美国有线新闻 CNN NASA为终止国际空间站设定日期（在线收听）

Point Nemo is an area in the South Pacific that's the farthest location from land.

尼莫点位于南太平洋，是离陆地最远的地方。

That's why more than 260 pieces of discarded space equipment have been sent to and sunk near Point Nemo and the International Space Station will probably be headed there in 2030.

这就是为什么有260多件废弃的太空设备被送往尼莫点并在那里沉没的原因，国际空间站很可能在2030年前往那里。

That's when NASA plans to stop operating the orbiting laboratory.

届时，美国国家航空航天局计划停止运行轨道实验室。

It costs billions of dollars each year to maintain and the U.S. Space Agency has been pushing for more private investment in the ISS.

国际空间站每年的维护费用高达数十亿美元，美国航天局一直在推动私人对国际空间站进行更多的投资。

NASA expects commercial stations will eventually replace it, and Russia plans to leave the international project in 2025.

美国国家航空航天局预计商业空间站最终将取代它，俄罗斯计划在2025年退出这个国际项目。

So, the ISS is scheduled to crash into the ocean in early 2031.

因此，国际空间站计划在2031年初坠入大海。

The U.S. covered 2/3 the total cost of the ISS and critics have said it hasn't been worth the investment in terms of scientific discoveries.

美国承担了国际空间站总成本的2/3，批评人士表示，从科学发现的角度来看，这并不值得投资。

It's the most expensive object ever built costing over $100 billion, and it's a true marvel of engineering.

它是有史以来最昂贵的物体，花费超过1000亿美元，它是一个真正的工程奇迹。

So, what do we have to show for it?

那么，我们要证明什么呢?

First of all, we have the station itself.

首先，我们有空间站本身。

Astronauts helped put the floating laboratory together 250 miles above Earth.

宇航员们帮助将这个漂浮在地球上空250英里处的实验室组装起来。

And it was a monumental task seeing that it weighs in at nearly 1 million pounds and has the same livable space as a six-bedroom house.

这是一项巨大的任务，因为它重达近100万磅，拥有相当于六间卧室房子的居住空间。

And Bob Cabana literally turned the lights on.

鲍勃·卡巴纳真的打开了灯。

We actually opened the doors to the space station, powered up the computers and turned on the lights for the -- for the first time and that was -- that was a pretty amazing mission. I will never forget that.

我们实际上打开了通往空间站的门，打开了电脑，打开了灯，这是第一次，这是一个非常惊人的任务。 我永远不会忘记。

It took over 40 rocket launches to build this thing.

它经历了40次火箭发射才建成。

The first piece was sent up in 1998 but it wasn't deemed complete until 2011.

第一颗卫星于1998年发射升空，但直到2011年才被认为完成。

It's been occupied since 2000.

它自2000年就被占用了。

The International Space Station, it's an international cooperative effort and I think this is the way that when we leave planet Earth, when we go exploring.

国际空间站，这是国际合作的努力成果，我认为这就是我们离开地球，去探索的方式。

It set the model on how we're going to explore beyond planet Earth.

它为我们如何探索地球以外的星球建立了模型。

I would get the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, the European Space Agency and all its partners and we are working together up there.

我将把美国、俄罗斯、加拿大、日本、欧洲航天局及其所有合作伙伴带到那里，我们将在那里共同努力。

Congress declared the U.S. portion of ISS a national laboratory.

国会宣布国际空间站的美国部分为国家实验室。

Crew members spend about 35 hours per week conducting research, which has led to a critical understanding of how the human body reacts to a microgravity environment,

宇航员每周花大约35小时进行研究，这使得他们对人体如何对微重力环境作出反应有了关键理解，

and has also helped in the development of vaccines against pathogens like salmonella and developing drugs to combat osteoporosis.

也帮助开发了针对沙门氏菌等病原体的疫苗，以及开发了治疗骨质疏松的药物。

But the overarching goal of the station is much greater.

但空间站的总体目标要远大得多。