VOA慢速英语2021--动物宇航员

The first human moon landing happened more than 50 years ago. But did you know that human astronauts were not the first Earthlings to travel in space and circle the moon?

That honor goes to two Russian tortoises and several smaller creatures that went along for the ride.

Tortoises in space

On September 14, 1968, the Soviet¹ space program sent two tortoises -- along with some flies and worms -- into space for a trip around the moon. NASA calls it "the first successful circumlunar mission carried out by any nation."

After a week-long trip, the tortoises landed on Earth by parachute in the Indian Ocean. They traveled back to Moscow on October 7.

Both tortoises survived the trip but not the experiment. NASA records state that the animals were dissected³ on October 11, 1968, to see how their bodies were affected⁴ by the space travel.

Dissection⁵ showed that "the main structural⁶ changes in the tortoises were caused by a lack of food and not the space travel." The tortoises had lost about 10 percent of their body weight. But they had stayed active and showed no loss of appetite.

When compared with a control group of tortoises on Earth, the space traveling creatures had a small amount of spaceflight-related atrophy⁷. When parts of the body atrophy, they decrease in size or waste away.

The experiment demonstrated that the animals could travel around the moon and survive. But this did not mean that humans could do the same. That possibility required more testing.

Other animal space travelers

While tortoises were the first to travel around the moon, other animals have helped humans understand and explore space. On its website, NASA explains its history with animals in space.

In 1948, the U.S. began launching rhesus monkeys into space aboard a spacecraft called the V-2 Blossom. The monkey Albert I went up on June 11. On June 14, 1949, aboard another V-2 flight, Albert II reached a height of about 133 kilometers. Albert II died on impact at re-entry.

The last V-2 flight was on December 12, 1949. It involved the monkey Albert IV. On its website, NASA calls it "a successful flight, with no ill effects on the monkey until impact, when it died."

Dogs in space

While the United States was experimenting with a lot of monkeys, the Soviet Union was experimenting with a lot of dogs.

On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 into Earth's orbit with a dog named Laika on board. NASA scientists say that Laika died after a few hours. Sputnik 2 continued to orbit for five months and then burned up in the outer atmosphere in April 1958.

Then later that year on December 13, the U.S. launched a squirrel monkey named Gordo about 965 kilometers high in a Jupiter rocket. Scientists were able to observe his body functions.

Gordo's capsule was never found in the Atlantic Ocean. He died on splashdown when a flotation device failed. However, scientists said readings taken of his breathing and heartbeat proved that humans could survive a similar trip.

These are just a few examples of how animals have helped humans explore space. We should not forget that mice and cats have also been used to help scientists better understand how travel beyond Earth affects living things.

Words in This Story

circumlunar – adj. revolving⁸ about or surrounding the moon

dissect² – v. to cut (a plant or dead animal) into separate parts in order to study it

appetite – n. a natural desire especially for food

atrophy – v. decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue

impact – n. the act or force of one thing hitting another

ill – adj. not well or healthy : sick or unhealthy

capsule – n. a small part of a spacecraft that is separate from the rest of the spacecraft and that is where people live and work

flotation – n. the act, process, or state of floating or of causing or allowing something to float

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 dissect   

v.分割；解剖

参考例句：

• In biology class we had to dissect a frog.上生物课时我们得解剖青蛙。
• Not everyone can dissect and digest the public information they receive.不是每个人都可以解析和消化他们得到的公共信息的。

3 dissected   

adj.切开的，分割的，（叶子）多裂的v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的过去式和过去分词 )；仔细分析或研究

参考例句：

• Her latest novel was dissected by the critics. 评论家对她最近出版的一部小说作了详细剖析。
• He dissected the plan afterward to learn why it had failed. 他事后仔细剖析那项计划以便搞清它失败的原因。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 dissection   

n.分析；解剖

参考例句：

• A dissection of your argument shows several inconsistencies.对你论点作仔细分析后发现一些前后矛盾之处。
• Researchers need a growing supply of corpses for dissection.研究人员需要更多的供解剖用的尸体。

6 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

7 atrophy   

n./v.萎缩，虚脱，衰退

参考例句：

• Patients exercised their atrophied limbs in the swimming pool.病人们在泳池里锻炼萎缩的四肢。
• Many hoped he would renew the country's atrophied political system.很多人都期望他能使该国萎靡的政治体系振作起来。

8 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。