双语阅读｜探索完月球和火星之后下一个宇宙探索任务是什么？

The Moon is all the rage these days, with NASA gearing up for its (much delayed) Artemis I launch and planning for several more to follow. The mission objectives for the series of Artemis missions are clear: develop a sustainable presence on the Lunar surface and pave the way to develop the expertise to go to Mars.

随着美国国家航空航天局(NASA)为“阿尔忒弥斯一号”(Artemis I)的发射(已经推迟了很久)做准备，并计划后续发射几颗卫星，月球最近风靡一时。“阿耳特弥斯”系列任务的目标很明确:在月球表面发展可持续的存在，并为开发前往火星的专业技术铺平道路。

And then what? What’s the next great leap in humanity’s quest to explore the cosmos?

然后呢?人类探索宇宙的下一个重大飞跃是什么?

When it comes to just general scientific exploration, there are a few areas of the solar system that will be receiving some special attention in the coming decades. First off there’s Venus, our twisted sister of a planet. Long ago, Venus was a relative paradise, with oceans and a pleasant atmosphere. Something went terribly wrong a few billion years ago, and NASA has slated a couple of missions to explore what exactly is going on beneath that planet’s oppressive atmosphere.

说到一般性的科学探索，在未来的几十年里，太阳系有几个领域将受到特别的关注。首先是金星，我们的姐妹行星。很久以前，金星是一个天堂，有海洋和宜人的大气。数十亿年前，火星发生了严重的问题，美国国家航空航天局(NASA)安排了几项任务，以探索火星高压大气下到底发生了什么。

At the other end of the solar system are the gas giants. While we’ve sent plenty of missions and probes to those distant worlds, we haven’t yet sent any focused on their moons. And what treasures those moons contain! Several of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, like Europa and Enceladus, are covered in thick sheets of ice, and underneath that ice sit globe-spanning oceans of liquid water. Both NASA and the ESA have missions planned in the next couple of decades to investigate those mysterious little worlds, hunting for any signs of possible life hidden deep within the ice.

在太阳系的另一端是气体巨星。虽然我们已经向那些遥远的世界发送了大量的任务和探测器，但我们还没有向它们的卫星发送任何聚焦。那些月亮蕴藏着多么珍贵的东西啊!木星和土星的几颗卫星，如木卫二和土卫二，都被厚厚的冰层覆盖着，而冰层之下是横跨全球的液态水海洋。美国国家航空航天局和欧洲航天局都计划在未来几十年里对这些神秘的小世界进行调查，寻找隐藏在冰层深处的任何可能的生命迹象。

As for us humans, the future is a little murkier. Mars is certainly the grand prize in the coming decades, and whatever lucky astronaut gets to land the first step will have their name inscribed in the history books. After that, if we have the drive and money, we can establish a semi-permanent presence on the red planet, rotating crews out for stints of a couple of years, keeping them working and studying in person on the Martian surface.

至于我们人类，未来就不那么明朗了。火星无疑是未来几十年的大奖，无论哪个幸运的宇航员能够在火星上迈出第一步，他们的名字都将被载入史册。在那之后，如果我们有动力和资金，我们可以在这颗红色星球上建立一个半永久性的存在，轮换工作人员两年，让他们在火星表面亲自工作和学习。

The other planets of our solar system are…less than hospitable. Mercury is way too close to the Sun for comfort. Venus is a suffocating hell world. The giant planets are a) far away and b) not very solid, so expect so expeditions there. That leaves humanity two options for further expansion: low-Earth orbit, and the asteroids.

我们太阳系的其他行星就不那么适宜居住了。水星离太阳太近了。金星是一个令人窒息的地狱世界。这些巨大的行星a)很远，b)不是很坚固，所以可以期待在那里的探险。这为人类的进一步扩张留下了两个选择:近地轨道和小行星。

Over the coming decades expect to see a proliferation of “space hotels”, habitats placed in Earth orbit, set up for visiting tourists and scientific expeditions. Think International Space Station, but cheaper and more corporate. Most of the asteroids are too far away – beyond the orbit of Mars – to establish a sustainable presence. But NASA has developed plans in the past for asteroid redirect and capture missions, which would find a good-sized rock to gently nudge into a more accessible orbit.

在未来的几十年里，我们有望看到“太空旅馆”的大量出现，它们被安置在地球轨道上，为来访的游客和科学考察设立。想想国际空间站，但更便宜，更有企业气息。大多数小行星都太过遥远——超出了火星轨道——无法建立可持续的存在。但美国宇航局在过去已经制定了小行星重定向和捕获任务的计划，这将找到一个相当大的岩石，轻轻地推入一个更容易到达的轨道。

Naturally, hollowing out barren space rock and turning it into a habitat for humanity is pretty far-fetched given our current level of technological sophistication, but in my best estimation, it’s the next easiest thing to accomplish…after the Moon and Mars, of course.

当然，在我们目前的技术水平下，把贫瘠的太空岩石挖空并把它变成人类的栖息地是相当遥远的，但根据最好的估计，这是仅次于月球和火星的最容易完成的事情。