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An American company successfully launched a mission Monday to explore the moon. The launch of a robotic lander marked the first time a private space vehicle has been sent to the lunar surface.
一个美国公司于周一成功发射了一项探索月球的任务。这次发射的机器着陆器标志着首次有私人航天器被送往月球表面。
However, the company reported a serious fuel leak about seven hours after the launch. The 1.9-meter-tall lander, called Peregrine, launched at 07:18 UTC from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
然而，公司在发射后约七小时报告了严重的燃料泄漏。这架1.9米高的着陆器名为“Peregrine”，于协调世界时07:18从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角空军基地发射。
The spacecraft was built by Astrobotic Technology, a company based in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was carried into space on a Vulcan Centaur rocket. The rocket was built by American space launch company, United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
该航天器由位于美国宾夕法尼亚州的Astrobotic Technology公司制造。它搭载在一枚Vulcan Centaur火箭上进入太空。这枚火箭是由美国航天发射公司United Launch Alliance（ULA）制造的，是波音和洛克希德·马丁公司的合资企业。
Earlier, Astrobotic chief executive John Thornton said if all goes as planned, Peregrine will attempt to land on the moon February 23.
早些时候，Astrobotic首席执行官约翰·桑顿表示，如果一切按计划进行，Peregrine将于2月23日尝试着陆月球。
However, Astrobotic said in a statement it is currently assessing possible changes to the mission to see what might be possible. If the fuel issue is serious, it “threatens the ability of the spacecraft to soft land on the moon,” the company said.
然而，Astrobotic在一份声明中表示，目前正在评估对任务的可能更改，以了解可能的情况。如果燃料问题严重，“威胁到航天器在月球上软着陆的能力”，该公司表示。
Astrobotic said in a press release Peregrine is loaded with 20 research experiments involving seven different countries. It is equipped to collect data on radiation and materials found on the moon’s surface.
Astrobotic在一份新闻稿中表示，Peregrine搭载了涉及七个不同国家的20项研究实验。它配备了收集月球表面辐射和材料数据的设备。
The lander also carried a small robotic explorer and other materials. These included a physical bitcoin, a piece of rock from Mount Everest and the ash remains of famous space lovers Gene Roddenberry and Arthur C. Clarke. Roddenberry was creator of the popular science fiction television show Star Trek and Clarke was a science fiction writer.
着陆器还携带了一个小型机器人探险者和其他材料。其中包括一枚实体比特币、一块来自珠穆朗玛峰的岩石和著名的太空爱好者吉恩·罗登伯里和阿瑟·C·克拉克的骨灰。罗登伯里是著名的科幻电视节目《星际迷航》的创作者，而克拉克则是一位科幻作家。
The Navajo Nation recently sought to have the launch delayed because of the inclusion of the remains. The head of the Native American group called the sending of remains a “desecration” because Native Americans consider the moon a sacred space.
纳瓦霍族最近寻求推迟发射，原因是残骸的包含。这个美洲原住民团体的负责人称发送遗骸是一种“亵渎”，因为美洲原住民认为月球是一个神圣的空间。
In a message on X, formerly Twitter, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said, “The suggestion of transforming (the mission) into a resting place for human remains is deeply disturbing and unacceptable to our people and many other tribal nations.”
纳瓦霍族族长布·奈格伦在X（之前是推特）上发表的一则消息中表示：“将（这次任务）建设成人类遗骸的安息之地的建议令人深感不安，也是我们的人民和许多其他部落国家无法接受的。”
Astrobotic’s Thornton answered the criticism by saying the Navajo’s Nation’s objections came too late to reach an agreement on the issue. But he promised to try to find “a good path forward” with the Navajo Nation for future missions.
Astrobotic的桑顿通过表示纳瓦霍族的反对来不及达成协议，回应了这一批评。但他承诺将努力与纳瓦霍
族找到未来任务的“良好发展道路”。
So far, only four nations have successfully landed spacecraft on the moon: the United States, China, the Soviet Union and India. The last time the United States landed on the moon was in 1972 with its Apollo 17 mission.
到目前为止，只有四个国家成功将航天器着陆月球：美国、中国、苏联和印度。美国上一次在月球上着陆是在1972年阿波罗17号任务中。
NASA is currently moving ahead with its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon.
美国宇航局目前正在推进“阿尔忒弥斯”计划，该计划旨在将宇航员送回月球。
Astrobotic is trying to be the first private business to successfully land on the moon in an effort to support the Artemis Program. But The Associated Press reports another space company’s lander might beat Peregrine to the lunar surface.
Astrobotic正试图成为第一家成功在月球上着陆的私营企业，以支持“阿尔忒弥斯”计划。但美联社报道称，另一家太空公司的着陆器可能会在Peregrine之前抵达月球表面。
This is because that lander, called Nova-C, is set to take a more direct path to the moon. It plans to launch next month on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Nova-C was built by Texas-based space company Intuitive Machines. The company also plans to send the lander to the moon for another mission later this year.
这是因为该着陆器，名为Nova-C，计划采用更直接的路径前往月球。它计划于下个月搭载在SpaceX猎鹰9号火箭上发射。Nova-C由德克萨斯州的太空公司Intuitive Machines制造。该公司还计划在今年晚些时候将着陆器送往月球执行另一项任务。
Private companies from Japan and Israel tried in the past to land spacecraft on the moon, but those attempts failed.
来自日本和以色列的私营公司曾试图在过去将航天器着陆月球，但这些尝试失败了。
Japan’s space agency will attempt another moon landing in mid-January. The agency, JAXA, launched the SLIM spacecraft on its way to the moon in September. SLIM’s goal is to test the possibility that spacecraft can land on very specific targets.
日本的宇航局将在1月中旬尝试再次登陆月球。该机构JAXA于去年9月发射了前往月球的SLIM航天器。SLIM的目标是测试航天器是否能够着陆在非常具体的目标上。
Another Astrobotic lander, called Griffin, is set to launch to the moon’s south pole in late 2024. It will be carrying an exploring robot, or rover, called VIPER. VIPER is designed to search for water sources on the moon.
另一艘名为Griffin的Astrobotic着陆器计划于2024年底发射到月球南极。它将携带一台名为VIPER的探险机器人，或漫游器。VIPER旨在寻找月球上的水源。
All the private space missions were developed through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The program aims to turn over the country’s major missions to private companies in an effort to operate at reduced costs.
所有私人太空任务都是通过NASA的商业月球有效载荷服务（CLPS）计划开发的。该计划旨在将国家的主要任务交由私人公司执行，以降低成本。
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Words in This Story
mission – n. to do something considered very difficult or impossible
joint venture –n. a new business activity involving two or more businesses that aim to combine their resources
desecrate – v. to damage or show a lack of respect toward something holy or highly respected
sacred – adj. relating to religion or considered to be holy
transform –v. to change something from one form to another
disturbing – adj. making you feel worried or upset
