VOA慢速英语:A Watery Flight to the Moon(翻译)

A group of college students is hoping to place a satellite powered only by waterinto an orbit around the moon.
一群大学生有望将一颗只用水作为动力的卫星发射到月球轨道里。

The students are from Cornell University in the state of New York.They are taking part in a competition called the Cube Quest Challenge.It is a program of NASA, the American space agency.
这些大学生来自纽约州康奈尔大学。他们参加了一项叫作“立方任务挑战”的比赛。这是美国空间探索机构——美国宇航局的一个项目。

The Cornell team is called the CisLunar Explorers.The word cislunar means “between Earth and the moon.”
康奈尔大学的团队叫作“地月空间探索者”。“地月空间”的意思是“在地球和月球之间”。

The challenge is simple: to design, build and deliver “flight-qualified, small satellites.”NASA officials say the satellites must be able to perform “advanced operations near and beyond the moon.”
挑战很简单：设计、制作和发射“具备空间飞行资格的小型卫星”。美国宇航局官员表示，卫星必须能够“能够在月球附近和外部进行高级操作”。

Ten teams are taking part in the competition.But the CisLunar Explorer satellites are different.They are the only ones using water to power their spacecraft.
一共有10支队伍也参加了这个比赛。但是“地月空间探索者”卫星是特别的。他们是唯一一支只用水作为飞行器动力的队伍。

The idea for a water-powered vehicle came from Mason Peck, who works at Cornell University.He once worked as NASA’s chief technologist.He has always wanted to use something other than rockets to push spacecraft beyond earth.
水动力飞行器的想法，来自于现在在康奈尔大学工作的马森·派克。他曾经是前美国宇航局首席技术专家。他总是想要使用火箭之外的东西来推动飞离地球的飞行器。

“A lot of the mass we send into orbit these days is in the form of rockets –the only way we get anything into space,” he said, in a Cornell press release.
“这些日子以来，我们送到轨道里的很多东西都是用火箭作为推进器的——这也是唯一一种推进器。”他在康奈尔大学新闻发布会上说。

“But what if we could use what’s already there?If we could do that, if we could refuel spacecraft while they’re already in space...”
“但是如果我们用现成的东西怎么样呢？如果我们能做到的话，如果我们能够给空间里的飞行器补充燃料的话……”

The spacecraft is shaped like the English letter L. It measures about 30 centimeters in length, and the two pieces are connected.
这个飞行器是英文字母L的形状。大约长30厘米，由两个相连的部分组成。

Water is stored in the lower part of the satellite.The sun will separate the water into two elements: hydrogen and oxygen.When one combines hydrogen and oxygen with a spark, an explosion results.This provides a forward movement, known as thrust.
水储存在卫星的低端。太阳能会将水分离为氢气和氧气。氢气、氧气和火星结合在一起会爆炸。由此产生巨大的能量就是推力。

The CisLunar Explorer team has an unusual way to guide its spacecraft.The idea is to copy how old-time sailors used the moon, sun and stars to fix their position on the oceans.The satellite is equipped with cameras.The cameras will take pictures of the sun, Earth and the moonand compare their positions and their size.
“地月空间探索者”团队用来导航飞行器的方法很特别。这个想法是来自于古代航海家利用月亮、太阳和星星的位置来确定自己在海上的位置。卫星上装了摄像机。摄像机会给给太阳、地球和月球拍照，与它们的位置和大小相对比。

Based on where the sun, moon and Earth are at any given time,the CisLunar Explorers will do the mathematics to find their position.
基于太阳、月球和地球在任何时候的位置，“地月空间探索者”就可以算出它们自身的位置。

The competition is being held in four parts.The Cornell team has been among the top three competitors during parts one and two.The winners of the third stage will be announced in about a month.The final three winners will be announced in early 2017.They will get to ride on NASA’s space launch system in early 2018.
比赛分为四个环节。康奈尔大学代表队在第一和第二环节都是前三名。第三环节的胜者将在大约一个月之后宣布。最终的前三名将在2017年初宣布。他们将有机会在2018年年初搭载上美国宇航局的空间发射系统。

I’m Dorothy Gundy.
多萝西·甘地为您报道。