印度的月球車怎麼了？：英語精讀講義

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

幾週以來，「月船」探測器及其探測車在月球上一直處於靜默狀態。

The moon is an incredibly harsh environment.

月球是一個極其嚴酷的環境。

A single night on the moon lasts for 14 days,

月球上的一個夜晚長達14天，

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

這意味著探測車及其電子設備必須在極度寒冷的溫度下生存下來。

Without any power to keep it alive, 文法

由於沒有維持運作的電力，

the rover and its lander are most likely dead.

探測車和登陸器很可能已經「死亡」了。

But when the sun comes up again,

但當太陽再次升起時，

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

它們仍有一線生機能夠「復活」。

The Chandrayaan mission was incredible in many ways.

「月船」任務在許多方面都令人驚嘆。

With just 14 days to live, 文法

在僅有14天的壽命裡，

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

它在我們知之甚少的月球區域進行了多次實驗。

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

這不僅是印度首次成功登月，

but they also did it with an extremely low budget.

而且還是在預算極低的情況下完成的。

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

這次任務的總成本僅為7500萬美元，

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

還不到中國在月球探測車上花費的一半。

So, what's going to happen to Pragyan?

那麼，「普拉吉安」號探測車接下來會怎樣？

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

首先，我們得看看「普拉吉安」號到底在哪裡。

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

近年來，世界各地的航太機構都在競相前往月球的一個特定區域——

the south pole.

月球南極。

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

科學家預測，月球這一區域的地表之下藏有冰，

which could be used for drinking water and rocket fuel.

這些冰可以用來提供飲用水和火箭燃料。

The moon is already a hostile place,

月球本身就已經是個充滿敵意的地方，

but the poles of the moon are even worse.

但月球兩極的情況甚至更糟。

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

事實上，太陽系有史以來記錄到的最低溫，就出現在靠近月球北極的埃爾米特隕石坑。

Since parts of this crater never receive any sunlight,

由於這個隕石坑的部分區域永遠照不到陽光，

the temperature was an incredible -250 degrees.

這裡的溫度低到了不可思議的零下250度。

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

儘管「月船號」沒有直接降落在南極，

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

它仍然需要應對低得多的溫度，

and of course, lunar night.

當然，還有月球之夜。

But why is the night so long?

但為什麼月夜會這麼長呢？

The moon orbits the Earth around every 28 days.

月球大約每28天繞地球運行一圈。

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

我們從地球上看到的月球一面被地球潮汐鎖定，

meaning this face is always pointing towards us.

這意味著這一面始終朝向我們。

And so for 14 days,

因此在這14天裡，

this face is visible to the sun.

這一面能夠被陽光照射到。

But for the following 14 days,

但在接下來的14天裡，

it is facing away from the sun.

它是背對著太陽的。

And so with just 14 days of sunlight,

所以，由於只有14天的日照時間，

the rover had to get busy.

探測車必須趕緊忙碌起來。

As soon as it landed on the surface, 文法

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. 文法

探測車就被釋放出來，並立即旋轉機身，讓太陽能板朝向太陽。

This solar array generates just 50 watts of power,

它的太陽能板只能產生50瓦的電力，

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

足以讓探測車以每秒約1公分的速度移動。

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

探測車無法將數據直接發送回地球。

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

所以它透過一根小天線將數據發送給登陸器。

From there,

從那裡，

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

數據會被發送到軌道飛行器上，然後再傳回地球。

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.

探測車必須保持在距離登陸器500公尺以內，才能維持通訊。

The rover is largely autonomous.

探測車在很大程度上是自動駕駛的。

The team in India decides where they want it to go

印度的團隊決定他們希望它去哪裡，

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

然後探測車會嘗試以最安全的方式抵達那裡。

It has two cameras on the front of the vehicle,

車頭前方配有兩台攝影機，

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

用來觀察是否有危險的障礙物。

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

就在任務開始幾天後，這個系統拯救了探測車，

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

當時它正逕直駛向一個4公尺寬的隕石坑。

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

探測車停了下來，掉頭駛向了另一個方向。

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

就在那時，它發現了這艘古老的戰艦。

Just kidding. 語氣意圖

開個玩笑。

It didn't find anything like this.

它根本沒發現這樣的東西。

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

但你可以在《戰爭雷霆》(War Thunder) 中找到這樣令人驚嘆的戰艦，

the sponsor of today's video.

這是今天影片的贊助商。

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

《戰爭雷霆》是一款免費遊玩的軍事動作遊戲，

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

你可以在史詩般的競技場中與其他玩家線上對戰。

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

無論你想駕駛蘇聯坦克在地面作戰，

fly above in an American fighter jet,

在空中駕駛美國戰鬥機，

or take over a giant naval ship,

還是接管一艘巨大的海軍戰艦，

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

《戰爭雷霆》提供了來自10多個國家的各種載具，滿足你的需求。

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

事實上，還有一個專門的《戰爭雷霆》維基網站，上面有遊戲中每輛載具的超詳細資訊，

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

比如「內華達號」戰艦，這也絕對是「月船號」在月球上「真的」找到的那個（笑）。

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

每輛載具都可以透過增加額外裝甲和裝備來進行改進和升級。

New things are constantly being added to the game,

遊戲中不斷有新內容加入，

so there are always fresh vehicles to try out.

所以總有新鮮的載具等你來體驗。

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

你可以在PC、Xbox、PlayStation和Mac上遊玩《戰爭雷霆》。

And best of all, it's completely free.

最棒的是，它完全免費。

Download War Thunder today using the link in the description.

趕快點擊資訊欄裡的連結下載《戰爭雷霆》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入的老玩家，

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

都將獲得特殊的獎勵載具和一週的高級帳號。

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

為了讓「月船」及其探測車在月夜中生存下來，

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

它必須在整整兩週的時間裡承受零下200度的嚴寒。

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

探測車上配備了一顆10安時的小電池，

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

但這遠遠不夠維持整整14天。

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

沒有電力，它就無法運行加熱器，

a crucial part of keeping all of its electronics alive.

而加熱器是保持所有電子設備正常運作的關鍵零件。

Because of India's tight budget, 片語搭配

由於印度的預算很緊，

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

這些電子設備在設計時並未考慮要在月夜的極端溫度下生存。

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

因此，探測車能否存活只能聽天由命了。

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

相比之下，中國的探測車

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

擁有一個RHU，即可以在月夜為探測車供暖的小裝置。

This device contains a radioactive material called plutonium 238.

這個裝置含有一種名為鈽-238的放射性物質。

As the material decays,

隨著材料的衰變，

it produces a constant source of heat,

它會產生恆定的熱源，

which can be redirected throughout the rover.

這些熱量可以被輸送到探測車的各個部位。

The problem is, this material is extremely expensive.

關鍵問題是，這種材料極其昂貴。

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

所以印度的探測車別無選擇，只能直接進入休眠。

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

儘管如此，印度在月球上的這14天取得了巨大的成功。

A few days in,

任務開始幾天後，

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

探測車使用雷射探測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發射雷射，

turning a small portion of it into plasma.

將一小部分月壤轉化為電漿。

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

然後捕獲該電漿發出的光，並將其分解為光譜。

This basically shows the level of light at different wavelengths.

這基本上展示了不同波長下的光強度。

Every element emits and absorbs light at specific wavelengths,

每種元素都會在特定波長下發射和吸收光，

creating a recognizable line on the spectrum.

從而在光譜上產生可識別的譜線。

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

透過將這些譜線與電漿中發現的譜線進行比較，

we can determine which elements are present.

我們就可以確定存在哪些元素。

But what did they find?

那麼他們發現了什麼呢？

Well, they found a bunch of elements. 用詞

嗯，他們發現了一堆元素。

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

比如鋁、硫、鐵、矽，甚至還有氧。

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

如果人類登上月球，這些都是可以開採的極其有用的東西。

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

但「月船號」在月球上這14天裡最令人驚嘆的實驗，或許發生在地表之下。

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

我們對月球如何形成及其地表之下結構的了解，在很大程度上仍停留在理論層面。

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

我們認為它有一個固態鐵核，被地函和地殼所包圍。

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

但關於我們的月球，仍有許多我們不知道的事情。

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

所以為了弄清楚地表之下到底發生了什麼，

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

「月船」登陸器將一個溫度感測器鑽入地下10公分處。

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

科學家們原本預估月球南極的地表溫度會比較涼，

around 20 degrees.

大約在20度左右。

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

但「月船號」發現地表溫度要高得多，約為60度。

And just 8 cm below the surface,

然而就在地表下方僅8公分處，

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

溫度驟降至零下10度，

a 70-degree difference.

產生了70度的溫差。

On Earth,

在地球上，

at this depth,

在這個深度，

the temperature would only change by a few degrees.

溫度只會變化幾度。

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

能夠在真實的月球表面進行實驗是極其寶貴的，

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

這也是21世紀以來只有印度和中國才實現過的壯舉。

On top of finding oxygen and sulfur, 表達脈絡

除了發現氧和硫之外，

Pragyan is also on the lookout for hydrogen, 慣用語

「普拉吉安」號還在尋找氫，

another key sign that ice exists below the surface.

這是地表下存在冰的另一個關鍵跡象。

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

但在探測車或登陸器能夠進行更多工作之前，

they had to prepare for nighttime.

它們必須為黑夜做好準備。

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

為了給探測車提供最大的生存機會，

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

工程師們精確計算了14天後太陽升起的位置，

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

並將探測車的太陽能板朝向那個方向。

Then, on the 3rd of September,

隨後，在9月3日，

both the rover and the lander were put to sleep. 慣用語

探測車和登陸器都被轉入休眠狀態。

After a while,

過了一會兒，

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

它們的電池耗盡，與地球的所有通訊也被切斷了。

As of the time of this video, 片語搭配

截至本影片製作時，

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

這兩台設備已經在嚴酷的月夜中熬過了兩個星期，

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

太陽這幾天隨時都會升起。

If the electronics have survived, 文法

如果電子設備存活了下來，

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

太陽能板將開始為電池充電，探測車也會嘗試與登陸器通訊，

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

而登陸器將會自動嘗試把訊號發送給我們。

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

我們在地球上的接收器將全天候監聽，等待那個訊號的到來。

If Chandrayaan has somehow survived these 14 days,

如果「月船號」奇蹟般地熬過了這14天，

it will be an incredible achievement.

那將是一個令人難以置信的成就。

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

這輛勇敢的小小探測車也能繼續探索月球了。

If that signal never comes through,

如果那個訊號永遠沒有傳來，

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

這輛探測車也依然會作為人類首次涉足月球南極的壯舉而載入史冊。

And now for the Primal Space giveaway.

接下來是 Primal Space 頻道的抽獎環節。

The winner of the previous giveaway is Matt Thomford,

上一期抽獎的贏家是 Matt Thomford，

Congratulations.

恭喜你。

In the next video,

在下期影片中，

we'll be giving away this LEGO Perseverance rover.

我們將送出這個樂高「毅力號」探測車。

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

你所需要做的就是透過下面的連結註冊，

hit the like button on the video,

對影片按讚，

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

並留下一條評論，說說是什麼讓你對航太產生了興趣。

Thank you very much for watching,

非常感謝您的觀看，

and I'll see you in the next video.

我們下期影片再見。