太空探索的終結 —— 為人類建造監獄：英語精讀講義

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

太空旅行是人類所進行過的最激動人心且最具挑戰性的冒險。

But in an irony of history,

但具有歷史諷刺意味的是，

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

我們在太空探索上做得越多，就越有可能阻止自己進入太空。

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

隨著每一枚火箭的發射和每一顆衛星的部署，

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

我們正在為自己製造一個每年都變得更加致命和危險的陷阱。

If it's ever activated,

一旦它被觸發，

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

就可能終結太空時代，把我們困在地球上幾十年甚至幾個世紀。

Getting something into space is incredibly hard.

把東西送入太空是極其困難的。

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

為此，你需要移動得非常非常快，

at first straight up to leave the atmosphere,

首先是垂直向上以離開大氣層，

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

然後橫向移動開始繞地球飛行，

still very, very fast.

速度依然非常非常快。

If you do that successfully,

如果你成功做到了這一點，

you can enter a low Earth orbit. 片語搭配

就可以進入近地軌道。

And once in orbit,

一旦進入軌道，

it's very hard to get out of orbit.

想要脫離軌道是非常困難的。

Unless you have energy to spare, 片語搭配

除非你有備用能量，

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

否則你就會被鎖在這裡，永遠繞著地球下落。

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

對於我們想留在上面的東西來說，這很棒，

like space stations and satellites.

比如太空站和衛星。

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

因此，我們把人類的大部分太空基礎設施移到了這個地方，

just a few hundred kilometers above the surface.

就在距離地表幾百公里的高度。

Just high enough so that the atmosphere is so thin 文法

這個高度剛好使大氣層非常稀薄，

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

使軌道上的物體可以在空氣阻力使它們減速到足以返回地球之前停留幾個世紀。

But this is also the source of our deadly trap.

但這也是我們致命陷阱的來源。

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

火箭實際上是用來固定大量燃料的金屬圓柱體。

Whenever a portion of the fuel has been spent,

每當一部分燃料耗盡時，

the empty tanks are dropped to make the rocket lighter.

空的燃料箱就會被拋棄，使火箭變輕。

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

有些部件墜落回地球或在大氣層中燒毀。

But most of the useless rocket parts stay up

但大多數無用的火箭部件留在了上面，

and begin to orbit the planet.

並開始繞地球軌道飛行。

After decades of space travel,

經過幾十年的太空旅行，

low Earth orbit is a junkyard of spent boosters, 慣用語

近地軌道已經成了廢棄助推器的垃圾場，

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

還有損壞的衛星，以及數百萬塊來自飛彈測試和爆炸的彈片。

Right now,

現在，

we know of around 2,600 defunct satellites, 用詞

我們知道大約有2600顆廢棄衛星，

10,000 objects bigger than a monitor,

10000個比顯示器還大的物體，

20,000 as large as an apple,

20000個像蘋果那麼大的，

500,000 pieces the size of a marble,

50萬個彈珠大小的碎片，

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

以及至少一億個小到無法追蹤的部件。

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

這些碎片的移動速度高達3萬公里/小時，

circling Earth on crisscrossing orbits multiple times a day.

每天在縱橫交錯的軌道上繞地球數次。

Orbital speeds are so fast 文法

軌道速度非常快，

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

以至於被豌豆大小的碎片擊中就像被電漿槍射中一樣。

On impact,

撞擊發生時，

the debris vaporizes,

碎片會汽化，

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

釋放出足以直接擊穿固體金屬的能量。

So,

所以，

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

我們已經在地球周圍佈滿了數以百萬計的致命破壞碎片。

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

並且，我們還把一個價值數兆美元的全球基礎設施網絡直接置於危險地帶之中。

It performs critical duties essential to the modern world:

它執行著對現代世界至關重要的關鍵任務：

global communication,

全球通訊、

GPS, and navigation,

GPS和導航、

collecting weather data,

收集氣象數據、

looking out for asteroids,

觀測小行星，

and all manner of scientific discoveries. 片語搭配

以及各種科學發現。

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

如果它們突然消失，我們會非常想念它們。

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

如果只是一顆豌豆大小的「子彈」擊中我們1100顆在軌運行的衛星之一，

it will be destroyed instantly.

衛星就會立刻被摧毀。

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

每年已經有三到四顆衛星以這種方式被摧毀。

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

由於未來十年內，衛星數量和軌道上的垃圾數量預計將增長十倍，

we're approaching a tipping point. 慣用語

我們正在接近一個臨界點。

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

最糟糕的是一場不可阻擋的連鎖反應，

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

將許多非垃圾物體變成垃圾。

For example,

例如，

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

如果兩顆衛星以特定方式相撞。

If satellites collide,

如果衛星發生碰撞，

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

它們不會停下來從天上掉下來。

It's more of a splash 文法

這更像是一次「飛濺」，

than a crash.

而不是普通的墜毀。

Orbital speeds are so fast,

軌道速度如此之快，

solid pieces spray right through each other,

固體碎片會直接穿透彼此，

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

將兩顆衛星變成數千個小物件組成的雲團，

still fast enough to destroy more satellites.

其速度仍然快到足以摧毀更多衛星。

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

這可能引發一種最緩慢、最具破壞性的骨牌效應，

a collision cascade. 用詞

即碰撞級聯。

Like a shotgun spray,

就像霰彈槍的噴射一樣，

each collision creates more bullets.

每次碰撞都會產生更多的子彈。

What was once a single tiny target, 文法

曾經是一個極不可能擊中任何東西的

very unlikely to hit anything,

微小目標，

becomes a wall of destruction,

現在變成了一堵毀滅之牆，

hungry to make more. 慣用語

渴望製造更多破壞。

As more and more satellites are destroyed, 文法

隨著越來越多的衛星被摧毀，

the destruction accelerates exponentially,

破壞呈指數級加速，

eventually destroying everything parked in orbit.

最終摧毀停留在軌道上的所有物體。

But space is very empty,

但是太空非常空曠，

so the first few collisions may take a long time.

所以最初的幾次碰撞可能需要很長時間。

By the time we realize what's happening, 文法

等到我們意識到發生什麼時，

it's too late.

已經太晚了。

One year,

某一年，

one satellite is destroyed,

一顆衛星被摧毀，

and that's no big deal. 慣用語

沒什麼大不了的。

The next year, 表達脈絡

第二年，

five.

變成五顆。

The year after,

隨後的一年，

50,

50顆，

until there's nothing left.

直到什麼都不剩。

The situation in orbit is rapidly worsening,

軌道上的局勢正在迅速惡化，

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

我們可能已經過了無法挽回的地步。

Within 10 years,

在未來10年內，

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

地球周圍的太空可能不再適合衛星或火箭長期存在。

The worst-case scenario is horrifying. 片語搭配

最壞的情況非常可怕。

A debris field made of hundreds of millions of pieces,

一個由數以億計的碎片組成的區域，

many too small to track,

其中許多小到無法追蹤，

moving at 30,000 km/h.

以3萬公里/小時的速度移動。

It would effectively create a deadly barrier around Earth,

它將有效地在地球周圍形成一道致命的屏障，

possibly too dangerous to cross.

也許危險到無法穿越。

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. 片語動詞

甚至所有太空旅行的夢想，都可能被倒退幾個世紀。

And the loss of our space infrastructure

而太空基礎設施的喪失，

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

將使我們每天依賴的一些技術倒退回20世紀70年代。

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

但現在清理我們的爛攤子也許還不算太晚。

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

雖然航太工業在避免太空垃圾方面做得更好了，

it's still growing fast

但它仍然在快速增長，

and occasional weapon tests don't help.

而且偶爾的武器測試也於事無補。

So,

因此，

there have been a couple of wild but also serious suggestions

出現了一些瘋狂但也很嚴肅的建議，

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

關於如何快速清除盡可能多的致命太空垃圾，

without creating more in the process.

而不在這個過程中產生更多的垃圾。

Lots of ideas are being thrown around, 片語動詞

許多想法正在被提出，

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

其中被最認真考慮的一些涉及捕獲和返回任務，

which are being tested now.

這些任務目前正在測試中。

One method involves meeting a piece of junk in orbit

一種方法涉及在軌道上與一塊垃圾相遇，

with a small satellite loaded with a net.

使用一顆裝有網的小衛星。

Once caught, 文法

一旦捕獲，

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

就可以使用小火箭將它帶回地球。

Targets too large for a net

對於大到無法用網捕獲的目標，

might be instead caught with a harpoon on a tether.

可以改用拴著繩索的魚叉來捕捉。

Instead of firing a rocket, 文法

清理器不發射火箭，

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

而是展開巨大的帆以產生大氣阻力，

and accelerate orbital decay.

並加速軌道衰減。

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

還有許多聽起來像科幻小說般瘋狂的提議，

too.

同樣存在。

Some might use giant electromagnets.

有的可能使用巨型電磁鐵。

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

這些磁力拖船的工作原理是推動衛星內部的磁性部件，

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

那些部件是衛星用來在地球磁場中穩定和定向的。

These may be safer and more reliable than nets and harpoons

這可能比網和魚叉更安全、更可靠，

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

因為它們不需要與正在處理的垃圾接觸，

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

所以沒有意外將目標分解成更多垃圾的風險。

As for the tiniest bits of junk,

至於最微小的垃圾碎片，

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

雷射可能是完全將其汽化的關鍵。

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

帶有雷射的衛星不需要靠近目標。

They can shoot them from far away.

它們可以從遠處射擊。

Large objects can't exactly be shot down,

較大的物體無法被直接擊落，

but lasers can be used to ablate them

但雷射可以用來對其進行燒蝕，

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

或從側面燒掉少量材料，

to push the junk to a safer orbit.

將垃圾推到更安全的軌道。

Whatever technology we use in the end, 文法

無論我們最終使用哪種技術，

we better start doing something soon 用詞

我們最好盡快開始採取行動，

before 100 million bullets become a trillion

在一億發子彈變成一兆發之前，

and the trap is set.

並且在陷阱成型之前。

If we don't act,

如果我們不採取行動，

our adventure in space

我們的太空冒險

might end before it's even begun. 文法

可能會在還沒開始之前就已經結束了。