美国宇航局发射卫星测试环月新轨道

The American space agency NASA has launched a satellite designed to test a new orbit around the moon.
美国宇航局发射了一颗卫星，旨在测试一条环月新轨道。

The satellite launched Tuesday from New Zealand on a rocket built by American space company Rocket Lab.
这颗卫星于周二从新西兰搭载由美国火箭实验室建造的火箭发射升空。

The satellite is called a CubeSat. CubeSats are small research spacecraft also known as nanosatellites. They provide a low-cost way for scientists, governments and private organizations to carry out space experiments.
这颗卫星被称为立方星。立方星是指小型的科研航天器，也被称为纳米卫星。它们为科学家、政府和私人组织开展太空实验提供了一种低成本途径。

The CubeSat launched Tuesday weighs about 25 kilograms. The satellite is owned by the U.S.-based company Advanced Space.
周二发射的这颗立方星重约25公斤。这颗卫星归美国Advanced Space公司所有。

NASA is calling its CubeSat mission CAPSTONE. The small satellite will be the first to take a new path around the moon.
美国宇航局将此次立方星发射任务称为CAPSTONE。这颗小型卫星将率先走上一条环月新轨道。

NASA said the mission is meant to support research for the agency's Artemis program. Artemis aims to land American astronauts on the moon by 2025. It would mark the first human visit to the moon since NASA's Apollo 17 landing in 1972.
美国宇航局表示，该任务旨在支持该机构阿尔忒弥斯计划的研究。阿尔忒弥斯计划的目标是在2025年前将美国宇航员送上月球。这将标志着1972年美国宇航局阿波罗17号登月以来人类的首次登月。

NASA reported the launch of the CAPSTONE CubeSat went well. Getting the satellite into orbit will take more than four months and will be done in three stages.
美国宇航局报告称，CAPSTONE号立方星的发射进展顺利。将这颗卫星送入轨道将需要4个多月的时间，并分为3个阶段完成。

Over the next five days, Rocket Lab's Lunar Photon upper stage booster rocket is expected to raise the CubeSat's orbit further and further from Earth. After that, Photon's engines will fire a final time, permitting CAPSTONE to escape Earth's orbit and head for the moon.
在接下来的5天里，火箭实验室的月球光子上级助推火箭有望将立方星的轨道提升至逐渐远离地球的位置。之后，光子火箭的引擎将进行最后一次点火，让CAPSTONE号逃离地球轨道并前往月球。

The CubeSat "will then use its own propulsion and the sun's gravity to navigate the rest of the way to the Moon," NASA said in a statement. This gravity-driven path is expected to greatly reduce the amount of fuel the CubeSat needs to get to the Moon.
美国宇航局在一份声明中表示，之后这颗立方星将利用自身推力和太阳引力走完前往月球的剩余道路。预计这条重力驱动的轨道将大大降低立方星到达月球所需的燃料量。

NASA calls the orbiting path CAPSTONE will test "a gravitational sweet spot in space." The path represents a point "where the pull of gravity from Earth and the Moon interact to allow for a nearly-stable orbit."
美国宇航局称CAPSTONE号将要测试的环绕轨道是“太空中的引力最佳点”。这条轨道代表“地球和月球引力互相作用形成近似稳定轨道”的地点。

In the future, NASA plans to build a lunar space station called Gateway in this same orbital path. The station could be a launching point for astronauts to travel to the moon's surface as part of its Artemis program.
未来，美国宇航局将在同一轨道建造一座名为Gateway的月球空间站。作为阿尔忒弥斯计划的一部分，该空间站可能成为宇航员前往月球表面的发射点。

The CubeSat is expected to collect and send data about its orbiting activities back to Earth for at least six months.
这颗立方星预计将在轨道停留至少六个月时间，收集有关其轨道活动的数据并发回地球。

I'm Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。