CNN中文双语新闻––NASA航天器成功撞击小行星

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NASA’s DART mission successfully slams into an asteroid

A NASA spacecraft has intentionally slammed into an asteroid in humanity’s first test of planetary defense.

NASA的一架航天器在人类首次行星防御测试中故意撞上了一颗小行星。

The impact occurred at 7:14 p.m. ET greeted by cheers from the mission team in Laurel, Maryland. The DART mission, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, launched 10 months ago.

撞击发生在东部时间下午7点14分，马里兰州劳雷尔的任务小组欢呼致意。DART任务，即双小行星重定向测试，于10个月前启动。

While the asteroid, Dimorphos, was not at risk of impacting Earth, this demonstration could determine how to deflect space rocks that could pose a threat to Earth in the future.

虽然小行星Dimorphos没有撞击地球的风险，但这次演示可以确定如何对未来可能给地球造成威胁的太空岩石做出偏转。

“We’re embarking on a new era of humankind, an era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous, hazardous asteroid impact,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division. “What an amazing thing. We’ve never had that capability before.”

NASA行星科学部主任Lori Glaze说：“我们正在进入人类的新时代，在这个时代，我们有能力保护自己免受危险、有害的小行星撞击。这是多么神奇的事情，我们以前从未有过这种能力。”

①embark：

英 [ɪmˈbɑːk] 美 [ɪmˈbɑːrk]

上船;装船

②hazardous：

英 [ˈhæzədəs] 美 [ˈhæzərdəs]

危险;有害的

At the time of impact, Didymos and Dimorphos were relatively close to Earth – within 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers). The team estimates that the spacecraft hit the asteroid at a point about 55 feet (17 meters) away from the space rock’s center.

在撞击时，Didymos和Dimorphos距离地球相对较近，在680万英里（1100万公里）以内。该小组估计，航天器在距太空岩石中心约55英尺（17米）处撞击小行星。

The goal of the spacecraft, in addition to impact, is to affect the motion of an asteroid in space, but DART team members say it will take about two months for scientists to determine if the asteroid’s orbit changed.

除了撞击外，航天器的目标是影响小行星在太空中的运动，但DART团队成员表示，科学家需要大约两个月的时间来确定小行星的轨道是否发生了变化。

Dimorphos is a small asteroid moonlet orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Didymos. The asteroid system poses no threat to Earth, NASA officials have said, making it a perfect target to test out a kinetic impact – which may be needed if an asteroid is ever on track to hit Earth.

Dimorphos是一颗围绕近地小行星Didymos运行的小行星卫星。NASA官员表示，这个小行星系统对地球没有威胁，这使得它成为测试的完美目标——如果小行星正在撞击地球的轨道上，则可能需要进行动力学撞击。

The event was the agency’s first full-scale demonstration of deflection technology that can protect the planet.

这次活动是该机构首次全面展示可保护地球的偏转技术。

full-scale：

英 [ˌfʊl ˈskeɪl] 美 [ˌfʊl ˈskeɪl]

全面的;完全的

“For the first time ever, we will measurably change the orbit of a celestial body in the universe,” said Robert Braun, head of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory’s Space Exploration Sector in Laurel, Maryland.

马里兰州劳雷尔市约翰·霍普金斯大学应用物理实验室空间探索部门负责人Robert Braun说：“我们将有史以来第一次可测量地改变宇宙中天体的轨道。”

celestial：

英 [səˈlestiəl] 美 [səˈlestʃl]

天空的;天上的

Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets with orbits that place them within 30 million miles (48.3 million kilometers) of Earth. Detecting the threat of near-Earth objects, or NEOs, that could cause grave harm is a primary focus of NASA and other space organizations around the world.

近地天体包括小行星和彗星，其轨道距离地球3000万英里（4830万公里）以内。探测可能造成严重危害的近地天体威胁是NASA和世界各地其他空间组织的主要关注点。

comet：

英 [ˈkɒmɪt] 美 [ˈkɑːmɪt]

彗星

Dimorphos was chosen for this mission because its size is relative to asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. The spacecraft is about 100 times smaller than Dimorphos, so it didn’t obliterate the asteroid. Had DART missed hitting Dimorphos, the spacecraft would have been placed on an orbit that created another opportunity in two years.

之所以选择Dimorphos执行这项任务，是因为它的大小与可能对地球构成威胁的小行星有关。该航天器大约比Dimorphos小100倍，因此它不会消灭小行星。如果DART任务没有击中Dimorphos，飞船将被置于轨道上，将在两年之内另寻机会（去撞击）。

翻译：老戴

编辑：老张

全网搜索：老戴讲英语

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