英语新闻丨嫦娥六号“携宝”重返地球!

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China's Chang'e 6 robotic mission finished successfully on Tuesday afternoon, bringing scientifically precious samples from the moon's far side back to Earth for the first time.6月25日下午,探月工程嫦娥六号任务取得圆满成功,实现世界首次月球背面采样返回。Carrying the lunar samples, the Chang'e 6's reentry capsule touched down at 2:07 pm on its preset landing site in Siziwang Banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, putting an end to the 53-day voyage involving a host of complex, challenging maneuvers.载有月球样本的嫦娥六号于25日下午2点07分,嫦娥六号返回器准确着陆于内蒙古四子王旗预定区域。经过一系列复杂而具有挑战性的演习,这场长达53天的太空探索终获成功!The reentry and landing processes started at around 1:22 pm when mission controllers at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center uploaded high-accuracy navigation data to the orbiter-reentry capsule combination that was traveling around Earth.13时22分许,北京航天飞行控制中心通过地面测控站向嫦娥六号轨道器和返回器组合体注入高精度导航参数。The capsule then separated from the orbiter about 5,000 kilometers above the southern Atlantic Ocean and began to descend toward Earth.此后,轨道器与返回器在距南大西洋海平面高约5000公里处正常解锁分离,轨道器按计划完成轨道规避机动。It entered the atmosphere around 1:41 pm at a speed close to the second cosmic velocity of 11.2 kilometers per second, and then bounced out of atmosphere in a maneuver to reduce its ultrafast speed.13时41分许,嫦娥六号返回器在距地面高度约120公里处,以接近第二宇宙速度(约为11.2千米/秒)高速在大西洋上空第一次进入地球大气层,实施初次气动减速。After a short while, the capsule re-entered the atmosphere and kept gliding down.短暂飞行后,太空舱重新进入大气层并继续滑行下降。When the craft was about 10 km above the ground, it released its parachutes and soon smoothly landed on the ground.降落至10公里高度时,返回器打开降落伞,随后准确在预定区域平稳着陆。Shortly after the touchdown, recovery personnel sent from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center arrived at the landing site in helicopters and off-road vehicles.着陆后不久,酒泉卫星发射中心的航天搜救队乘坐直升机和越野车抵达预定区域。The capsule will then be transported by plane to Beijing, where it will be opened by experts at the China Academy of Space Technology.回收后的嫦娥六号返回器在完成必要的地面处理工作后,将空运至北京,由中国空间技术研究院开舱。The Chang'e 6 mission, representing the world's first attempt at bringing back samples from the far side of the moon to Earth, was launched by a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket on May 3 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province.5月3日,嫦娥六号探测器由长征五号遥八运载火箭在中国文昌航天发射场成功发射,这是世界上首次尝试将月球背面的样本带回地球。The 8.35-ton spacecraft was designed and built by the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, and consisted of four components — an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a reentry capsule.这艘重达8.35吨的探测器由中国航天科技集团公司附属中国空间技术研究院设计和建造,由轨道器、返回器、着陆器、上升器组成。After a host of sophisticated steps, the lander touched down at the South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, on the morning of June 2.嫦娥六号探测器开启世界首次月球背面采样返回之旅,预选着陆和采样区为月球背面南极——艾特肯盆地,这是太阳系中已知最大的撞击盆地。The landing marked the second time a spacecraft has ever arrived in the lunar far side.本次着陆标志着飞行探测器第二次抵达月球背面。The vast region had never been reached by any spacecraft until January 2019, when the Chang'e 4 probe landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The Chang'e 4 surveyed areas surrounding its landing site but did not collect and send back samples.直至2019年1月,嫦娥四号探测器降落在南极——艾特肯盆地之前,从未有任何飞行器到达过这片广阔的地区。嫦娥四号勘测了其着陆区周围,并未收集和载回样本。The Chang'e 6 lander worked 49 hours on the lunar far side, using a mechanical arm and a drill operated to collect surface and underground materials. Meanwhile, several scientific apparatus were activated to conduct survey and analysis assignments.嫦娥六号着陆器在月球背面使用约49小时迅速完成了“挖土”“做科研”“升旗”“起飞”等一系列工作。同时,嫦娥六号载回月球样本也启动了后续分析和研究相关工作。After the tasks were completed, the sample-loaded ascender lifted off from the lunar surface and reached lunar orbit to dock with the reentry capsule to transfer the samples.回收后的嫦娥六号返回器在完成必要的地面处理工作后,完成与轨道器和返回器组合体之间的交会对接及样品转移。In the final leg of the mission, the orbiter and the reentry capsule flew back to Earth orbit before separating on Tuesday.在任务的最后一站,轨返回器于6月25日与轨道器分离并携带月背样品重返地球。Before this mission, all of the lunar substances on Earth were collected from the near side of the moon through the United States' six Apollo manned landings, the former Soviet Union's three Luna robotic missions and China's Chang'e 5 unmanned mission.此次任务前,地球上的所有月球样本都是通过美国的六次阿波罗载人任务、前苏联的三次机器人探月任务和中国的嫦娥五从月球近侧收集的。The landscapes and physical characteristics of the far side, which permanently faces away from Earth, are very different from those of the near side, which is visible from Earth, according to scientists.据科学家称,月球背面远侧的景观和物理特征与从地球上可见的近侧的景观和物理特征截然不同。The new samples will probably offer researchers around the globe useful keys for answering questions about the moon, and will likely bring a range of invaluable scientific payoffs, they said.这些新样本可能会为全球研究人员提供科学价值,以探索月球的谜题,将带来一系列宝贵的科学回报。The Chang'e 5 mission, which took place in the winter of 2020, gathered 1,731 grams of samples, the first lunar substances obtained since the Apollo era. It made China the third nation, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to have collected lunar samples.嫦娥五号任务于2020年冬季进行,收集了1731克月壤。这是自阿波罗时代以来获得的第一批月球物质,使中国成为继美国和前苏联之后第三个收集月球样本的国家。So far, Chang'e 5 lunar samples have enabled Chinese researchers to make a number of academic strides, including the discovery of the sixth new lunar mineral, named Changesite-(Y).截至目前,嫦娥五号月球样本已经在学术上取得了进步,我国研究人员发现了第六种新的月球矿物,名为嫦娥石(Changesite-(Y))。reentry capsulen.返回器orbitern. 轨道器landern. 着陆器ascendern. 上升器preset landing siten.预定降落区域Beijing Aerospace Control Centern.北京航天飞行控制中心impact cratersn. 撞击盆地、陨石坑