NASA Delays Moon Missions Over Technical, Safety Problems

The American space agency NASA has postponed two moon missions that are facing development and safety issues.

美国宇航局推迟了两项面临开发和安全问题的月球任务。

NASA’s program to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972 is called Artemis. The agency split the program into three parts

自 1972 年美国宇航局阿波罗 17 号任务以来，美国宇航局首次将宇航员送回月球的计划被称为“阿尔忒弥斯”。 该机构将该计划分为三个部分

In 2022, Artemis I sent NASA’s Orion spacecraft on a trip around the moon without a crew. The agency’s huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carried Orion into space. The spacecraft traveled more than 400,000 kilometers from Earth and completed a close fly-by of the moon. NASA officials declared Artemis I a big success.

2022 年，阿耳忒弥斯一号发射了 NASA 的猎户座飞船，在没有机组人员的情况下进行了绕月旅行。 该机构的巨大太空发射系统（SLS）火箭将猎户座送入太空。 飞船距离地球飞行超过40万公里，完成了近距离飞越月球。 NASA 官员宣布阿耳忒弥斯一号取得了巨大成功。

The second planned trip, Artemis II, was set for late 2024. The goal was to send Orion on the same path Artemis I took, but with four astronauts. NASA announced last week it had set a new September 2025 target for the launch of Artemis II.

第二次计划旅行“阿尔忒弥斯二号”计划于 2024 年底进行。目标是将猎户座送上与我所走的阿尔忒弥斯相同的路径，但有四名宇航员。 NASA 上周宣布，为阿耳忒弥斯二号的发射设定了新的 2025 年 9 月目标。

The third mission, Artemis III, will attempt to land astronauts on the surface of the moon. NASA says the crew is expected to include “the first woman and the first person of color.” Artemis III was planned for 2025 but has now been pushed back to September 2026.

第三次任务是阿耳忒弥斯三号，将尝试将宇航员送上月球表面。 美国宇航局表示，机组人员预计将包括“第一位女性和第一位有色人种”。 阿耳忒弥斯 III 计划于 2025 年进行，但现已推迟至 2026 年 9 月。

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the postponements were necessary in order to give the agency time to deal with several ongoing problems affecting the Artemis program. “Safety is our top priority," Nelson said. He added that the delays will “give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges.”

美国宇航局局长比尔·尼尔森表示，推迟是必要的，以便该机构有时间处理影响阿耳忒弥斯计划的几个持续存在的问题。 尼尔森说：“安全是我们的首要任务。”他补充说，延误将“让阿耳忒弥斯团队有更多时间应对挑战。”

NASA’s announcement about the delays came shortly after the successful launch of a private American company’s spacecraft that aimed to land on the lunar surface.

美国宇航局宣布推迟的消息是在一家美国私营公司成功发射旨在登陆月球表面的航天器后不久。

That spacecraft, called Peregrine, is a moon lander built by Pennsylvania-based Astrobotic Technology. It launched January 8 aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket built by America’s United Launch Alliance (ULA).

这艘名为“Peregrine”的航天器是由宾夕法尼亚州 Astrobotic Technology 制造的月球着陆器。 它于 1 月 8 日搭乘美国联合发射联盟 (ULA) 制造的火神半人马座火箭发射升空。

Immediately after Peregrine’s launch, Astrobotic officials praised the mission as the first step to becoming the first private space vehicle to land on the moon. But shortly after the launch, a fuel leak was discovered.

游隼号发射后不久，Astrobotic 官员就称赞这次任务是成为第一个登陆月球的私人太空飞行器的第一步。 但发射后不久，就发现燃料泄漏。

Astrobotic has said the spacecraft would continue on its mission while leaking fuel but faces ongoing power and propulsion problems. The company aims to keep the lander going as long as possible and to collect data from its instruments. But officials from Astrobotic have said Peregrine is no longer expected to land on the moon.

Astrobotic表示，该航天器将在燃料泄漏的情况下继续执行任务，但面临持续的动力和推进问题。 该公司的目标是让着陆器尽可能长时间地运行，并从其仪器中收集数据。 但 Astrobotic 的官员表示，Peregrine 预计不再登陆月球。

Peregrine is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. It aims to hand over the nation’s major missions to private companies in an effort to operate at reduced costs.

Peregrine 是 NASA 商业月球有效载荷服务 (CLPS) 计划的一部分。 它的目的是将国家的主要任务移交给私营公司，以降低运营成本。

Peregrine and other planned missions in the CLPS program aim to land on the moon to support future Artemis activities. Another program member, Texas-based Intuitive Machines, plans to launch its Nova-C lander to the moon next month.

Peregrine 和 CLPS 计划中的其他计划任务旨在登陆月球以支持未来的阿尔忒弥斯活动。 另一个项目成员、德克萨斯州的 Intuitive Machines 计划下个月向月球发射 Nova-C 着陆器。

Astrobotic has said it also plans to send another lander, called Griffin, to the moon’s south pole in late 2024. It will be carrying an exploring robot, or rover, called VIPER. VIPER is designed to search for water sources on the moon.

Astrobotic 表示，它还计划在 2024 年末向月球南极发射另一个名为 Griffin 的着陆器。它将携带一个名为 VIPER 的探索机器人或漫游车。 VIPER旨在寻找月球上的水源。

NASA’s moon-landing effort has been delayed repeatedly over the past 10 years, adding billions of dollars to the cost, The Associated Press reports. Government estimates have predicted total program costs will reach $93 billion through 2025.

据美联社报道，美国宇航局的登月计划在过去 10 年里一再推迟，导致成本增加了数十亿美元。 政府估计，到 2025 年，该计划总成本将达到 930 亿美元。

Reuters news agency reported NASA discovered problems with the Orion spacecraft’s batteries during vibration tests. Engineers have said the batteries will likely need to be replaced.

路透社报道称，美国宇航局在振动测试中发现猎户座飞船的电池存在问题。 工程师表示电池可能需要更换。

Catherine Koerner is a leader at NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate in Washington. She said in a statement all technical issues will be fully investigated with safety as NASA’s top goal. “We are letting the hardware talk to us so that crew safety drives our decision-making.”

凯瑟琳·科纳 (Catherine Koerner) 是位于华盛顿的美国宇航局探索系统开发任务理事会的领导者。 她在一份声明中表示，所有技术问题都将得到全面调查，安全是 NASA 的首要目标。 “我们让硬件与我们对话，以便机组人员的安全推动我们的决策。”

Koerner added, “We will use the Artemis II flight test, and each flight that follows, to reduce risk for future moon missions.” Even with the delays and ongoing concerns, she said NASA is “closer than ever to establishing sustained exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis.”

科纳补充道：“我们将利用阿耳忒弥斯二号飞行测试以及随后的每次飞行，来降低未来月球任务的风险。” 她表示，尽管存在延误和持续存在的担忧，美国宇航局“比以往任何时候都更接近于对阿尔忒弥斯下地球最近的邻居进行持续探索”。