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It takes a lot of planning to get to space, and millions or billions of dollars invested over years, if not decades.
进入太空之前，需要做许多规划，还需要历时数年的无数投资（也有可能是数十年）。
So when the big day finally comes to launch a new mission, it's some pretty important news.
所以，当到了新任务发射那天的时候，这件事儿总会成为轰动一时的新闻。
Here are three missions to look forward to this year, if everything goes according to plan.
今年有3个任务将要假设，当然啦，前提是一切按照计划走。
Every two years, Earth and Mars line up in such a way that makes it easiest to get to Mars.
每2年，地球和火星就会拍在一条线上，这时候去火星是难度最低的。
So this year, we're gonna be seeing a bunch of missions beginning a half-year journey to the Red Planet.
所以，今年，有好几个任务会历时半年的时间去往火星。
NASA's still-unnamed 2020 rover has gotten most of the spotlight, but it's not the only Mars mission on the block.
美国宇航局（NASA）2020年的探测器尚未确定名字，就已经获得了公众的关注。这不是计划中的唯一一趟火星旅程。
The United Arab Emirates is sending an orbiter, and China is sending three separate spacecraft all at the same time.
阿联酋将发射一颗人造卫星，与此同时，中国也将发射3个航天器。
But for this segment, we're gonna focus on a joint mission by the European and Russian Space Agencies.
说到这儿，我们就要关注一下欧洲太空总署（ESA）和俄罗斯太空总署的一项共同任务了。
They're working on a rover to look for signs of life in Mars's crust.
他们正在准备一个探测器，想用这个探测器来寻找火星地壳的生命迹象。
And they've named their robot after the woman who gave us the first images of DNA: Rosalind Franklin.
他们给探测器起的名字跟发布第一批DNA图案的女士一样：罗莎琳·富兰克林。
The Rosalind Franklin rover is part of the ESA's ongoing ExoMars mission, which has been studying Mars's thin atmosphere for signs of biological or geological activity since 2016.
罗莎琳·富兰克林探测器是ESA现在正在进行的欧洲火星探测任务（ExoMars）部分内容。该任务一直在研究火星稀薄的大气层，寻找2016年以来生物和地理活动的迹象。
Rosalind Franklin will be searching for signs of life on the ground, though.
不过，罗莎琳·富兰克林会专注于寻找地面上是否有生命的迹象。
It'll launch this summer and, if all goes well, will touch down in March of 2021.
该探测器将于今年夏季发射，如果一切顺利的话，将于2021年3月着陆。
Its destination is a Martian plain called Oxia Planum, near the planet's equator.
其目的地是火星上的一片平原，名作奥克夏平原，该平原位于火星赤道附近。
There, former water channels connect Mars's southern highlands and northern lowlands.
在那里，之前曾存在的水道将火星南部的高原跟北部的低地连接在一起。
Those channels are covered by lava from ancient volcanoes, which protected the matter under it from solar radiation and erosion.
这些水道上覆盖着来自古老火山的岩浆，保护期下面的物质不受太阳辐射和腐蚀。
And that's exciting, because if there were ever organic compounds there, it's possible they were never broken down.
这很让人兴奋，因为如果这里有有机化合物的话，那么有可能能永远都不会分解。
In other words, it's possible there are still organic compounds there.
换言之，那里可能还存在着有机化合物。
That's a lot of maybes, of course, but we won't know unless we look.
当然，目前来看，可能性很多，但只有看过了才知道真相是什么。
To hunt for the remnants of life, the rover has a drill that can probe two whole meters into Mars's crust, as well as onboard instruments for analyzing soil samples.
为了搜寻生命的迹象，该探测器配备了钻孔，可以探测火星地壳2米深的地方，此外，其上配备的设备可以分析土壤样本。
Meanwhile, the Russian-made platform that will deliver the rover will stay put, photographing the landing site, and monitoring the local atmosphere and climate.
与此同时，俄罗斯制作的平台将会把该探测器发射出去，在那之后，该平台会保持不动，从而可以拍摄着陆位置并观测当地的大气层和气候。
Of course, before this duo makes the journey, the humans behind the mission have to work out some problems with the parachutes that will slow it down for landing.
当然了，在它俩开启这趟行程之前，幕后的人类工作者得解决降落伞的问题，从而减慢落地的速度。
It'll take two large parachutes to slow down this heavy load in Mars's thin atmosphere, but during tests on Earth, those parachutes have been tearing.
要让这庞然大物在通过火星稀薄的大气层时减速，将需要2个大降落伞。但在地球上做测试的时候，这2个降落伞都被撕破了。
Engineers will need to get those chutes right to keep Rosalind on target for its 2020 launch.
工程师将需要好好处理这2个降落伞才能保证该探测器2020年能如期发射。
So everybody, cross your fingers! Engineers are also racing to complete new technology for getting humans into space.
所以，同志们，期待一切顺利吧！工程师们也会争分夺秒地完成新技术来将人类送往太空的。
Since 2011, NASA has had to buy seats on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to send its astronauts to the International Space Station.
自2011年以来，NASA就一直不得不购买俄罗斯联盟号航天器上的座位来将宇航员送往国际空间站。
But that's not the most practical arrangement, so back in 2010, the agency paired with private companies in the U.S.
但这并不是最实用的安排。回想2010年的时候，NASA跟美国的一些私企进行了合作。
to develop at least one new craft capable of delivering humans to space.
目的是研发出至少1种新的航天器，这种航天器要有能力将人类送往太空。
Now, it's down to just three projects: NASA's Orion, SpaceX's Crew Dragon, and Boeing's Starliner.
现在，已经缩减为只有3个项目了：NASA的猎户座飞船、太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）的载人龙飞船、波音的星际飞机。
It is now a race to see which one will be the first to test a crewed launch.
现在，这3方要角逐出谁能成为第一个试射载人航天器的一个。
It probably will not be Orion, whose crewed and uncrewed trips are currently facing delays.
大概不会是猎户座飞船，因为其载人和无人太空之旅都遭遇了延期。
But the other teams are doing okay. The cargo version of SpaceX's Dragon has been delivering supplies to the ISS since 2012.
但另外2支队伍都进展顺利。SpaceX的货运版飞船自2012年起就一直将供给品送往国际空间站。
And this March, a version of Dragon capable of supporting human passengers actually went to space.
今年3月，载人龙飞船的一个版本能够支持人类去往太空。
Unfortunately, though, a month after that test, the Crew Dragon exploded on the Launchpad while SpaceX was testing its thrusters.
不过，不幸的是，试射之后的一个月，载人龙飞船在启动台上爆炸，那时候，SpaceX正在测试其推进器。
The accident also blew up the company's plans of testing a crewed launch by the end of last year.
这次事故也挫败了该公司去年年底测试载人发射的计划。
But the company has been hard at work since then.
不过，该公司从那以后就一直在奋发努力。
And if things continue to go well, plans are back on track to send a crew into space this year.
如果一切持续进展顺利的话，今年载人的计划会恢复。
Meanwhile, Boeing's a little further behind in the testing phase; their first uncrewed flight just went up last month.
与此同时，波音公司在测试阶段稍有落后——他们的第一次无人旅程上个月才启动。
Their capsule, called the CST-100 Starliner, claims to be reusable up to ten times.
其太空舱名为CST-100星际飞机，可复用多达10次。
And unlike Crew Dragon and NASA's previous crewed capsules, Starliner is designed to land, like, on the land. Not in the ocean.
与载人龙飞船和NASA之前的载人飞船不同，星际飞机设计的初衷是着陆在地上，而不是在海洋里。
So in addition to the parachutes that slow its descent, it's got a bottom full of airbags.
所以，除了有降落伞要降低其降落速度之外，其底部也充满了气袋。
As of this past November, neither SpaceX nor Boeing had met the safety standards for transporting astronauts, so there are still some hurdles to get past.
截至刚刚过去的11月，SpaceX和波音都没有达到运载航天员的安全标准。所以，依然有一些障碍需要克服。
But both companies are aiming to get the green light by this summer.
但这2家公司都在努力为今年夏天能达到标准而努力。
Finally, our third highlight for this year has already arrived at the launch facility at Cape Canaveral.
最后，我们今年的第3个两点在卡纳维拉尔角。
It's the ESA's Solar Orbiter, and it has to pass just a few final tests before it blasts off in February.
卡纳维拉尔角是ESA的太阳轨道探测器，该探测器要通过迹象最终的测试才能在2月发射。
Over several years, this satellite will enter a highly tilted orbit around our star.
在几年的时间里，这颗卫星将进入太阳附近高度倾斜的轨道。
It will give us views of our Sun that we've never seen before, like for the first time, we'll be able to see its north and south poles!
这颗卫星将让我们看到从未见过的太阳的样子，比如我们将首次见到太阳的南极和北极。
It might not look that different from the rest of the Sun, but there's a lot of interesting physics happening up there.
虽然可能跟平时的太阳看起来没那么大的差别，但有很多有趣的物理现象蕴含其中。
For example, scientists are hoping to look at the magnetic field lines around the poles to figure out how the Sun makes its magnetic field.
比如，科学家希望能观测两极附近的磁场线来弄明白太阳是如何形成磁场的。
The Solar Orbiter will also study the Sun's heliosphere:
卡纳维拉尔角也会研究太阳的日球层。
a bubble shaped like a windsock that's filled with plasma from the Sun and extends beyond all our solar system's planets.
日球层形似风向袋，里面都是来自太阳的等离子体，范围扩张到了太阳系所有行星之外。
It won't get as close to the Sun as NASA's Parker Solar Probe, but it has more instruments, so the two spacecraft will team up to tell us as much about our star as they can.
卡纳维拉尔角与太阳的距离不会像帕克太阳探测器那样近，但由于其配置了许多仪器，所以这2个航天器结合起来的话，可以让我们了解与太阳有关的尽可能多的知识。
We'll have to wait a few years before any results come in, but once we do start getting data, we'll have a lot of new science to look forward to.
我们需要等几年才能获得结果，但一旦开始获得数据，就有很多科学知识可以期待了。
And while there's a lot of exciting stuff happening this year, both locally and in interplanetary space, the things we learn from these missions will give us material for years and years of research and discoveries.
虽然今年有许多令人兴奋的事儿，无论是地球上还是地球外，但我们通过这些任务了解的知识对我们未来许多年的研究和发现都有帮助。
Thank you for watching this episode of SciShow Space!
感谢收看本期的《太空科学秀》！
And a special thanks to our patrons on Patreon, who make episodes like this possible.
尤其要感谢我们的忠实粉丝，没有你们，就没有我们的节目。
If you like what we do and want to help make science education free for everybody on the internet, find out how you can become part of our patron community at patreon.com/SciShow.
如果你们喜欢我们的节目，想帮助我们制作免费的网络科学教育节目的话，可通过patreon.com/SciShow成为我们粉丝社群的一员。
