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Lighting the moon's dark side
嫦娥四號開啟首次探索月球背面之旅
As our closest neighbor in space, the moon has been the subject of popular myths, songs and poems since ancient times. And it has no less fascinated scientists.
作為我們在宇宙中的近鄰，月亮自古以來便在神話、歌曲和詩歌中廣為流傳。而它也深深地吸引著科學(xué)家們。
But even after centuries of research many questions remain to be answered about Earth's only satellite.
但在人類進(jìn)行了數(shù)世紀(jì)的探索之后，地球的這顆唯一衛(wèi)星依然有許多未解之謎。
Perhaps the Chang'e-4 lunar probe will be able to reveal more of its secrets. On Dec 8, the probe lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. It is the first probe to travel to the far side of moon.
或許嫦娥四號月球探測器能夠揭開更多的謎團(tuán)。12月8日，該探測器在四川西昌衛(wèi)星發(fā)射中心發(fā)射升空，首次開啟對月球背面的探索之旅。
The Earth's gravity slows the moon's rotation, matching it to the speed of its orbit. Thus, the far side of the moon is always dark and has never been seen.
地球引力減緩了月球的自轉(zhuǎn)速度，使其與公轉(zhuǎn)速度一致。因此，月球背面常年昏暗，無法直接觀測。
It's this sense of the unknown that makes the far side of the moon such an interesting place for scientific and space exploration. Long exposed to solar winds, the far side may have unique soil and minerals in its upper mantle.
這種未知感令月球背面在科研和太空探索中頗受關(guān)注。常年暴露在太陽風(fēng)之下的月球背面，或許其上地幔中會(huì)有特殊的土壤和礦物質(zhì)。
For this reason, Chang'e-4 will study the effect of solar winds on the lunar surface and any minerals found beneath the spacecraft. Chang'e-4 is also carrying flower seeds and potato and silkworm eggs to see whether they can grow on the moon. If so, then the moon will become a more likely destination for space travel in the future.
出于這個(gè)原因，嫦娥四號將研究太陽風(fēng)對月球表面的影響，以及在航天器下所發(fā)現(xiàn)的任何礦物質(zhì)。嫦娥四號上也載有花籽、土豆和蠶卵，以觀察生命是否有可能在月球上生存。如果答案是肯定的，那么月球?qū)⒏锌赡艹蔀槲磥硖章眯械哪康牡亍?/div>
However, due to communication problems, exploration of the dark side of the moon will not be easy.
然而，由于通訊問題，探索月球昏暗的背面并非易事。
Since the far side is blocked off from us, radio noise coming from Earth is also blocked. This is why China launched the relay satellite Queqiao in May – so that communication between Earth and the probe could proceed.
由于月球背面背對著我們，來自地球的無線電噪聲也因此被屏蔽。這便是中國于今年5月發(fā)射中繼衛(wèi)星鵲橋號的原因 —— 如此一來，地球與探測器之間的通訊能夠繼續(xù)進(jìn)行下去。
Powering the probe will also be a challenge for the mission.
電源供應(yīng)也是該任務(wù)的一大挑戰(zhàn)。
Chang'e-4 gets energy from the sun through its solar panels. However, a lunar day has a length of 28 Earth days. This means that the probe will need to orbit the moon for over 20 days to be able to land during the day and use its solar panels.
嫦娥四號通過太陽能板獲得太陽能。但月球上的1天相當(dāng)于地球上28天。這意味著，探測器需要繞月球飛行20多天，才能找到一個(gè)合適的位置在月球白天登陸，從而能夠使用太陽能板。
According to Xinhua, if everything goes well, the satellite will land on the far side of the moon on Jan 2.
據(jù)新華社報(bào)道，如果一切進(jìn)展順利，該人造衛(wèi)星將在1月2日登陸月球背面。
The New York Times described the journey as "groundbreaking", and wrote that it will "give clues to the history and development of the moon".
《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》稱這一旅程“具有開拓性意義”，認(rèn)為這將會(huì)“為月球的歷史與發(fā)展提供線索”。
