在线英语听力室

Humans to Mars Official NASA Goal, But What About Radiation?

时间:2017-04-10 23:19:53

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

 

Human exploration of Mars is now an official goal of the National Aeronautics1 and Space Administration (NASA).

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump2 signed a bill to increase NASA’s budget. The law sets spending at $19.5 billion for the 12-month period starting on October 1, 2017. Congress will need to approve the money.

And for the first time, the NASA budget adds human exploration of Mars as an official goal for the agency.

The president spoke3 at the signing ceremony. Trump said he was happy to sign the spending plan into law. He added that for almost 60 years NASA has inspired millions of Americans to imagine distant worlds and a better future on earth.

“It's been a long time since a bill like this has been signed, reaffirming our national commitment to the core mission of NASA: human space exploration, space science and technology."

Working with private companies

Sending astronauts to Mars is the next great test for NASA. Space agency officials hope to have people on Mars by the 2030s. The agency is expected to develop new technology to carry out the mission by working with private companies.

SpaceX, owned by businessman Elon Musk4, is working on its own plan to get to Mars. His company plans to launch an unmanned spaceship to the red planet as soon as 2018.

When sending anyone into deep space, one of the biggest problems is how to deal with damaging radiation. The spacecraft has to be built with materials that protect against the effects of radiation. But more work is needed.

Working to protect against radiation

Scientists are working on ways to protect astronauts from the radiation they will face while traveling outside Earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere and Earth’s magnetic fields protect us from the damaging and possibly deadly effects of cosmic and gamma rays from our sun and outer space. High levels of radiation can lead to cancer and sometimes death.

If there were a nuclear disaster here on Earth, it would take several meters of lead or thick concrete to keep us safe from the radiation.

The same is true for astronauts in space.

The thin atmospheres of the moon and Mars will not provide protection for the people who might travel or live there. So shielding human beings from radiation is a critical part of colonizing5 space.

Scientists are working on several methods of protection.

Radiation vest

One involves a vest to be worn by astronauts. Called the AstroRad Radiation Shield, it is a product of an Israeli company called StemRad.

Gideon Waterman is StemRad’s chief technology officer.

"From the worst case of a nuclear disaster, to the best case of humans walking on Mars, we're providing the best possible radiation protection."

The vest is designed to protect vital human tissue, like reproductive organs and lungs, from radiation. It will also protect stem cells. These are simple cells in the body that are able to develop into different kinds of cells, such as blood cells, cells for making skin or other body parts.

The vest may get its first test in space in 2018. It may travel into space when NASA’s Orion spacecraft makes its first test trip around the moon. StemRad says it will provide the same protection as a shielded “safe room” traveling on the Orion.

Oren Milstein is the company’s CEO and Chief Scientific Officer.

"Based on our simulations we're sure it works, but, you know, to be one hundred percent sure, we're sending this up EM-1 (Exploration Mission 1) which is NASA's next launch of the Orion space capsule."

The vest is lightweight. It is made of many small cells. These cells are grouped together, so the device looks almost like a honeycomb made by a bee. Every vest will be made individually for each astronaut.

NASA options under development

NASA is also exploring other ways for dealing6 with the radiation. One idea is building a storm shelter deep inside the floor of the Orion spacecraft. Astronauts would hide there in the event of a solar flare7 storm. Solar flares8 are sudden bursts of energy from a small area of the sun's surface.

The space agency is also working on developing drugs, like anti-oxidants, to fight the effects of radiation. This medicine could be taken to reverse some of the effects of severe radiation exposure from solar flares.

I’m Anne Ball.

Words in This Story

inspire – v. to make (someone) want to do something : to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

reaffirm – v. to formally state (something) again in order to emphasize that it is true

core – n. the most important or basic part of something

mission – n. a task or job that someone is given to do

vital – adj. extremely important

honeycomb – n. a group of wax cells with six sides that are built by honeybees in their hive and that contain young bees or honey

reverse – v. to change (something) to an opposite state or condition


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 aeronautics BKVyg     
n.航空术,航空学
参考例句:
  • National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
  • He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。
2 trump LU1zK     
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
参考例句:
  • He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
  • The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌。
3 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 musk v6pzO     
n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物,香猫
参考例句:
  • Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
  • She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。
5 colonizing 8e6132da4abc85de5506f1d9c85be700     
v.开拓殖民地,移民于殖民地( colonize的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The art of colonizing is no exception to the rule. 殖民的芸术是� 有特例的。 来自互联网
  • A Lesson for Other Colonizing Nations. 其它殖民国家学习的教训。 来自互联网
6 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
7 flare LgQz9     
v.闪耀,闪烁;n.潮红;突发
参考例句:
  • The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
  • You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。
8 flares 2c4a86d21d1a57023e2985339a79f9e2     
n.喇叭裤v.(使)闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 );(使)(船舷)外倾;(使)鼻孔张大;(使)(衣裙、酒杯等)呈喇叭形展开
参考例句:
  • The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子,一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。