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46 航天飞机成功飞往火星
DATE=5-9-01
TITLE=ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS #1951 - Space Digest
BYLINE=Paul Thompson
VOICE ONE:
This is Steve Ember
VOICE TWO:
And this is Sarah Long with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today, we tell about the recent flight of the Space （1）Shuttle （2）Endeavour. And we tell about the successful launch of another spacecraft to Mars.
(((THEME)))
VOICE ONE:
The Two-Thousand-One Mars Odyssey spacecraft is on its way to Mars. It sent scientists the first ever-（3）infrared photographs of the whole Earth. The pictures were the result of a test to see if all of the equipment on the spacecraft was working correctly. The test was a success. Odyssey sent the information back last month from more than three million （4）kilometers from Earth.
The Odyssey spacecraft was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the southern state of Florida April Seventh. About fifty-three minutes later flight controllers at NASA's Jet （5）propulsion （6）Laboratory received the first radio signal from the spacecraft. The spacecraft's （7）instruments reported that everything was working well.
VOICE TWO:
The newest spacecraft to fly to Mars is named “Two-Thousand-One Mars Odyssey.” The name was chosen to honor science writer Arthur C. Clarke. One of his most famous works told about human desire to explore the unknown huge （8）distances of space. One of Mister Clarke's books became a very popular movie. It is called “Two-Thousand-One, a Space Odyssey.”
VOICE ONE:
Plans for the Two-Thousand-One Mars Odyssey called for flight controllers to make corrections to the flight path of the spacecraft nine days later. However the corrections were not necessary. The flight controllers said Odyssey was flying on the correct path. It was traveling at a speed of three-point-three kilometers per second.
The Mars Odyssey is expected to reach Mars October Twenty-fourth. It will orbit Mars and begin its science work in January Two-Thousand-Two. It will continue its work until July of Two-Thousand-Four.
VOICE TWO:
The Odyssey spacecraft has several important tasks. Odyssey does not carry instruments that can search for life on Mars. Yet it can search for information that will help researchers understand whether the environment of （9）Mars can support life now, or if it ever could have supported life.
Finding water is （10）extremely important for deciding if life could exist on Mars. Odyssey will be the first spacecraft that carries equipment that can find evidence of water. It will make maps of minerals that were left by water. It will also look for areas on Mars that may produce natural hot water. Scientists say these areas would be the best places to search for evidence of simple life forms in future flights to Mars.
VOICE ONE:
Mars is too cold to permit liquid water to remain on the surface. However researchers say water on Mars may be trapped under the surface. It may be ice, or possibly a liquid. Instruments on Odyssey will let scientists （11）measure any amount of （12）permanent ice and how it changes with the seasons.
Odyssey's instruments will also let NASA scientists search Mars for chemical elements. These elements include carbon, silicon, and iron. Odyssey will also help scientists understand how the Martian land developed over time.
VOICE TWO:
Learning what chemical elements are present on Mars will increase understanding of the history of the （13）geology and weather of the planet. Researchers say this information will also help in finding evidence of past or present life on Mars.
Odyssey will also seek evidence of （14）radiation on Mars. It will look for possible areas that may be dangerous to future astronaut crews. This information will help NASA know how to plan for a visit by human explorers to Mars.
VOICE ONE:
The Mars Odyssey will attempt to perform these tasks with the help of three special instruments. One is the （15）Thermal Emissions Imaging System-called THEMIS. The others are the Gamma Ray （16）Spectrometer-or G-R-S-and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment or MARIE.
The THEMIS instrument will help scientists search for minerals on Mars. The G-R-Swill search for the presence of twenty different chemical elements on the surface of Mars. This is extremely important when looking for evidence of water or ice on the planet. The MARIE instrument will look for evidence of dangerous radiation in the Mars environment.
VOICE TWO:
The Odyssey spacecraft will also support other exploration flights to Mars. It will do this as a （17）communications link between the surface of Mars and Earth. The Odyssey will serve as a communications link between the two NASA Explorations Rover spacecraft that will land and explore Mars.
The two Rovers are to be launched two years from now. The Two-Thousand-One Mars Odyssey will be searching for safe landing areas for future Mars flights.
(((MUSIC BRIDGE)))
VOICE ONE:
The space shuttle Endeavour safely returned to Earth May First. It landed with its crew of seven astronauts at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The Endeavour flew a total of more than eight million kilometers.
Endeavour was in orbit around the Earth for eleven days. For eight of those days, it was linked to the International Space Station. Endeavour's crew carried more than six- thousand pounds of equipment, experiments and （18）supplies to the space station.
VOICE TWO:
Endeavour also carried a special （19）mechanical arm to the space station. The arm was build in Canada and is called Canadarm-Two.
The Canadarm is an extremely important （20）device that will help the crews of the space station move large objects. It will be used to move objects out of the cargo area of space shuttles. It will also be used to link together new parts of the space station.
Part of the Canadarm is called the （21）Mobile Remote Service Base System. It permits the Canadarm to move on special rails, similar to those used by a railroad train. This system means the arm can be moved to any area of the Space Station where it is needed for work.
VOICE ONE:
The Canadarm arm also has a device called the Special Purpose （22） Dexterous （23）Manipulator. This device can be linked to the Canadarm. The device is very similar to human hands. It can be used to work with several tools. Many of the tools it will use were designed especially for the Manipulator. The Manipulator will be used to perform many difficult tasks including linking and removing small objects, and working with power supplies and computers.
The mechanical hands of the manipulator can touch and feel much like human hands. They can sense the correct amount of force or movement needed to be used on an object.
The Canadarm and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator will be used to perform a great many tasks. Many of these tasks would usually be done by astronauts working outside the space station.
VOICE TWO:
The Space Shuttle Endeavour flew to the International Space Station with the Raffaello Multi-Purpose （24）Logistics （25）Module.
Raffaello was built by the Italian Space Agency. It is the second of such devices to be carried on space shuttle flights. Raffaello is a special vehicle used to hold supplies. It is has a round shape and weighs about four metric tons. It can carry more than nine （26）metric tons of supplies.
Raffaello was designed to be used many times on many flights. It can carry supplies or it can be linked to the space station as another room.
On this flight, Raffaello was moved out of the space shuttle Endeavour's cargo area and linked to the International Space Station. After supplies were unloaded from it, Raffaello was loaded with used equipment and wastes. Then Raffaello was again moved back into Endeavour's （27）cargo area for the return flight to Earth.
VOICE ONE:
Raffaello carried nine scientific investigations to the space station, more than were on any other shuttle flight. The experiments carried by the Endeavour include the first plant growth research to be done on the space station. It also carried an experiment that will study radiation in space.
The crew of this flight of the Endeavour included astronauts from the United States, Canada, Russia and the （28）European Union. They represented more nations than has any other crew of the Space Shuttle.
(((THEME)))
VOICE TWO:
This VOA Special English program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. Our studio engineer was Keith Holmes. This is Sarah Long.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.
注释：
（1） shuttle[ 5FQtl ]n. 航天飞机, 梭子v.穿梭往返
（2） endeavour[ in5devE ]n.<英>尽力,竭力
（3） infrared[ 5infrE5red ]adj.红外线的n.红外线
（4） kilometer[ 5kilEmi:tE ]n.[物]千米, 公里
（5） propulsion[ prE5pQlFEn ]n.推进, 推进力
（6） laboratory[ lE5bCrEtEri, 5lAbErEtEri ]n.实验室
（7） instrument[ 5instrumEnt ]n.工具, 手段
（8） distance[ 5distEns ]n.距离, 远离
（9） Mars[ mB:z ]n.火星, 战神
（10） extremely[ iks5tri:mli ]adv.极端地, 非常地
（11） measure[ 5meVE ]n.尺寸, 量度器v.测量, 测度
（12） permanent[ 5pE:mEnEnt ]adj.永久的, 持久的
（13） geology[ dVi5ClEdVi ]n.地质学, 地质概况
（14） radiation[ 7reidi5eiFEn ]n.发散, 发光
（15） thermal[ 5WE:mEl ]adj.热的, 热量的
（16） spectrometer[ spek5trCmitE ]n. [物]分光计
（17） communications[kEmju:nI5keIF(E)nz][计] 通信
（18） supply[ sE5plai ]n.补给, 供给v.补给, 供给
（19） mechanical[ mi5kAnikl ]adj.机械的, 机械制的
（20） device[ di5vais ]n.装置, 设计
（21） mobile[ 5mEubail ]adj.可移动的, 易变的n.运动物体
（22） dexterous[ 5dekstErEs ]adj.灵巧的, 惯用右手的
（23） manipulator[ mE5nipjuleitE ]n.操作者, 操纵者
（24） logistics[lE5dVIstIks]n.后勤学, 后勤
（25） module[ 5mCdju:l ]n.模数, 模块
（26） metric[5metrIk]adj.米制的, 公制的
（27） cargo[ 5kB:^Eu ]n.船货, (车、船、飞机等运输的)货物
（28） European[ 7juErE5pi(:)En ]adj.欧洲的, 欧洲人的n.欧洲人
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