VOA科学技术2023 日本太空企业称其登月舱极有可能坠毁

A Japanese space exploration company said Wednesday there was "a high probability" that its vehicle crashed while trying to land on the moon.

一家日本太空探索公司周三表示，它们的探测器在试图登陆月球时极有可能坠毁了。

The vehicle from ispace launched on a SpaceX rocket from Florida in December. It sent images of Earth back to Tokyo throughout its trip. The vehicle entered the moon's orbit on March 21.

日本ispace公司的探测器于12月在佛罗里达州搭载SpaceX火箭发射升空。它将整个行程中的地球照片发回了东京。该探测器于3月21日进入月球轨道。

If the project had succeeded, ispace would have been the first private business to make a moon landing. Space agencies of the United States, former Soviet¹ Union and China have succeeded in such efforts.

如果项目成功，ispace公司将成为第一家实现登月的私营企业。美国、前苏联和中国的太空机构都成功实现了登月。

The ispace lander was carrying a rover, a vehicle to explore the moon's surface, provided by the United Arab Emirates. A small robot was also on the flight.

Ispace公司的着陆器携带了一辆漫游车，这是由阿联酋提供的月球表面探测车。一个小型机器人也搭上了这趟航程。

Ispace officials told reporters later on Wednesday that its lander may have run out of fuel and crashed. The last communication showed the vehicle low on fuel and the lander increasing in speed.

Ispace公司官员周三晚些时候对记者表示，其登陆器可能燃料耗尽坠毁。最后一次通信表明，探测器燃料低，着陆器速度加大。

Chief technology officer Ryo Ujiie called it a "free fall."

该公司首席技术官氏家亮称其为“自由坠落”。

Takeshi Hakamada started ispace in 2010. Hakamada said another moon-landing attempt is planned for next year. The goal of ispace is to become a transport service to the moon for equipment and other goods. The company has raised $300 million to cover its first three missions.

袴田武史在2010年创立了ispace公司。袴田称计划在明年进行另一次登月尝试。Ispace公司的目标是成为一家运输设备和其它物品到月球的服务商。该公司已经筹集了3亿美元，以涵盖其前三次任务。

"We will keep going, never quit the lunar quest," Hakamada said.

袴田表示：“我们将继续前进，永远不会退出月球任务。”

A Japanese government spokesman, Hirokazu Matsuno, said it was sad news but the nation wants ispace to "keep trying."

日本政府发言人松野弘和表示，这是悲伤的消息，但是该国希望ispace公司“继续努力”。

One member of the U.S. space program offered kind words for ispace on Twitter.

美国太空项目的一位成员在推特上安慰了ispace公司。

"If space is hard, landing is harder," Laurie Leshin wrote. She is the director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "I know from personal experience how awful this feels."

劳里·莱什写道：“如果太空任务很难，那么着陆任务就是巨难。”她是美国宇航局喷气推进实验室的主任。她说：“从个人经验来看，我知道这种感觉有多糟糕。”

Leshin worked on the Mars polar lander that crashed in 1999.

莱什参与了1999年坠毁的火星极地着陆器的工作。

It is the second crash or explosion for private space exploration companies in the last week. SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded a few minutes after the launch of a test flight on April 20.

这是私营太空探索公司上周发生的第二次坠毁或爆炸。在4月20日一次测试飞行几分钟之后，SpaceX公司的星际飞船火箭发生了爆炸。

Many countries and private businesses are trying once again to reach the moon. NASA's Artemis program made it to the moon and back in 2022. Two American companies have finished moon landers and are hoping to launch later this year. China has landed three spacecraft on the moon since 2013 and the U.S., China, India and South Korea have satellites in place.

许多国家和私营企业都在一再尝试登上月球。美国宇航局的阿耳忒弥斯项目在2022年完成了月球往返。两家美国公司已经做好了月球着陆器，并希望在今年晚些时候发射升空。自2013年以来，中国已经在月球上着陆了3个航天器，并且美国、中国、印度和韩国都有绕月卫星。

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。