VOA慢速英語：歐洲和日本聯(lián)合發(fā)射的太空飛船開始為期7年的水星之旅

European, Japanese Spacecraft Begins Seven-Year Trip to Mercury

歐洲和日本聯(lián)合發(fā)射的太空飛船開始為期7年的水星之旅

European and Japanese space agencies have successfully launched a spacecraft as part of a joint effort to study Mercury, the closest planet to the sun.

歐洲和日本航天機構(gòu)成功發(fā)射了一艘航天器，作為共同研究距離太陽最近的水星的一部分。

The unmanned "BepiColombo" spacecraft launched from French Guiana on October 20. It is named after the Italian scientist Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo. The Ariane 5 rocket lifted it into orbit. The spacecraft carried two probes, one developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the other by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

這顆無人駕駛的貝皮科倫坡號(BepiColombo)太空飛船于10月20日從法屬圭亞那發(fā)射升空。它以意大利科學家朱塞佩·“貝皮”·科倫坡的名字命名。阿麗亞娜5號(Ariane 5)火箭將它送入軌道。該航天器攜帶了兩顆探測器，一顆由歐洲航天局(ESA)開發(fā)，另一顆由日本宇宙航空研究機構(gòu)(JAXA)開發(fā)。

The trip to Mercury will take seven years. Scientists hope the mission will give them more information about the planet's inside core, as well as possibly answer questions about how our solar system was formed.

這次水星之旅需要7年時間?？茖W家們希望這項任務能夠給他們提供更多關(guān)于水星內(nèi)核的信息，以及太陽系如何形成的可能答案。

ESA said the $1.5-billion mission is one of the most complex in its history. Mercury's nearness to the sun makes it an especially difficult planet to study. There is intense gravitational pull from the sun, as well as extreme solar radiation. And the planet has extreme temperatures.

歐洲航天局表示，這項耗資15億美元的任務是其歷史上最復雜的任務之一。水星靠近太陽，使得它成為一顆特別難以研究的星球。太陽有強力的引力，以及極端的太陽輻射，而且這顆星球的氣溫極高。

The BepiColombo spacecraft will have to follow an elliptical path to Mercury. Its trip includes one "fly-by" of Earth and two of Venus. It also will make six fly-bys of Mercury itself. This will let it slow down before arriving at its target in December 2025.

貝皮科倫坡號飛船必須遵循一條通向水星的橢圓軌道。它的行程包括1次掠過地球和2次掠過金星，并且6次掠過水星。這將會使它在2025年12月抵達目標前放慢速度。

Once it arrives there, BepiColombo will release the two probes, called Bepi and Mio. The probes will independently investigate the surface and the magnetic field of Mercury. The probes are made to work in extreme temperatures -- from very hot to very cold. On the side facing the sun, the temperature is 430 degrees Celsius, but away from the sun, it is minus 180 degrees Celsius.

一旦抵達水星，貝皮科倫坡號將會釋放出兩顆分別名為Bepi和Mio的探測器。這些探測器將會對水星的表面和磁場進行研究。這些探測器可以在從極熱到極寒的極端溫度下工作。在朝向太陽的一側(cè)，溫度將會達到430攝氏度。但在遠離太陽的一面，它的溫度是零下180攝氏度。

ESA's Bepi probe will operate in Mercury's inner orbit. JAXA's Mio will be in the outer orbit. Scientists hope the data gathered will give them information on the internal structure of the planet, its surface and physical development.

歐洲宇航局的Bepi號探測器將會繞水星的內(nèi)層軌道運行，日本宇宙航空研究機構(gòu)的Mio將在水星的外層軌道上。科學家們希望收集到的數(shù)據(jù)將會給他們提供關(guān)于水星的內(nèi)部結(jié)構(gòu)、表面和物理發(fā)展的信息。

The scientists are building on the knowledge gained by the American space agency NASA's Messenger probe. It ended its mission in 2015 after a four-year orbit of Mercury. The only other spacecraft to visit Mercury was NASA's Mariner 10, which flew past the planet in the mid-1970s.

科學家們是基于美國航天局(NASA)的信使號(Messenger)探測器獲得的信息。信使號探測器在繞水星軌道4年之后，于2015年結(jié)束了它的使命。另一顆前往水星的航天器只有美國宇航局的水手10號(Mariner 10,)探測器，它于20世紀70年代中期掠過了水星。

Mercury is not much bigger than Earth's moon. It has a huge iron core, about which little is known.

水星比月球大不了多少。它有一個巨大的鐵核，關(guān)于這個鐵核人們知之甚少。

Guiseppe "Bepi" Colombo was an Italian professor, mathematician and engineer. Some call him the "Grandfather of the Fly-By" because his research helped in the exploration of Mercury, Saturn and Halley's Comet.

朱塞佩·“貝皮”·科倫坡是一位意大利教授、數(shù)學家和工程師。有人稱它為飛掠之父，因為他的研究有助于對水星、土星和哈雷彗星的探測。

It is the second recent cooperation between the Europeans and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. JAXA's Hayabusa2 probe dropped a German-French space vehicle on the asteroid Ryugu earlier this month.

這是歐洲和日本航空研究開發(fā)機構(gòu)最近的第二次合作。日本宇宙航空研究機構(gòu)的隼鳥2號(Hayabusa2)探測器本月早些時候在“龍宮”(Ryugu)小行星上釋放了一顆德國和法國研制的飛行器。

I'm Anne Ball.

安妮·鮑爾報道。