度

to fight against the sun's gravity.

稍微变慢了一点。

And so,

因此，

its orbit got pulled in. 語法

它的轨道被向内拉了。

Now, traveling mostly on the inside of Earth's orbit,

现在，Snoopy主要在地球轨道的内侧运行，

Snoopy was completing its lap around the sun

它绕太阳一圈的时间

quicker than Earth,

比地球更快，

once every 342 days.

每342天一次。

This meant it started to race ahead of the Earth 表達脈絡

这意味着它开始跑到地球前面，

and slowly pull away.

并慢慢拉开距离。

Snoopy continued racing around the sun

Snoopy继续绕着太阳竞速

for another 15 years

又过了15年，

before it finally made a close flyby of Earth. 短語搭配

直到它终于近距离飞掠地球。

When this happened,

当这件事发生时，

Earth's gravity pulled on the spacecraft,

地球的引力拉扯了这艘航天器，

changing its orbit ever so slightly. 短語搭配

极其微小地改变了它的轨道。

We know where Snoopy went after it left the Moon.

我们知道Snoopy离开月球后去了哪里。

The problem is, 表達脈絡

问题是，

all of this is based on just a few days worth of data 語法

这一切都只是基于几天的可用数据，

after Snoopy separated,

也就是在Snoopy分离之后，

and every future encounter with Earth

而每一次未来与地球的相遇

would have changed its trajectory,

都会改变它的轨迹，

adding much more uncertainty to its location.

给它的位置增加了极大的不确定性。

But, knowing these uncertainties

但是，了解这些不确定性

allowed astronomers to limit their search 短語搭配

让天文学家能够将他们的搜索范围限制在

to a specific part of the sky.

天空中特定的区域。

But, this was no easy task, 短語搭配

但这绝非易事，

since astronomers would have to search for a 4-m wide object

因为天文学家必须寻找一个4米宽的物体，

in an absolutely massive area of space.

在绝对巨大的太空区域中。

Nonetheless,

尽管如此，

finding Snoopy became the Holy Grail for astronomers, 習語

寻找Snoopy成为了天文学家们的圣杯，

and it was only a matter of time 習語

他们发现一些特别的东西

before they found something special.

只是时间问题。

According to the predictions,

根据预测，

Snoopy would have made several close encounters with Earth,

Snoopy本应与地球有过几次近距离接触，

with the most recent one being in 2018. 語法

最近的一次是在2018年。

That is when astronomers discovered this very faint object

就在那时，天文学家发现了这个非常黯淡的物体

flying through our night sky.

正飞过我们的夜空。

Initially thought to just be an asteroid, 語法

最初它被认为只是一颗小行星，

astronomers became suspicious

但天文学家开始起了疑心

after analyzing it a bit further.

在进一步分析之后。

Asteroids typically have a more oval shaped orbit

小行星通常拥有更呈椭圆形的轨道，

on a plane that's tilted compared to Earth.

而且其轨道面相对于地球是倾斜的。

Initial calculations of this object

对这个物体的初步计算

showed that it had a more circular orbit around the sun.

显示它有一个更接近圆形的绕日轨道。

On further inspection, 表達脈絡

进一步检查发现，

the orbital plane of this object wasn't tilted, 表達脈絡

这个物体的轨道面并没有倾斜，

but in fact,

而事实上，

perfectly matched the orbital plane of Earth.

完美匹配了地球的轨道面。

This meant it was more likely to be something

这意味着它更有可能是某种

that originated from Earth.

起源于地球的东西。

The object was also moving at a very similar speed to Earth,

该物体的移动速度也与地球非常相似，

whereas an asteroid would usually have a much greater speed. 語法

而小行星的速度通常要大得多。

Another important giveaway was the object's brightness. 用詞

另一个重要的线索是物体的亮度。

Astronomers had calculated what an object with Snoopy's shape, 語法

天文学家已经计算出，具有Snoopy形状、

size, and material

大小和材料的物体

would look like at various distances,

在不同距离下看起来会是什么样子，

and the light from this object

而来自这个物体的光

seemed to match that.

似乎与此吻合。

Amazingly,

令人惊讶的是，

astronomers discovered this object

天文学家发现这个物体时，

when it was 55 million km away from us.

它距离我们有5500万公里远。

But, this meant it was too faint to really analyze. 語法

但这这意味着它太黯淡，无法真正进行分析。

In the past,

在过去，

NASA was able to identify a long-lost Centaur upper stage 文化背景

NASA曾能够识别出一个失落已久的半人马座上面级

using spectroscopy observations.

就是使用了光谱观测技术。

This works by measuring the light from an object 表達脈絡

这项技术是通过测量物体发出的光

at different wavelengths

在不同波长下

and determining what material it's made from.

并确定它是由什么材料构成的。

Different materials will absorb and reflect light 短語搭配

不同的材料会吸收和反射光

at different wavelengths.

在不同的波长下。

By comparing these spectroscopy graphs 語法

通过比较这些光谱图

with materials here on Earth,

与地球上的材料，

we can identify what material

我们可以识别出该物体

the object must be made of.

必然是由什么材料制成的。

This object is too far and dim

这个物体太远太暗了

for us to perform measurements like this,

我们无法进行这样的测量，

and we will have to wait until 2028 語法

我们将不得不等到2028年，

for it to make another flyby of Earth.

等它再次飞掠地球。

Only then will we be able to do spectroscopy observations 語法

只有到那时，我们才能进行光谱观测

and confirm if it really is Snoopy.

并确认它是否真的是Snoopy。

Snoopy is the only spacecraft once occupied by humans 語法

Snoopy是唯一一艘曾经有人类乘坐

to still be traveling through space.

却仍在太空中穿行的航天器。

Despite going off on a crazy journey 54 years ago,

尽管在54年前开启了一段疯狂的旅程，

the laws of physics

物理学定律

mean that it will continue

意味着它将继续

to call home every now and then. 習語

时不时地回家看看。

Perhaps in the future, 表達脈絡

也许在未来，

we will have the ability to retrieve the abandoned spacecraft

我们将有能力回收这艘被遗弃的航天器

and finally bring it back to Earth,

并最终将它带回地球，

where its crazy journey all began.

这里是它疯狂旅程的起点。

And now,

现在，

time for the Primal Space giveaway.

到了Primal Space抽奖的时间。

The winner of this awesome ISS LEGO model

这个超酷国际空间站乐高模型的获胜者

is Alan Cardenas.

是Alan Cardenas。

Congratulations.

恭喜。

But, don't worry if you didn't win.

但是，如果你没中奖也别担心。

In the next video,

在下一个视频中，

we'll be giving away this amazing Apollo 11 poster.

我们将送出这张惊艳的阿波罗11号海报。

All you need to do 語法

你需要做的全部就是

is sign up at the link below

在下方的链接注册

and leave a comment saying

并留言说说

what kind of condition

什么样的状态

you think Snoopy would be in now.

你认为Snoopy现在会处于。

Thank you very much for watching,

非常感谢您的观看，

and I'll see you in the next video.

我们下个视频再见。