The American space agency NASA is preparing to launch a spacecraft to seek more detailed information on water sources on the moon.
美国宇航局NASA正准备发射一艘航天器，以寻找有关月球水源的更详细信息。
The spacecraft is an orbiter called Lunar Trailblazer. It is set to launch later this year, or in early 2025. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry the orbiter to space. That rocket will also transport another moon exploring spacecraft.
该航天器是一个名为“月球开拓者”的轨道飞行器。它定于今年晚些时候或 2025 年初发射。SpaceX 猎鹰 9 号火箭将把轨道飞行器运送到太空。该火箭还将运送另一艘月球探索航天器。
In a recent statement, NASA said Lunar Trailblazer passed a series of important operational tests. It is currently completing additional software testing designed to simulate different elements of the trip, or mission.
美国宇航局在最近的一份声明中表示，月球开拓者号通过了一系列重要的操作测试。目前正在完成额外的软件测试，旨在模拟旅行或任务的不同元素。
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is leading the mission, in cooperation with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California. Lockheed Martin Space provided the spacecraft, linked it with the flight system, and supports operations as part of a contract with Caltech.
美国宇航局喷气推进实验室 (JPL) 与位于加利福尼亚州帕萨迪纳的加州理工学院 (Caltech) 合作领导了这项任务。作为与加州理工学院合同的一部分，洛克希德·马丁航天公司提供了该航天器，将其与飞行系统连接起来，并支持运营。
The spacecraft will use two science instruments to carry out its mission. Both instruments are designed to map the moon in search of areas containing water, as well as what forms the water is in. The two instruments use infrared technology to produce highly detailed mapped images.
该航天器将使用两台科学仪器来执行其任务。这两种仪器都旨在绘制月球地图，以寻找含有水的区域以及水的形态。这两种仪器使用红外技术来生成高度详细的地图图像。
Lunar Trailblazer weighs about 200 kilograms and measures 3.5 meters with its solar equipment fully deployed. The spacecraft is set to orbit the moon about 100 kilometers from the lunar surface.
月球开拓者号重约 200 公斤，在太阳能设备完全展开时长 3.5 米。该航天器将绕月飞行，距月球表面约 100 公里。
Several past studies have provided strong evidence that water exists on the moon. But the evidence has not included exact details on where it is and what forms it might take. Scientists believe most of the water is solid, in the form of ice. But there could be areas where water exists in liquid form, or as a gas in the atmosphere.
过去的几项研究提供了强有力的证据证明月球上存在水。但证据并未包括关于它在哪里以及可能采取什么形式的确切细节。科学家认为大部分水都是固体，以冰的形式存在。但在某些地区，水可能以液体形式存在，或者以气体形式存在于大气中。
One study released last month suggested that existing water on the moon is more widespread than previously thought. That study was based on new examinations of data collected by India’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiting spacecraft.
上个月发布的一项研究表明，月球上现有的水比之前想象的更广泛。这项研究基于对印度月船一号轨道航天器收集的数据的新检查。
NASA has said its search for water on the moon is important because it is seen as a necessary resource for future exploration activities. Astronauts could process it for drinking water, to cool equipment, to create breathable oxygen or even to make rocket fuel.
美国宇航局表示，在月球上寻找水很重要，因为它被视为未来探索活动的必要资源。宇航员可以将其加工成饮用水、冷却设备、制造可呼吸的氧气，甚至制造火箭燃料。
NASA said Lunar Trailblazer will make it easier for future human or robotic science investigators to use the water to see where it first came from.
美国宇航局表示，月球开拓者号将使未来的人类或机器人科学研究人员更容易利用这些水来了解它最初的来源。
For example, the presence of ammonia in ice could suggest it came from comets , NASA said. The presence of sulfur, on the other hand, could show it rose to the surface from deep inside the lunar interior when the moon was young and volcanically active.
例如，美国宇航局表示，冰中氨的存在可能表明它来自彗星。另一方面，硫的存在可以表明，当月球年轻且火山活跃时，硫是从月球内部深处上升到表面的。
One of the instruments, the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper, was developed by the JPL. The other, called the Lunar Thermal Mapper, was built by a team at the University of Oxford in Britain.
其中一种仪器是高分辨率挥发物和矿物质月球测绘仪，由喷气推进实验室开发。另一个称为月球热成像仪，由英国牛津大学的一个团队建造。
Neil Bowles is an instrument scientist for the Lunar Thermal Mapper. He said in a statement the instrument would center on producing detailed maps of lunar surface temperatures. He added that the other instrument will look for a series of signs, called signatures, of water molecules.
尼尔·鲍尔斯 (Neil Bowles) 是月球热测绘仪的仪器科学家。他在一份声明中表示，该仪器将主要用于绘制月球表面温度的详细地图。他补充说，另一个仪器将寻找水分子的一系列信号，称为签名。
“Both instruments will allow us to understand how surface temperature affects water, improving our knowledge of the presence and distribution of these molecules on the moon,” Bowles said.
鲍尔斯说：“这两种仪器将使我们能够了解表面温度如何影响水，从而提高我们对月球上这些分子的存在和分布的了解。”
The orbiter is designed to provide scientists with new information about how much movement there is of water molecules on the moon. Such movements can be linked to how much sun specific areas receive. “Understanding whether water molecules move freely across the surface of the moon or are locked inside rock is also scientifically important,” NASA said in a statement.
该轨道飞行器旨在为科学家提供有关月球上水分子运动程度的新信息。这种运动可以与特定区域接收多少阳光有关。美国宇航局在一份声明中表示：“了解水分子是在月球表面自由移动还是被锁定在岩石内部也具有重要的科学意义。”
Rachel Klima is an investigator for the Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft and its systems at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
雷切尔·克利马 (Rachel Klima) 是马里兰州劳雷尔约翰霍普金斯大学应用物理实验室月球开拓者号航天器及其系统的研究员。
She said data collected by the instruments can help provide information about where the moon’s water first came from. Klima compared such examinations to those involving glaciers that help scientists learn about Earth’s ancient history. Ice on the moon, she said, “could provide clues as to where that water came from and how and when it got there.”
她说，仪器收集的数据可以帮助提供有关月球水最初来自何处的信息。克利马将此类检查与帮助科学家了解地球古代历史的冰川检查进行了比较。她说，月球上的冰“可以提供有关水从哪里来以及如何以及何时到达那里的线索。”