2007年VOA标准英语-Scientists, Engineers Reflect on Space Progress

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
21 September 2007

The space age began 50 years ago this October, when the former Soviet¹ Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, sparking a U.S.-Soviet space race. Scientists and engineers gathered at the California Institute of Technology Sept. 20 and 21 to talk about space milestones² of the past and future exploration. Mike O'Sullivan reports, they say the next 50 years should be even more exiting than the last 50.

Former astronaut Harrison Schmidt recalls how he learned about the beginning of the space age. A geology student on a Fulbright Fellowship, he was living in western Norway with a farming family when he heard the news on shortwave radio.

"Every night after they'd gone to bed, I'd go down and listen to the Voice of America and specifically, about 11 o'clock at night, Willis Conover and "Jazz from A to Z" would come on. And the news associated with that program was what brought me the first knowledge that Sputnik had been launched and was successfully orbiting the earth."

The following year, the United States launched its own satellite called Explorer and created the U.S. space agency NASA. In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, followed by the first American, Alan Shepard, Jr. The same year, U.S. President John F. Kennedy promised to put a man on the moon.

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth," Kennedy said.

On July 20th, 1969, it happened, as astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface saying "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Harrison Schmidt would go there himself in December, 1972, on the Apollo 17 mission. He and fellow astronaut Eugene Cernan were the last two people to walk on the moon.

Another stream of research was continuing, as unmanned probes explored the solar system. Charles Elachi is director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which builds and operates unmanned spacecraft for NASA outside Los Angeles. He is amazed at human accomplishments³ in just a generation, from landing people on the moon to sending robotic explorers to other planets.

"Fifty years ago, we barely knew how to launch something. Fifty years later, we have rovers roving on Mars. We have spacecraft in orbit around Saturn⁴. We have visited every planet in our solar system. We are looking at the origin of the universe, looking at our own planet and able to monitor the changes which are occurring on a daily basis. It's absolutely mind-boggling what was accomplished⁵, and I'm sure over the next 50 years, we are going to accomplish even more," he said.

Today, dozens of countries have their own space programs. India's began in the 1960s. Abdul Kalam, who stepped down this year as the nation's president, is an engineer and scientist who is considered the father of India's missile program. He says India puts satellites into orbit for communications, monitoring weather and other terrestrial purposes, and wants to use its orbiting system to link its population of more than one billion.

Mr. Kalam tells VOA that space can be an area of cooperation as joint⁶ projects bring down costs, and a convergence or synergy of effort speeds up progress. "That will create a kind of synergy, and big changes will come in the space program," he said.

Big changes are already happening, says aerospace⁷ pioneer Burt Rutan, the man behind the first private rocket in space, SpaceShipOne. Rutan says private sector⁸ competition is accelerating the development of technology.

Former astronaut Harrison Schmidt says humans have shifted their perspective and opened new options. "We have established ourselves as creatures of the solar system, if we decide to be those creatures. We can live on the moon. We can live on Mars. We know the resources are there to ultimately support settlements independently of any supply from earth," he said.

The scientists and engineers who met in California say the moon and planets may one day be a source of energy and natural resources, and will offer insights into the nature of our planet that could help solve problems such as global warming.

NASA plans to return humans to the moon by 2020, and officials have announced updated plans for a lunar habitat, including rovers capable of two-week journeys. Former astronaut Schmidt, who served one term in the U.S. Senate, hopes the president and congress will maintain adequate funding to see the program through.

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 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网

3 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

5 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

6 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。

7 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。