VOA标准英语2014--美国宇航员在海底实验室接受训练

 

US Astronauts Train in Underwater Lab 美国宇航员在海底实验室接受训练

In the world’s only underwater laboratory, located 19 meters beneath the surface, some five kilometers off Key Largo¹, four U.S. astronauts prepare to visit an asteroid².

Living in close quarters and making excursions only into the surrounding ocean waters, the four astronauts simulate the daily routine of a crew that would someday travel to collect samples from rocks orbiting the earth.

Part of NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) program, which is designed to test concepts related to future visits to near-Earth asteroids³, the team is spending nine days within the 37-square-meter lab called Aquarius, which is operated by Florida International University.

By conducting experiments and testing equipment and procedures, Astronaut Janette Epps says the group is recreating as close as possible the expected deep space mission.

“Commander Aki and I, we had to get ready to go out to do one of the mock spacewalks that we do underwater, and that took a little bit of time to get up and running because we had a few issues with communication in our helmets so that we can be able to talk to the crew inside the habitat and the topside," said Epps, explaining that she and her colleagues often encounter real-life problems.

Living about 60 beneath the surface means they do not have to decompress each time they venture out of Aquarius, and can conduct longer dives.

While inside the lab, they conduct science experiments focused on human health and behavior.

“We’re all wearing badges that track, together with other parameters⁴, our proximity⁵ or social interaction, for understanding better which reactions people have in such close environments to apply this knowledge for future exploration missions," said astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

And the cosmic quartet isn't alone. Two "aquanauts," technicians with extensive knowledge and experience in the undersea lab, are also on board. They take care that all on-board systems function properly, including the mock spacesuits.

Mission commander and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide says they know everything about the facility.

“They are the people behind the scenes," he said. "We just do the mission but without their help we can’t do anything." 

Project NEEMO is one of NASA’s so-called "analog⁶ missions," whose goal is to train astronauts for the extreme environments they may encounter during future space explorations.

1 largo   

n.广板乐章；adj.缓慢的，宽广的；adv.缓慢地，宽广地

参考例句：

• The tempo marking in most cases is andante,adagio,or largo.大多数第一乐章的速度标记是行板、柔板或广板。
• The second movement is a largo.第二乐章是广板乐章。

2 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

3 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

4 parameters   

因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素

参考例句：

• We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
• See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。

5 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

6 analog   

n.类似物，模拟

参考例句：

• The analog signal contains high-frequency video information,which helps make up the picture.模拟信号包括有助于构成图像的高频视频信息。
• The analog computer measures continuously,without proceeding step by step.模拟计算机不是一步一步地进行，而是连续地进行量度。