SSS 2011-11-18_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

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On November 8th, Russia launched a probe toward the tiny Martian moon Phobos. The launch was picture-perfect, and the spacecraft, called Phobos–Grunt, soared into the night sky over Kazakhstan.

The good news stops there.

For instead of boosting itself onto a Mars-bound trajectory¹, Phobos–Grunt has for some reason remained in Earth orbit. Ground controllers are trying to contact the probe in the hopes that they can coax² it to fire up its engines. But time is running out.

Details on the mission mishap³ are scarce, but the head of the Russian space agency has told reporters that Phobos–Grunt has until December to push off for Mars. After that, the planets will be out of alignment⁴ and a Mars trajectory will be out of the question.

If mission controllers can't establish contact, Phobos–Grunt's orbit will gradually decay. And soon it will become just the latest spacecraft to fall back to Earth. It's a big one, too, weighing in at about 13 metric tons. So there's a possibility some debris⁵ could reach Earth's surface. All the more reason to hope Phobos–Grunt snaps out of it. And soon.

Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American's 60-Second Science, I'm John Matson.

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1 trajectory
n.弹道，轨道
参考例句：
It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。 The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

2 coax
v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取
参考例句：
I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。 He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。

3 mishap
n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸
参考例句：
I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。 We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

4 alignment
n.队列；结盟，联合
参考例句：
The church should have no political alignment.教会不应与政治结盟。 Britain formed a close alignment with Egypt in the last century.英国在上个世纪与埃及结成了紧密的联盟。

5 debris
n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片
参考例句：
After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。 Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。