经济学人：时隔53年，美国再次登月

作者：一天一篇外刊        来源：一天一篇外刊

if flying to the Moon were like swimming the English Channel, no one in the 53 years since Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific would have ventured more than 40 metres from the beach. That is about to change. Sometime in the coming weeks, all being well, Artemis II, Apollo’s successor, will carry a crew of four back there.

如果把飞往月球这件事比作横渡英吉利海峡，那么继阿波罗17溅落太平洋之后的53年里，人类最远也不过游出了离海岸40米的距离。不过，这种局面即将改变。只要一切顺利，未来几周内，阿波罗计划继任者“阿耳忒弥斯二号”将搭载四名宇航员再次踏上登月旅程。

Well, almost back there. For Artemis II will not land. It will not even go into lunar orbit. Instead Orion, its astronaut-carrying capsule, will loop around the Moon in a figure of eight, in what is called a free-return trajectory, before coming home. Actually slowing down to enter orbit and then firing up the engines to return, as happened with the first non-landing visit to the Moon, Apollo 8, is deemed too risky.

不过，还谈不上重返月球。因为阿耳忒弥斯二号并不会着陆，甚至连环月轨道都不会进入。届时，阿耳忒弥斯二号搭载的“猎户座”载人飞船将沿着一个“8”字形绕月飞行，这种飞行路径被称为“自由返回轨道”，紧接着便会直接返回地球。相比当年阿波罗8号那种先减速进入月球轨道、再点火加速返航的做法，在如今看来风险过高。

The Moon race of the 1960s, between America and the Soviet Union, was a superpower PR contest. Artemis (named after a Greek Moon goddess who was sister to the sun-god Apollo) is, by contrast, a Congressional pork project cobbled together from recycled Space Shuttle parts and intended principally to funnel money from the pockets of American taxpayers into those of aerospace companies, while propping up well-paid rocket-making jobs in crucial Congressional districts

20世纪60年代美苏之间的“登月竞赛”，本质上是一场超级大国的公关秀。“阿耳忒弥斯计划”（名字取自希腊神话中的月亮女神，是太阳神阿波罗的姐姐）更像是国会推动的“拨款项目”。即东拼西凑地利用退役航天飞机的旧部件组装而成，主要目的并不是探索本身，而是把美国纳税人的钱转移到航空航天公司的口袋里，同时维持那些位于关键国会选区、薪水优厚的火箭制造岗位。

Exactly when Artemis II will blast off is not yet clear. As of January 26th, the crew have been isolated in quarantine, awaiting the call. But before that happens the rocket must pass a variety of checks and tests, and be filled successfully with its liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants. And only certain periods are suitable for launch, the earliest beginning at 2.41am GMT on February 7th. Moreover, if it stays on its pad much beyond the end of March it will need to be taken back to its hangar to have some of its batteries replaced, which would mean a further delay.

阿耳忒弥斯二号究竟何时发射，目前仍不明朗。截至1月26日，机组人员已经进入隔离状态，等待发射通知。在此之前，火箭还必须通过一系列检查和测试，并顺利完成液氢和液氧推进剂的加注。此外，发射窗口也受到限制，最早的一次始于格林尼治时间2月7日凌晨2点41分。其次，如果火箭在发射台上停留到3月底之后仍未升空，就不得不被运回机库更换部分电池，这又将带来进一步的延误。

作者：一天一篇外刊        来源：一天一篇外刊