太空探索的终结 —— 为人类建造监狱：英语精读讲义

Space travel is the most exciting and challenging adventure humanity has ever undertaken.

太空旅行是人类所进行过的最激动人心且最具挑战性的冒险。

But in an irony of history,

但具有历史讽刺意味的是，

we may stop ourselves from going into space the more we do it. 語法

我们在太空探索上做得越多，就越有可能阻止自己进入太空。

With every rocket launched and with every satellite deployed, 表達脈絡

随着每一枚火箭的发射和每一颗卫星的部署，

we're creating a trap for ourselves that gets deadlier and more dangerous every year. 習語

我们正在为自己制造一个每年都变得更加致命和危险的陷阱。

If it's ever activated,

一旦它被触发，

it could end the space age and trap us on our planet for decades or even centuries. 文化背景

就可能终结太空时代，把我们困在地球上几十年甚至几个世纪。

Getting something into space is incredibly hard.

把东西送入太空是极其困难的。

To do so, you need to move very, very fast,

为此，你需要移动得非常非常快，

at first straight up to leave the atmosphere,

首先是垂直向上以离开大气层，

then sideways to begin a sort of circling around the Earth,

然后横向移动开始绕地球飞行，

still very, very fast.

速度依然非常非常快。

If you do that successfully,

如果你成功做到了这一点，

you can enter a low Earth orbit. 短語搭配

就可以进入近地轨道。

And once in orbit,

一旦进入轨道，

it's very hard to get out of orbit.

想要脱离轨道是非常困难的。

Unless you have energy to spare, 短語搭配

除非你有备用能量，

you're sort of locked in here, falling around the Earth forever. 講解

否则你就会被锁在这里，永远绕着地球下落。

That's great for things we want to stay up, 短語動詞

对于我们想留在上面的东西来说，这很棒，

like space stations and satellites.

比如空间站和卫星。

And so we moved the majority of humanity's space infrastructure to this place,

因此，我们把人类的大部分太空基础设施移到了这个地方，

just a few hundred kilometers above the surface.

就在距离地表几百公里的高度。

Just high enough so that the atmosphere is so thin 語法

这个高度刚好使大气层非常稀薄，

that orbiting things can stay up for centuries before air resistance can slow them enough to bring them back to Earth. 用詞

使轨道上的物体可以在空气阻力使它们减速到足以返回地球之前停留几个世纪。

But this is also the source of our deadly trap.

但这也是我们致命陷阱的来源。

Rockets are really metal cylinders that keep big parts of fuel in place.

火箭实际上是用来固定大量燃料的金属圆柱体。

Whenever a portion of the fuel has been spent,

每当一部分燃料耗尽时，

the empty tanks are dropped to make the rocket lighter.

空的燃料箱就会被抛弃，使火箭变轻。

Some parts crash down to Earth or burn up in the atmosphere. 短語動詞

有些部件坠落回地球或在大气层中烧毁。

But most of the useless rocket parts stay up

但大多数无用的火箭部件留在了上面，

and begin to orbit the planet.

并开始绕地球轨道飞行。

After decades of space travel,

经过几十年的太空旅行，

low Earth orbit is a junkyard of spent boosters, 習語

近地轨道已经成了废弃助推器的垃圾场，

broken satellites and millions of pieces of shrapnel from missile tests and explosions.

还有损坏的卫星，以及数百万块来自导弹测试和爆炸的弹片。

Right now,

现在，

we know of around 2,600 defunct satellites, 用詞

我们知道大约有2600颗废弃卫星，

10,000 objects bigger than a monitor,

10000个比显示器还大的物体，

20,000 as large as an apple,

20000个像苹果那么大的，

500,000 pieces the size of a marble,

50万个弹珠大小的碎片，

and at least 100 million parts so small they can't be tracked. 語法

以及至少一亿个小到无法追踪的部件。

This debris is moving at speeds of up to 30,000 km/h, 短語搭配

这些碎片的移动速度高达3万公里/小时，

circling Earth on crisscrossing orbits multiple times a day.

每天在纵横交错的轨道上绕地球数次。

Orbital speeds are so fast 語法

轨道速度非常快，

that being hit by debris the size of a pea is like being shot by a plasma gun. 表達脈絡

以至于被豌豆大小的碎片击中就像被等离子枪射中一样。

On impact,

撞击发生时，

the debris vaporizes,

碎片会汽化，

releasing enough energy to punch holes straight through solid metal. 語法

释放出足以直接击穿固体金属的能量。

So,

所以，

we've covered the space around our planet with millions of deadly pieces of destruction.

我们已经在地球周围布满了数以百万计的致命破坏碎片。

And we also put a trillion-dollar global infrastructure network right in the danger zone. 習語

并且，我们还把一个价值数万亿美元的全球基础设施网络直接置于危险地带之中。

It performs critical duties essential to the modern world:

它执行着对现代世界至关重要的关键任务：

global communication,

全球通信、

GPS, and navigation,

GPS和导航、

collecting weather data,

收集气象数据、

looking out for asteroids,

观测小行星，

and all manner of scientific discoveries. 短語搭配

以及各种科学发现。

Things we would miss very much if they suddenly went away.

如果它们突然消失，我们会非常想念它们。

If just one pea-sized bullet hits one of our 1,100 working satellites,

如果只是一颗豌豆大小的“子弹”击中我们1100颗在轨运行的卫星之一，

it will be destroyed instantly.

卫星就会立刻被摧毁。

Three or four satellites are already being destroyed this way every year.

每年已经有三到四颗卫星以这种方式被摧毁。

As the number of satellites and the amount of junk in orbit is expected to grow tenfold in the next decade, 語法

由于未来十年内，卫星数量和轨道上的垃圾数量预计将增长十倍，

we're approaching a tipping point. 習語

我们正在接近一个临界点。

But the worst thing in space is not tiny pieces of junk.

但太空中最糟糕的不是微小的垃圾碎片。

The worst thing would be an unstoppable chain reaction 用詞

最糟糕的是一场不可阻挡的连锁反应，

that turns a lot of non-junk things into junk.

将许多非垃圾物体变成垃圾。

For example,

例如，

if two satellites hit each other in just the right way.

如果两颗卫星以特定方式相撞。

If satellites collide,

如果卫星发生碰撞，

they don't stop and fall out of the sky.

它们不会停下来从天上掉下来。

It's more of a splash 語法

这更像是一次“飞溅”，

than a crash.

而不是普通的坠毁。

Orbital speeds are so fast,

轨道速度如此之快，

solid pieces spray right through each other,

固体碎片会直接穿透彼此，

transforming the two satellites into clouds of thousands of little things 語法

将两颗卫星变成数千个小物件组成的云团，

still fast enough to destroy more satellites.

其速度仍然快到足以摧毁更多卫星。

This could trigger the slowest and most destructive sort of domino effect, 習語

这可能引发一种最缓慢、最具破坏性的多米诺骨牌效应，

a collision cascade. 用詞

即碰撞级联。

Like a shotgun spray,

就像霰弹枪的喷射一样，

each collision creates more bullets.

每次碰撞都会产生更多的子弹。

What was once a single tiny target, 語法

曾经是一个极不可能击中任何东西的

very unlikely to hit anything,

微小目标，

becomes a wall of destruction,

现在变成了一堵毁灭之墙，

hungry to make more. 習語

渴望制造更多破坏。

As more and more satellites are destroyed, 語法

随着越来越多的卫星被摧毁，

the destruction accelerates exponentially,

破坏呈指数级加速，

eventually destroying everything parked in orbit.

最终摧毁停留在轨道上的所有物体。

But space is very empty,

但是太空非常空旷，

so the first few collisions may take a long time.

所以最初的几次碰撞可能需要很长时间。

By the time we realize what's happening, 語法

等到我们意识到发生什么时，

it's too late.

已经太晚了。

One year,

某一年，

one satellite is destroyed,

一颗卫星被摧毁，

and that's no big deal. 習語

没什么大不了的。

The next year, 表達脈絡

第二年，

five.

变成五颗。

The year after,

随后的一年，

50,

50颗，

until there's nothing left.

直到什么都不剩。

The situation in orbit is rapidly worsening,

轨道上的局势正在迅速恶化，

and we may already be past the point of no return. 習語

我们可能已经过了无法挽回的地步。

Within 10 years,

在未来10年内，

space around Earth may no longer be viable for long-term satellites or rockets. 短語搭配

地球周围的太空可能不再适合卫星或火箭长期存在。

The worst-case scenario is horrifying. 短語搭配

最坏的情况非常可怕。

A debris field made of hundreds of millions of pieces,

一个由数以亿计的碎片组成的区域，

many too small to track,

其中许多小到无法追踪，

moving at 30,000 km/h.

以3万公里/小时的速度移动。

It would effectively create a deadly barrier around Earth,

它将有效地在地球周围形成一道致命的屏障，

possibly too dangerous to cross.

也许危险到无法穿越。

Dreams of Moon bases,

建立月球基地、

Mars colonies,

火星殖民地，

or space travel at all may be set back centuries. 短語動詞

甚至所有太空旅行的梦想，都可能被倒退几个世纪。

And the loss of our space infrastructure

而太空基础设施的丧失，

would send some of the technology we rely on daily back to the 1970s.

将使我们每天依赖的一些技术倒退回20世纪70年代。

But it might not be too late to clean up our mess. 習語

但现在清理我们的烂摊子也许还不算太晚。

While the space industry has become better at avoiding space junk,

虽然航天工业在避免太空垃圾方面做得更好了，

it's still growing fast

但它仍然在快速增长，

and occasional weapon tests don't help.

而且偶尔的武器测试也于事无补。

So,

因此，

there have been a couple of wild but also serious suggestions

出现了一些疯狂但也很严肃的建议，

about how to quickly remove as much deadly space junk as possible

关于如何快速清除尽可能多的致命太空垃圾，

without creating more in the process.

而不在这个过程中产生更多的垃圾。

Lots of ideas are being thrown around, 短語動詞

许多想法正在被提出，

and some of the most seriously considered involve capture and return missions,

其中被最认真考虑的一些涉及捕获和返回任务，

which are being tested now.

这些任务目前正在测试中。

One method involves meeting a piece of junk in orbit

一种方法涉及在轨道上与一块垃圾相遇，

with a small satellite loaded with a net.

使用一颗装有网的小卫星。

Once caught, 語法

一旦捕获，

a small rocket could be used to bring it down towards Earth.

就可以使用小火箭将它带回地球。

Targets too large for a net

对于大到无法用网捕获的目标，

might be instead caught with a harpoon on a tether.

可以改用拴着绳索的鱼叉来捕捉。

Instead of firing a rocket, 語法

清理器不发射火箭，

the cleaner would deploy a large sail to produce atmospheric drag 用詞

而是展开巨大的帆以产生大气阻力，

and accelerate orbital decay.

并加速轨道衰减。

And there are lots of other wild sci-fi sounding proposals,

还有许多听起来像科幻小说般疯狂的提议，

too.

同样存在。

Some might use giant electromagnets.

有的可能使用巨型电磁铁。

These magnetic tugs work by pushing on the magnetic components inside satellites

这些磁力拖船的工作原理是推动卫星内部的磁性部件，

that they use to stabilize and orientate themselves in Earth's magnetic field.

那些部件是卫星用来在地球磁场中稳定和定向的。

These may be safer and more reliable than nets and harpoons

这可能比网和鱼叉更安全、更可靠，

because they never have to make contact with the junk they're handling, 短語搭配

因为它们不需要与正在处理的垃圾接触，

so there's no risk of accidentally breaking up their target into more junk. 短語動詞

所以没有意外将目标分解成更多垃圾的风险。

As for the tiniest bits of junk,

至于最微小的垃圾碎片，

lasers might be the key to vaporizing them entirely. 短語搭配

激光可能是完全将其汽化的关键。

Satellites with lasers wouldn't need to visit their targets.

带有激光的卫星不需要靠近目标。

They can shoot them from far away.

它们可以从远处射击。

Large objects can't exactly be shot down,

较大的物体无法被直接击落，

but lasers can be used to ablate them

但激光可以用来对其进行烧蚀，

or burn tiny amounts of material off the side 短語動詞

或从侧面烧掉少量材料，

to push the junk to a safer orbit.

将垃圾推到更安全的轨道。

Whatever technology we use in the end, 語法

无论我们最终使用哪种技术，

we better start doing something soon 用詞

我们最好尽快开始采取行动，

before 100 million bullets become a trillion

在一亿发子弹变成一万亿发之前，

and the trap is set.

并且在陷阱成型之前。

If we don't act,

如果我们不采取行动，

our adventure in space

我们的太空冒险

might end before it's even begun. 語法

可能会在还没开始之前就已经结束了。