美國國家航空和宇宙航行局的全女性太空行走回來了

美國國家航空和宇宙航行局的全女性太空行走回來了

Now that they have spacesuits that fit, two female astronauts will make history by going on an all-female spacewalk. NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir are scheduled to take a walk outside the International Space Station on Oct. 21, NASA announced.

現(xiàn)在他們有了合適的宇航服，兩名女宇航員將進行一次全女性太空行走，創(chuàng)造歷史。美國宇航局宣布，宇航員克里斯蒂娜·科赫和杰西卡·梅爾將于10月21日在國際空間站外散步。

NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left) and Jessica Meir are scheduled to conduct the first all-female spacewalk on Oct. 21. (Photo: NASA)

Koch was originally scheduled to conduct a spacewalk with her then-crewmate, Anne McClain, on March 29, following another spacewalk featuring McClain and NASA astronaut Nick Hague on March 22. However, mission managers decided to change assignments, NASA explained, "due in part to spacesuit availability on the station."

科赫原定于3月29日與她當時的同事安妮·麥克萊恩進行太空行走，3月22日與麥克萊恩和美國宇航局宇航員尼克·黑格進行了另一次太空行走。然而，任務經(jīng)理決定改變任務，NASA解釋說，“部分原因是太空站上有太空服。”

McClain realized her best fit was a medium-sized hard upper torso — "essentially the shirt of the spacesuit," according to NASA. But there was only one available in time for the spacewalk, so Koch wore it and Hague filled in for McClain.

麥克萊恩意識到她最適合的是一個中等大小的堅硬的上半身——“基本上是宇航服的襯衫，”NASA說。但是在太空行走的時候只有一件衣服，所以科赫穿了這件衣服，黑格代替了麥克萊恩。

"It is more efficient to swap spacewalkers than to reconfigure the elements of the spacesuit," NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz told NBC News, noting the fit of a spacesuit can affect an astronaut's ability to maneuver and perform tasks.

美國國家航空航天局女發(fā)言人斯蒂芬妮·斯切爾霍茲在接受美國全國廣播公司采訪時說:“更換太空行走人員比重新設計宇航服要有效率得多。”她指出，宇航服的合適程度會影響宇航員的行動能力和執(zhí)行任務的能力。

But now the suits and the astronauts are ready. Another medium size suit was launched to the ISS earlier this year, according to Kirk Shireman, NASA’s program manager for the ISS, the Verge reports.

但是現(xiàn)在宇航服和宇航員都準備好了。據(jù)美國科技網(wǎng)站the Verge報道，美國宇航局國際空間站項目經(jīng)理Kirk Shireman稱，今年早些時候，美國又向國際空間站發(fā)射了一套中號太空服。

“We don’t do it for a specific crew member,” Shireman said during a press conference in early October. “Actually, what we do is we look over the next two years, and look at all the crew members who are [spacewalk] certified, and say, ‘OK, what’s the sweet spot?’” Shireman pointed out that over the next couple of years, a lot of “medium suit people” will be heading to the ISS.

“我們不會為特定的船員做這件事，”Shireman在10月初的一次新聞發(fā)布會上說。“實際上，我們要做的是在接下來的兩年里，觀察所有獲得太空行走認證的宇航員，然后說，‘好的，最佳點是什么?’”Shireman指出，在未來的幾年里，許多“中等身材的人”將前往國際空間站。

Koch talked about how their accomplishments are viewed in terms of being female astronauts.

科赫談到了她們作為女性宇航員所取得的成就。

In July 1984, cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space. Thirty-five years after that historic occasion, two women will conduct the first all-female spacewalk.

1984年7月，宇航員斯維特拉娜·薩維茨卡婭成為第一位在太空行走的女性。在那次歷史性事件35年后，兩名女性將進行首次全女性太空行走。

Spacewalks are conducted for a range of reasons, from performing experiments outside of the International Space Station to testing and repairing equipment.

太空行走的原因有很多，從在國際空間站外做實驗到測試和修理設備。