VOA标准英语2009年-India Hails Role Played by its Space Missi

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
25 September 2009

 
An image from India's Chandrayan 1 spacecraft shows the distribution of water-rich minerals around a small crater¹ on the surface of the Moon, 24 Sep 2009
India is triumphant² at the role played by its inaugural³ moon mission in helping⁴ gather evidence that there is water on the moon. Indian scientists hope the latest discovery will bring international recognition to its space program.  

The announcement that there is evidence of water on the moon has been made by the U.S. space agency, NASA, after data from their instruments on board an Indian satellite and two other satellites was analyzed⁵.

The unmanned Indian spacecraft, Chandrayan, was launched to orbit the moon last October by the Indian space agency, but the mission was terminated last month after scientists lost communication with the satellite. 

However, data gathered before the Chandrayan mission was aborted⁶ has shown that very fine films of water particles coat the particles that make up the lunar surface. Scientists say it is not enough moisture for homegrown life on the moon but if it were to be processed in mass quantities it might provide drinking water for future moon-dwellers.

 
G. Madhavan Nair looks on during a press conference at ISRO headquarters in Bangalore, 25 Sep 2009
The head of India's space agency, G. Madhavan Nair, called it a "path breaking find" and said that Indians should be proud of the fact that Chandrayan played a role in the discovery.

"I am proud to announce that our Chandrayan I has confirmed presence of water molecules⁷ on the surface of the moon," he said. "One of the main objectives of Chandrayan was to look for water on the lunar surface. The instruments, especially the mineral mapping instrument of NASA has caught the signature very clearly. "

Nair said the Indian satellite had helped point the NASA-made instrument to the right location and the right spot.

Indian scientists say the latest discovery shows that the country's inaugural moon mission was a huge success and not a failure even though it was prematurely⁸ terminated.

Indian newspapers also greeted India's role in the find. The leading daily Times of India called it a "One Big Step for India, Giant Leap for Mankind."

Finding evidence of water on the moon is seen by scientists as a key step in enabling mankind to set up bases on the moon for further probes. Until now they had advanced the theory that the moon is dry.

Scientists say further studies will be needed to establish the quantity and quality of water on the moon.

India has been scaling up its space program in recent years, wanting to join other major space faring nations like USA, Russia and China. And the role it has played in establishing the presence of water on the moon is seen as a significant advance for its space program.

1 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

2 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

3 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 aborted   

adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败

参考例句：

• The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer. 因电脑出故障，这次火箭飞行只好中辍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They aborted the space flight finally. 他们最后中止了这次宇航飞行。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

8 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句