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In a pre-flight news conference in the summer of 1969
1969年夏天，在一次飛行前的新聞發布會上
Neil Armstrong said, "I think we're going to the moon because it is in the nature of the human being to face challenges.
尼爾·阿姆斯特朗說，“我認為我們要去月球，因為人類要面臨挑戰。
It's by the nature of his deep inner soul".
這是他的本性深層的內在靈魂。”
A few days later, Armstrong took a small step to fulfil this nature,
幾天后，阿姆斯特朗邁出了一小步，來實現人類的這種本性，
built on an incredible investment of courage, engineering skill, scientific understanding and $20 billion.
這建立在不可思議的勇氣、工程技術、科學理解和200億美元的投資上。
As tributes to Armstrong continue, today NASA holds a news conference reviewing the first three weeks of another billion dollar mission.
為阿姆斯特朗致敬，今天美國宇航局召開新聞發布會，審查了前三個星期的另一個十億美元的使命。
After its successful landing and test drive,
成功降落和試駕后，
the Mars rover Curiosity will investigate whether past conditions on the planet have been favourable for microbial life.
“好奇心”火星探測器將調查過去的行星狀況是否有利于微生物的生活。
It carries equipment to gather and analyse samples of rocks and soil,
探測器安裝了設備來收集、分析巖石和土壤樣本，
but it also has on it the signature of Clara Ma, a high school student from Kansas,
它也有克拉拉馬的簽名，一個來自堪薩斯的高中學生，
who was the winner of a national naming contest for the rover.
她是火星探測器命名賽的冠軍。
She wrote, "Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives.
她寫道，“在我們的日常生活中好奇心使我們變得富有激情。
We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder."
通過不斷地提問和質疑，我們成為了探險家和科學家。
But is such investment justified?
但這樣的投資是合理的嗎？
Many historians of science point to the influence of Judaeo-Christian theology
許多科學史家指出猶太教和基督教神學
in the development of the kind of curiosity upon which science is based.
對發展科學所基于的好奇心的影響。
The Greeks saw logic as key to understanding the world.
希臘人認為邏輯是理解世界的關鍵。
But astronomers such as Galileo saw that if the Universe had been created freely by God,
但是天文學家伽利略認為，如果宇宙是由神自由創造的，
not bound by human logic, then you had to observe, experiment on and explore the Universe in order to find out what it was all about.
而不受人類邏輯的束縛，那么你必須觀察、實驗和探索宇宙才能弄明白究竟是怎么回事。
Indeed, Galileo pointed his telescope at the Moon
事實上，伽利略將望遠鏡指向月球，
and saw it was not the perfect smooth surface predicted by the philosophical arguments of the time.
看到這不是當時哲學論證預言的完美光滑的表面。
For him, such a capacity for curiosity was a gift from God to humans made in his image.
對他來說，這樣一種好奇心的能力，就是上帝給予人類的一種恩賜。
Pope Paul VI reflected this when he met the Apollo 11 astronauts in the autumn of 1969.
教皇保羅六世在1969年秋天會見阿波羅十一號宇航員時印證了這一點。
He said we have "a natural urge to explore the unknown, to know the unknown"
他說，“我們有一種天然的沖動去探索未知，了解未知，
and that their mission testified to the ability of human beings "to reach beyond human nature,
他們的使命證明了人類超越人性的能力，
to attain the perfection of achievement made possible by God-given talent."
憑借上帝賜予的天賦取得滿意的成就。”
Dorothy Parker famously said that "Love, curiosity, freckles and doubt" were the four things she had been better without,
多蘿西·帕克曾經說過：“愛、好奇心、雀斑和懷疑這四樣東西，不可缺少。
but curiosity for me is at the heart of the scientific enterprise and indeed part of what it means to be fully human.
但對我而言，好奇心是科學事業的核心，而且是充分發揮人類意義的一部分。
So today I give thanks for the achievements and inspiration of Neil Armstrong, tolerating my freckles but rejoicing in scientific curiosity.
所以今天我感謝尼爾·阿姆斯特朗的成就和啟發，容忍我的雀斑，但值得欣喜的是科學的好奇心。
