NASA1 hopes to make a giant leap—back to the moon. The U.S. space agency recently announced its plan to send four astronauts to the moon within the next 15 years.
NASA officials say the moon is just the first step. They hope future missions will take astronauts to Mars2 and beyond. “We will return to the moon no later than 2020 and extend the human presence across the solar system and beyond,” says Michael Griffin, the head of NASA.
So far, the moon is the only place beyond Earth that humans have visited. At 22,600 miles away, the moon is Earth's closest space neighbor.
On July 20,1969,Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin3 became the first astronauts to land on the moon. They traveled there aboard Apollo 11. When Armstrong first set foot on4 the moon, he spoke these famous words: “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”(See “All the Buzz.”)
New Spaceship
The new NASA mission may have the same destination, but the astronauts will have a new way of getting there. In January 2004, President George W. Bush asked NASA to retire its aging space shuttles by 2010.
Astronauts who trek5 to the moon will do their traveling in a crew exploration vehicle—a souped-up6 version of the three-person Apollo capsule7 that transported explorers to the moon. “It's very Apollo-like,” says Griffin, “but bigger.”
The first phase of NASA's moon plan calls for launches to begin in 2012. While on the moon, astronauts hope to demonstrate that they can “live off the land”. They will use resources on the moon to produce drinkable water and fuel.
The moon journey would be a trial run8 for a Mars mission. Astronauts would spend more time on Mars－at least 500 days－because it is 49 million miles from Earth. Because they will be on the planet so long, astronauts will need to be able to sustain9 themselves using local resources; they will not be able to bring enough supplies for the whole mission.
Split Decisions
Not everyone is over the moon10 about NASA's plans. The project is estimated to cost $104 billion. Critics say the price tag11 is too high, especially because the United States is dealing with a federal budget deficit12, natural disaster recovery, and the war on terror. A deficit occurs when a sum of money is short of its expected total.
However, supporters insist that space exploration offers enormous long-term benefits to all of humankind and that the United States should not be deterred13 from this mission. “The space program is a long-term investment in our future,” Griffin says.
美国国家航空航天局希望迈出人类重返月球的一大步。该航天局最近宣称在未来15年内计划送4名宇航员登月。
美国国家航空航天局的官员说，登月只是第一步。他们希望未来的使命把宇航员带到火星甚至更远的地方。“我们最迟在2020年之前重返月球，把人类的足迹延伸到整个太阳系乃至更远的地方。”国家航空航天局局长迈克尔·格里芬说。
迄今为止，月球是人类造访过的、地球以外的惟一星球。它距地球226,000英里，是离地球最近的太空邻居。
1969年7月20日，尼尔·阿姆斯特朗和埃德温·“Buzz”·奥尔德林成为世界上首批登上月球的宇航员。他们乘坐的太空船是阿波罗11号。阿姆斯特朗首度踏上月球时，他说了这句名言：“对一个人来说，这是小小的一步；但对整个人类来说，是巨大的飞跃。”（参阅“沸沸扬扬”一节）
新太空船
美国国家航空航天局的新使命同上次的目的地一样，但宇航员的登月方式却并不相同。2004年1月，美国总统乔治·W·布什要求国家航空航天局在2010年之前淘汰日渐老化的太空船。
进行这次漫长登月之旅的宇航员要乘坐一艘新型探险飞船——它是曾把探险者送上月球的阿波罗号3人太空舱的加速版。“它与阿波罗号很相似，”格里芬说，“但比它更大。”
根据美国国家航空航天局登月计划第一阶段的要求，发射工作将于2012年启动。在月球逗留期间，宇航员希望证明他们能够“依靠（月球）土地生存”。他们将利用月球上的资源生产饮用水和燃料。
登月旅行是针对火星使命的一次试航。宇航员将在火星上逗留更长的时间——至少500天——因为它距离地球4,900万英里。由于宇航员要在那个行星上待如此长的时间，他们需利用当地的资源来维持生存，他们不可能带足履行全部使命所需的补给。
各执一词
并非每个人对美国国家航空航天局的计划都兴高采烈。这项工程预计要耗资1,040亿美元。批评者说这个价码太高，尤其是考虑到美国眼下正忙于处理联邦财政赤字、灾后重建和反恐战争等诸多问题。当一笔钱未达到其预期的总额时，赤字就出现了。
尽管如此，航天计划的拥护者坚持认为，太空探险将给全人类带来巨大的长远效益，对此使命美国不应袖手旁观。“太空计划是着眼于未来的一项长期投资。”格里芬说。
1. NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration的缩写，美国国家航空航天局
2. Mars n. 火星
3. Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin : 埃德温·奥尔德林。“Buzz”是奥尔德林的绰号，源自其妹妹幼年把 “brother”说成 “buzzer”。
4. set foot on 踏上
5. trek v. 长途跋涉，艰苦跋涉
6. souped-up马力（或效率、力量）增强了的
7. capsule n. 航天舱
8. trial run 试运行，试验
9. sustain v. 维持，继续生存
10. be over the moon 非常高兴，快活极了
11. price tag 价格标签
12. federal budget deficit 联邦财政赤字
13. deter v. 威慑住，吓住
14. buzz n. 低沉嘈杂的谈话声。此处指人们沸沸扬扬的讨论。
15. orbit v. 绕…轨道而行
16. pioneer v. 开拓，开创
17. proving ground 试验场，检验场
18. expand one's horizons 拓宽某人的视野
19. profitable adj. 有利的，有赢利的
20. en route （法文）在途中，沿途