"NASA wishes China success on the launch of Shenzhou-7 and the safe return of its crew," a spokesman for the U.S. space agency told Xinhua on the eve of the mission.

　　美國航天局的一位發言人在神舟七號發射前夕對新華社表示，“美國宇航局衷心祝愿中國成功發射神舟七號，全員安全返回。”

　　China has announced that the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft will lift off on Thursday night. This will be the third Chinese manned space mission, but the first time Chinese astronauts perform a spacewalk.

　　中國已經宣布神舟七號飛船將于周四晚上發射。這是中國第三次載人航天，也是中國宇航員首次進行太空行走。

"Spacewalks are very important to space exploration," said Michael Braukus, the public affair officer at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. "Spacewalks will probably be necessary in the repair and assembly of future exploration spacecraft."

　　Michael Braukus是位于美國華盛頓特區的美國宇航局總部的公共事務官員，他說“太空行走對太空探索來說是非常重要的，將來修理裝備探測飛船需要太空行走的可能性非常大。”

　　He said NASA's Apollo missions demonstrated the scientific importance of leaving the spacecraft and venturing outside into the moon's hostile environment to collect samples and perform science experiments.

　　他說美國宇航局的阿波羅任務展示了離開飛船、冒險到月球的惡劣環境中收集樣本、做實驗在科學上的重要性。

　　When asked about the prospect of cooperation between U.S. and China in the field of space exploration, the spokesman told Xinhua that during the NASA Administrator -- Michael Griffin's visit to China in Sept. 2006, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and NASA agreed to form working groups for discussion in Earth science and space science.

　　被問及美中兩國在太空探索領域合作的前景時，這位發言人對新華社說，早在美國宇航局局長Michael Griffin于2006年九月訪華期間，中國國家航天局和美國宇航局就達成一致，組建工作組共同探討地球科學和太空科學。

"U.S. and China meet for initial discussions and exchange information on subjects of mutual scientific interest, centered on complementary measurements and data exchanges on missions that are already being pursued," Braukus said. And the recent meetings took place on June 30 and July 1, 2008.

　　Braukus說，“美國和中國會為了重大論題舉行會晤，在有共同科學興趣的項目上交換信息，主要圍繞已經實行的項目的互補測試和數據交換。”最近的一次會晤是在2008年6月30號和7月1號。

　　NASA's space exploration missions include expansion of human knowledge of our planet and phenomena in space. "International dialogues can increase this knowledge," said Braukus. "China's space program offers potential opportunities for cooperation in Earth and space science."

　　Braukus還說，“美國宇航局的空間探索任務包括擴展人類對我們這個星球和太空現象的認知，國際對話可以增強這種認知，中國的太空項目為兩國在地球和太空科學中的合作提供了潛在的機會。”