印度试图与月球着陆器重新连接

印度试图与月球着陆器重新连接

India's Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon launched a spacecraft carrying a rover on July 22, the start of a much-touted mission to explore the unexplored south pole of the moon.

7月22日，印度月球探测器“月船2号”发射了一艘搭载月球车的航天器，这是一项备受吹捧的探索月球南极任务的开始。

ISRO scientists work on the orbiter vehicle of Chandrayaan-2, India's first moon lander and rover mission, in Bangalore on June 2019. (Photo: MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images)

The ending didn't go nearly as well.

结局不太好。

After a long journey, the lander approached the lunar surface on Sept. 7, but scientists from India's space agency lost contact with it mere moments ahead of the landing.

经过长途旅行，着陆器于9月7日接近月球表面，但印度航天局的科学家在着陆前几分钟与它失去了联系。

Now engineers and scientists from the Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) are trying to reconnect with the lander to continue the mission.

现在，印度空间与研究组织(ISRO)的工程师和科学家正试图与着陆器重新连接，继续执行任务。

The attempt to land was going as planned until the Vikram lander was about 2 kilometers above the moon's surface.

“维克拉姆”号着陆器在距离月球表面约2公里的地方着陆之前，着陆计划一直按计划进行。

There's still hope that the lander and Pragyan rover didn't sustain substantial damage and can continue all or part of the mission.

仍然有希望着陆器和Pragyan漫游者没有遭受严重损坏，能够继续全部或部分任务。

The latest report from ISRO revealed the lander had a hard landing but remains in one piece. However, it didn't land flat.

来自ISRO的最新报告显示，着陆器有一次硬着陆，但仍然完好无损。然而，它没有平着陆。

A successful landing would have put India in a elite group of nations that have accomplished a soft landing on the moon, including the United States, the former Soviet Union and China.

如果成功着陆，印度将跻身于已经实现月球软着陆的精英国家之列，其中包括美国、前苏联和中国。

"The Chandrayaan-2 mission was a highly complex mission, which represented a significant technological leap," ISRO said in a statement. "The success criteria was defined for each and every phase of the mission and till date 90 to 95% of the mission objectives have been accomplished and will continue contribute to Lunar science."

印度空间研究组织在一份声明中说:“月船2号任务是一个高度复杂的任务，它代表了一个重大的技术飞跃。”“成功的标准是为任务的每一个阶段定义的，到目前为止，任务的90%到95%的目标已经完成，并将继续为月球科学做出贡献。”

In addition to the lander and rover, the agency also included an orbiting spacecraft in the launch vehicle. The camera on the orbiter has the highest resolution camera (0.3m) in any lunar mission so far and will provide images for the global scientific community.

除了着陆器和漫游者，该机构还在运载火箭中包括一个轨道航天器。轨道飞行器上的相机拥有迄今为止月球任务中分辨率最高的相机(0.3米)，将为全球科学界提供图像。

ISRO says the Chandrayaan-2 mission is "to foster a new age of discovery, increase our understanding of space, stimulate the advancement of technology, promote global alliances, and inspire a future generation of explorers and scientists."

印度空间研究组织说，“月船2号”的任务是“培育发现的新时代，增进我们对太空的了解，促进技术进步，促进全球联盟，激励未来一代的探险家和科学家。”

If space officials aren't able to reestablish a connection with the lander, this would be the second moon-bound mission of the year that has failed just before landing.

如果太空官员不能重建与着陆器的联系，这将是今年第二次在着陆前失败的登月任务。

In April, the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander also malfunctioned and failed just before touchdown; that lander was destroyed.

今年4月，以色列的贝雷舍特(Beresheet)月球着陆器在着陆前也出现了故障;那个着陆器被毁了。

However, this is far from the last attempt to reach the south pole of the moon. NASA is currently planning to send astronauts there in 2024.

然而，这远不是最后一次尝试到达月球南极。美国宇航局目前计划在2024年将宇航员送到那里。

There's a lot of interest in the south pole. Planetary scientists have received new data over the last decade that indicates there are water ice deposits on the south pole. Scientists believe these deposits could be used for life support and to manufacture rocket fuel for future deep-space missions.

人们对南极很感兴趣。行星科学家们在过去十年中获得了新的数据，表明南极存在水冰沉积物。科学家们相信这些沉积物可以用来维持生命，并为未来的深空任务制造火箭燃料。

The total cost for the Chandrayaan-2 mission has been estimated to be about $145 million. It has been in development for nearly a decade.

月船2号任务的总成本估计约为1.45亿美元。它已经开发了近十年。