VOA科学技术2023--What Is the Goal of Japan’s New Moon Mission?

What Is the Goal of Japan’s New Moon Mission?

Last week, Japan's space agency launched a rocket carrying a spacecraft designed to explore the moon.

The lunar lander is known as the Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon (SLIM). It aims to touch down on the moon's surface early next year. If successful, it would make Japan the fifth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon.

So far, only the United States, Russia, China and India have successfully landed spacecraft on the moon. India's landing happened last month. India's landing came days after Russia failed in its attempt to return to the moon for the first time in nearly 50 years.

In April, a private Japanese space exploration company announced its space vehicle crashed while trying to land on the moon. If that landing had been successful, it would have marked the first time a private business landed on the moon.

In the latest launch, an H-IIA rocket lifted off on September 7 from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, the country's JAXA space agency said. Hours after the launch, JAXA said it was receiving signals from the SLIM spacecraft, suggesting it was operating normally. It is expected to start the lunar landing process by February, the Reuters news agency reported.

Japanese space officials have said SLIM aims to land within 100 meters of its target area on the moon's surface. The purpose, or mission, of the lander is to test the possibility that spacecraft can land on very specific targets.

JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa told a news conference the mission aims to prove that in the future, spacecraft will be able to land "where we want," rather than only landing "where we can."

SLIM is set to touch down in an area called Mare¹ Nectaris, on the southeastern half of the moon. The area contains plains of solidified² lava³ and appears as a dark area from Earth.

After landing, SLIM will seek to examine the mineral-rich rocks to search for clues about the moon's development. The spacecraft is not carrying a lunar explorer.

SLIM is a small lander. It weighs a little more than 700 kilograms. JAXA plans to use additional light spacecraft in the future to reduce launch costs and permit more missions.

The spacecraft uses a chemical propulsion system and is equipped with very small electronic devices to control the lander. SLIM's overall development cost about $102 million.

The rocket that launched SLIM also carried the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) satellite. This part of the mission is a joint⁴ project of JAXA, the American space agency NASA and the European Space Agency.

The lander successfully separated from the rocket about 45 minutes after the launch. Ground stations in Hawaii and Japan received signals from XRISM soon after the launch. This confirmed the satellite's solar equipment had successfully deployed⁵, JAXA said.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, JAXA and NASA.

The XRISM satellite is designed to take images in many wavelengths⁶ of X-rays and to study the chemicals that exist in matter at high temperatures. It can gather information on the speed and makeup⁷ of what lies between galaxies⁸. This can help scientists better understand how stars and galaxies developed. The satellite is equipped to look at X-rays of different wavelengths, or spectra⁹, even ones at very high energy levels.

JAXA is also planning a joint lunar mission with the Indian Space Research Organization sometime after 2025. This will involve Japan's H3 rocket carrying India's next lunar lander into space.

Words in This Story

plain – n. a large area of flat land

propulsion – n. a force that pushes something forward

galaxy¹⁰ – n. a very large group of stars held together in the universe

spectrum¹¹ (spectra pl.) –n. the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that scientist use to find the chemical properties of very hot gases

1 mare   

n.母马，母驴

参考例句：

• The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
• The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。

2 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

3 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 wavelengths   

n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍

参考例句：

• I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句

7 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

8 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

9 spectra   

n.光谱

参考例句：

• The infra-red spectra of quinones present a number of interesting features. 醌类的红外光谱具有一些有趣的性质。
• This relation between the frequency and the field spectra was noted experimentally. 实验上已经发现频率和场频谱之间的这种关系。

10 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

11 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。