NASA經理對2024年登月計劃表示懷疑

NASA經理對2024年登月計劃表示懷疑

A top NASA manager cast doubt Wednesday on the space agency’s ability to land astronauts on the moon by 2024.

美國宇航局一名高級管理人員周三對航天局在2024年前將宇航員送上月球的能力表示懷疑。

Kenneth Bowersox, acting associate administrator for human exploration and operations, told a Congressional subcommittee that NASA is doing its best to meet the White House-imposed deadline.

負責人類探索和行動的代理副署長肯尼斯·鮑爾索斯(Kenneth Bowersox)對國會一個小組委員會表示，NASA正在盡最大努力在白宮規(guī)定的最后期限前完成任務。

Bowersox — a former space shuttle and space station commander — said it’s good for NASA to have “that aggressive goal.” Many things need to come together, like funding and technical challenges, he said, for 2024 to stand a chance.

前航天飛機和空間站指揮官鮑爾索斯說，對NASA來說，有這樣一個“積極的目標”是件好事。他說，要想在2024年獲得成功，許多事情需要結合起來，比如資金和技術挑戰(zhàn)。

NASA has named the program Artemis after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology and promises the first moonwalking team will include a woman. The pair would land on the lunar south pole, where vast reserves of frozen water could be tapped for future explorers. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine — who’s pushing Artemis every chance he gets — stresses the goal is sustainability this time around, with the moon serving as a critical training ground for Mars expeditions, perhaps in the 2030s.

美國宇航局以阿波羅在希臘神話中的孿生姐妹阿耳忒彌斯的名字為該項目命名，并承諾第一個月球漫步團隊將包括一名女性。他們將在月球南極著陸，那里有大量的冷凍水可供未來的探險者開采。美國宇航局局長吉姆·布里登斯汀(Jim Bridenstine)強調，這次的目標是可持續(xù)發(fā)展，月球可能在本世紀30年代成為火星探險的重要訓練基地。

NASA’s replacement for the Apollo-era Saturn V rocket — the Space Launch System or SLS — is still in development. Its launch debut has slipped repeatedly and, according to Bowersox, will now occur no earlier than the end of next year. This initial test flight will send an Orion capsule around the moon with no one on board.

美國宇航局正在研制阿波羅時代土星五號火箭的替代品——太空發(fā)射系統(tǒng)或SLS。據(jù)鮑爾索克斯說，它的首次亮相一再推遲，現(xiàn)在來看不會早于明年年底。這次首次試飛將發(fā)射一個無人駕駛的獵戶座太空艙繞月飛行。

The space agency still needs to come up with new lunar landers, rovers and spacesuits.

航天局仍然需要研制出新的月球著陸器、探測器和宇航服。