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Science and technology: Space exploration: Dusting yourself down
科技：空間探索：拂去塵埃
A new space suit could resist the damaging effects of sharp lunar dust.
一款新型的宇航服能夠抵抗尖利的月塵帶來的破壞性影響。
“Picking up some dust.” So said Buzz Aldrin on July 20th 1969, as he and Neil Armstrong descended towards the lunar surface.
1969年7月20日，Buzz Aldrin與Armstrong降落在月球表面，Aldrin對(duì)Armstrong說：“收集一些塵土。”
It is not the most famous quote from that day.
這句話并不是那天他們說的最有名的話。
But the lunar dust kicked up by Aldrin’s and Armstrong’s descending spacecraft would go on to become a serious, if under-appreciated, problem for all of the Apollo astronauts.
不過，Aldrin和Amrstrong駕駛的宇宙飛船著陸時(shí)揚(yáng)起的月塵如果沒有得到恰當(dāng)?shù)奶幚恚瑫?huì)變成對(duì)所有阿波羅計(jì)劃宇航員來說很嚴(yán)重的問題。
Lunar dust consists of rock pulverised to the consistency of talcum powder by micrometeoroid impacts.
月塵是由受流星體撞擊影響而變成了滑石粉塊的巖石組成的。
The fragments are sharp, and because there is no weather on the Moon, and therefore no erosion, they stay that way.
這些碎片十分鋒利，并且因?yàn)樵虑蛏蠜]有天氣之說，沒有腐蝕現(xiàn)象，故而它們會(huì)一直保持著自己的棱角。
At the same time, the solar wind bombards the dust with charged particles from the sun, giving it a static charge that makes it cling to anything it touches.
與此同時(shí)，來自太陽的太陽風(fēng)讓這些塵埃帶上了正負(fù)電荷，有了電荷它們就能夠依附任何它們觸碰到的東西。
The jagged dust fragments blackened spacesuits, causing them to absorb too much heat.
由于這些鋸齒狀的塵埃碎片表面溫度過高，接觸到宇航服時(shí)會(huì)把宇航服燒焦、使其碳化變黑。
They tore tiny leaks in joint seals, resulting in pressure leaks and risking total failure of the suits.
塵埃碎片能在宇航服的接縫處撕開一個(gè)小口，使宇航服壓力失衡而喪失保護(hù)作用。
They scratched visors, hindering visibility, and caked batteries, making them overheat.
塵埃碎片還會(huì)劃傷宇航服的面具，阻礙其視野，并且由于每粒塵埃都帶有電荷，當(dāng)它們彼此相連就相當(dāng)于組成了電池組，開始加熱。
Tramped back into the spacecraft, they escaped into the air, from where the astronauts had little choice but to breathe them in and risk any potential health consequences.
當(dāng)宇航員回到太空飛船上之后，這些塵埃碎片就會(huì)分布在空氣中，而宇航員們?cè)诓恢挥X中被迫將它們吸入，這就對(duì)其健康造成了潛在的影響。
Half a century later NASA is pondering a return to the Moon, as a stepping stone for missions to Mars and the asteroids.
半個(gè)世紀(jì)后，美國國家航空和宇宙航行局將目光重新聚焦在月球上，因?yàn)樵铝量梢猿蔀橥ㄍ鹦腔蚴瞧渌⌒行堑奶濉?/p>
英文文本來自經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人 譯文來自欄目二第五組
