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This episode of SciShow Space is sponsored by BetterHelp.
本期《太空科学秀》由BetterHelp咨询平台赞助播出。
Some space missions get a lot of attention Sputnik, the moon landing, Curiosity but not all the biggest space exploration stories get the attention they deserve.
有一些太空任务备受关注，如前苏联的人造卫星、月球着陆、好奇号探测器。但并非所有大型太空探索都会得到与其重要性相当的关注。
In the mid-1980s, the European Space Agency, or ESA, sent a robotic craft to fly by Halley's comet and capture the first-ever glimpse of a comet's icy core.
上世纪80年代中期，欧洲太空总署（ESA）派一艘自动太空船低空飞过哈雷彗星，首次捕捉到了哈雷彗星的冰核。
And this arguably paved the way for all major missions to study comets in the future including Rosetta.
此举为所有重大太空任务奠定了基础，让后续的太空任务可以研究包括罗塞塔在内的彗星。
This is the story of the Giotto comet mission.
这就是乔托号彗星任务的壮举。
Comets, those chunks of rock and ice hurtling through space, have long fascinated humans.
彗星就是在宇宙中极速飞驰的物体，由石块和冰块组成。彗星一直都备受人类关注。
Their conspicuous tails of water and dust spark renewed interest whenever they grace the night sky.
彗星由水和尘土组成的尾巴每次在天空中出现时都让人十分感兴趣。
One such dirty space snowball that makes the rounds pretty regularly is Halley's comet, which passes within sight of Earth every 76 years, give or take a bit.
太空里有这样一种裹着灰尘雪球，可以呈现规则的圆形，它就是哈雷彗星。大概每隔76年，哈雷彗星就会出现在地球可见的范围内。
Its most recent visit was in 1986. Since astronomer Edmund Halley worked out that the comet would come back on the regular, astronomers have eagerly awaited it as an opportunity for study every time.
哈雷彗星最近一次出现在地球视野内是在1986年，自从天文学家爱德蒙?哈雷发现彗星会定期经过地球后，许多天文学家都十分渴望每次近距离研究彗星的机会。
And in 1986, humans finally had the technology to actually go there.
1986年，人类终于有了实现的技术。
We now understand that comets are remnants from the solar system's formation, making them helpful for understanding how our little corner of space came to be.
现在，我们都知道，彗星是太阳系形成过程中的残留物。了解这一点，对于我们理解太阳系有帮助。
And so came the Giotto mission, named for the Italian painter Giotto di Bondone of the Late Middle Ages,
乔托号是以意大利画家乔托命名的，此人是中世纪后期的画家，
on account of his representing the Star of Bethlehem as a comet in his painting, Adoration of the Magi.
因为他曾在画作《博士来拜》中将圣诞星描绘为彗星。
It is believed that he was inspired specifically by the 1301 visit of Halley's comet so naturally the ESA chose to name a space probe after him.
人们都说，乔托创作的灵感来源于1301年哈雷彗星经过地球，因此，欧洲太空总署（ESA）自然想要以乔托的名字来命名这样一个太空探测器。
The mission was originally intended as a joint effort along with NASA, but budget cuts forced the U.S. to back out.
此次任务一开始是想与美国宇航局（NASA）进行合作，但由于经费削减，所以NASA不得不退出。
The ESA decided to push forward anyway, greenlighting the project in 1980, with its launch scheduled for 1985.
ESA还是决定继续推进该项目。1980年，他们批准了这个项目，并定于1985年进行发射。
Without the assistance of their U.S. counterparts, the pressure was on: Halley's comet was coming, ready or not, and would not return again until 2061.
由于失去了NASA的协助，压力倍增。哈雷彗星即将到来，不管ESA是否做好准备，哈雷下一次来也只能是2061年了。
Not an ideal deadline for building a spacecraft. The probe itself was relatively small, with its experiments housed in a cylinder less than two meters by one meter.
2061年对于打造宇宙飞船来说并不是理想的截止日期。探测器本身体积不大，其进行实验时，也是放置于圆筒内——不到2米*1米的大小。
Inside was equipment for photographing the comet, as well as several spectrometers for analyzing its composition, and an array of sensors for detecting the comet's halo of dust.
内置的设备有彗星拍照的，也有分光仪，可以分析其组成。此外，还有一组感应器，可以探测彗星的星尘光环。
That very dust would prove a major challenge.
星尘本身会给探测带来巨大挑战。
The scientific equipment onboard needed to survive Giotto and the comet moving toward one another at a combined speed of over 240,000 kilometers per hour.
配备的科技设备需要比乔托号存续的时间要长，也要经得住彗星的冲击，毕竟彗星相对运动的速度差可达24万公里/小时。
At that speed, those dust particles would punch through even heavy metal shielding.
按照这样的速度，星尘分子可以击穿厚重的金属罩。
And Giotto needed to travel into the dust to photograph the comet's icy nucleus.
乔托号需要透过星尘来拍摄彗星的冰核。
Rather than weigh the craft down with super thick metal plating, the team instead shielded it with one layer of aluminum and one layer of kevlar spaced a few centimeters apart.
乔托号的研发团队没有用极厚的金属镀层来加重飞行器的负担，而是用了一层铝和一层凯夫拉纤维，相隔只有几厘米。
Together, the layers could theoretically stop particles as big as 1 gram.
理论上来说，这两个镀层可以阻隔1克大的分子。
Once Giotto was completed, it was launched on July 2nd, 1985.
乔托号构建完成后，就于1985年6月2日发射升空了。
Giotto orbited the Earth three times, and then fired its thrusters to head off on its eight-month journey to intercept Halley's comet.
乔托号环绕地球飞行了3圈，然后开启了为期8个月的观测哈雷彗星之旅。
On March 12th, 1986, its sensors began picking up signs of hydrogen ions being ejected from the comet.
1986年3月12日，乔托号的感应器开始收集哈雷彗星发射出来的氢离子。
It was getting close. A day later, it entered the densest part of the comet's tail.
乔托号逐渐接近哈雷彗星，并于1天后进入了哈雷尾部密度最大的区域。
That's when the photos started coming in. For the first time, scientists were seeing real images of a comet's nucleus up close.
自那以后，就开始发回照片。科学家首次得以以很近的距离看到彗星冰核的真实图像。
Over the next two hours, Giotto experienced thousands of dust collisions as it made its way to within 596 kilometers of Halley's comet.
在随后的2小时里，乔托号在距离哈雷彗星596公里的地方经历了数千次的尘埃碰撞。
But about 8 seconds before the craft reached its closest pass, the big one hit, a one-gram particle of dust.
但在乔托号抵达最近点的8秒前，有一颗重达1克的分子尘埃与乔托号发生撞击。
ESA scientists lost contact. It seemed that the probe was lost. But over the next half hour, the craft continued sending back spurts of data and images.
然后，ESA的科学家就与乔托号失联，乔托号仿佛人间蒸发了一样。不过，在接下来的半小时里，乔托号依然在不断发回大量数据和图像。
Giotto had survived, stabilized itself, and re-established contact with Earth.
乔托号不仅挺过来了，稳定了下来，还与地球重建了联系。
It would record its final dust impact 49 minutes after its closest approach, bidding farewell to Halley's comet.
乔托号在达到最近点49分钟后，记录下了最后的尘埃碰撞情况，然后就告别了哈雷彗星。
The craft was injured, but intact. The mission was a success.
乔托号有所受损，但安然无恙，这次任务是一次成功。
It was so successful, in fact, and so not-yet-out-of-fuel, that after a return pass by Earth for a gravity assist, Giotto was sent off to study a second comet in 1992.
而且可以说是大获成功，实际上，完成任务后，乔托号的燃料还未用尽，所以乔托号在返回地球轨道获得引力加速后，就又在1992年被派出执行第二次彗星观测任务。
The Giotto mission provided groundbreaking new data for scientists eager to learn about comets and the early conditions of our solar system.
乔托号为渴望了解彗星的科学家提供了突破性的新数据，让科学家了解了太阳系初期的情况。
In addition to providing the first observations and the first photos of a comet nucleus, it was Europe's first deep-space mission and the first craft to use Earth's gravity to re-direct itself in space.
除了提供一手观察数据和彗星冰核的一手照片外，乔托号也是欧洲历史上第一次深空任务，以及第一个通过地球引力来改变自己在太空方向的飞行器。
Giotto provided data that informed subsequent comet missions, including Rosetta, you know, that mission where /put a lander on a comet/.
乔托号的数据为之后的彗星观测任务（如罗塞塔）提供了宝贵的信息。在罗塞塔任务中，我们把着陆器放在了彗星上。
Giotto may not be as memorable as other headline-grabbers, but it was a little probe that could.
乔托号可能不像很多头条一样让人记忆深刻，但这个小小的探测器有着重大意义。
And it laid the groundwork for amazing science still to come.
乔托号为其后惊人的科学探索奠定了基础。
This episode of SciShow Space was sponsored by BetterHelp.
本期《太空科学秀》由BetterHelp赞助播出。
BetterHelp is an online counseling resource, available worldwide, featuring therapists who are credentialed and licensed by their states' boards.
BetterHelp可提供在线咨询服务，世界各地均可使用。线上提供服务的专家们都是在本国得到认证的。
They quickly match you with a counselor based on your needs and preferences.
他们可以根据用户的需求和偏好来为用户匹配顾问。
You can communicate with your counselor however you prefer, like over the phone or on your computer and schedule sessions in the comfort of your home.
大家可自行选择喜欢的方式来与顾问沟通，比如通过电话、电脑，或者在提前安排后在家里舒舒服服地体验。
Plus, you can reach out to your counselor and get a response within 24 to 48 hours in between scheduled sessions.
此外，大家在询问顾问后，可在24-48小时内获得回复。
BetterHelp isn't a crisis line. If you are in an emergency situation, there's a resource for you in the description.
BetterHelp无法提供应急服务。所以如果大家遇到紧急情况，可在下方描述区里获得更合适的咨询服务。
Monthly subscriptions to BetterHelp are available, with financial aid for those who qualify.
现在支持在BetterHelp上进行月度的订阅，符合要求的用户可享受一定的减免。
And if you're not completely satisfied with your experience, BetterHelp offers full refunds.
如果您对服务体验不满意，BetterHelp支持全额退款。
Go to BetterHelp.com/space or click the link in the description to learn more.
更多详情，可戳BetterHelp.com/space或者下方评论区链接。
