VOA慢速英语2016 美国航天局为小行星会面做准备

AS IT IS 2016-08-26 US Space Agency Prepares for Asteroid¹ Meet-up 美国航天局为小行星会面做准备

American researchers are making final plans to send a spacecraft into space for a possible meeting with an asteroid.

美国研究人员正在做最终规划，将向太空发射一艘宇宙飞船，与小行星进行一次可能的会面。

The spaceship is called OSIRIS-Rex.It is six meters long and shaped like a man’s bow tie.

这艘飞船被命名为OSIRIS-Rex。它有六米长，形状像人们的领结。

The asteroid is called Bennu.It is larger than the Empire State Building in New York City.Bennu weighs about 60 million tons and is traveling at a speed of more than 100,000 kilometers an hour.

这颗小行星被命名为Bennu。它比纽约市的帝国大厦还要大。Bennu重约6000万吨，以超过每小时10万公里的速度运行。

The huge space rock is getting closer to Earth.It comes as close as 500,000 kilometers to the planet every six years.

这颗巨大的太空岩石越来越接近地球。每六年接近地球50万公里。

Researchers want to take a close look at Bennu because it is considered one of the most dangerous asteroids² in our solar system.

研究人员想要密切关注Bennu，因为它被认为是太阳系中最危险的小行星之一。

The American space agency, NASA, will start its investigation³ next month. NASA officials say the launch window for the spacecraft opens Thursday, September 8.That means the space agency can launch OSIRIS-Rex on that date or later. The plan is to put it in orbit around Bennu in about two years.

美国宇航局NASA，将于下个月开始探究。美国宇航局官员表示，航天器的发射窗口将于9月8日星期四打开。这意味着美国宇航局可以在该日期或之后发射OSIRIS Rex。按计划，将在两年之后将其发送至Bennnu的轨道。

The spacecraft will not land on Bennu, but will make contact with the asteroid briefly⁴ -- for about five seconds. At that time, a part of the spacecraft shaped like a container will gather about 60 grams from Bennu’s surface.

飞船将不会在Bennu上着陆，但将与小行星短暂接触大约五秒钟。同时，航天器上一个容器形状的部分将收集约60克的Bennu表面物质。

All of that material will return to earth inside a device the researchers are calling the Sample Return Capsule, or SRC.It is expected to land in the Utah desert in September of 2023.

研究人员将所有这些物质将放在样品返回舱（SRC）设备中返回地球。预计它将于2023年九月在犹他沙漠登陆。

NASA researchers are calling Bennu a “primitive” asteroid – meaning it has been in existence for a long time. Rock particles cover the asteroid’s surface.The space agency says some of those particles may “contain the…precursors to the origin of life and the Earth’s oceans.”

美国宇航局研究把Bennu称作“原始”小行星 - 意思是它已经存在了很长一段时间。小行星的表面覆盖着岩石颗粒。航天局说，这些颗粒可能“含有......生命起源和地球海洋的初期形式。”

Scientists want to learn as much as possible about Bennu because of the danger it could cause our planet. The asteroid “...has a relatively⁶ high probability of impacting the Earth…” in less than 200 years, according to a NASA statement.

因其可能给我们星球导致危险，科学家们希望尽可能多地了解Bennu。根据美国宇航局的一个声明，在200年内这颗小行星“……非常有可能影响地球……”。

Another thing that makes Bennu dangerous is its path around the solar system.That path is changing because of something called the Yarkovsky effect.The Yarkovsky effect is what happens when a cold piece of rock gets close enough to the sun to get heated. Scientists want to know how that warmth changes the orbit of asteroids and other space objects.

Bennu变得危险的另一个原因是它围绕太阳系的运动路径。由于一种叫做Yarkovsky效应的因素，它的运动路径是变化的。冰冷的岩石靠近太阳被加热时，即发生Yarkovsky效应。科学家们想知道，温暖变化是如何改变小行星和其他太空物体的轨道的。

Words in This Story

spacecraft – n. a vehicle that is used for travel in outer space

asteroid – n. any one of thousands of small planets that circle around the sun

bow tie – n. a narrow length of cloth that is worn by men around the neck and tied into a bow at the throat

precursor⁵ – n. something that comes before something else and that often leads to or influences its development

solar system – n. our sun and the planets that move around it

1 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

2 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

5 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。