对于美国太空机构国家航空航天局而言，这是一个苦乐参半的周末。在这个星期天他们最有成效、最具启发性的研究项目之一在经历了14年之久后宣告结束。它已经运行了45亿公里。
注释：
1.productive adj. 多产的
2.illuminating adj. 照亮的；启蒙的
3.ignition n. 点火装置
4.close-up n. 特写镜头；从近处仔细的观察
5.asteroid n.（火星及木星轨道间的）小行星
6.antenna n. 触角；天线
7.JPT Jet Propulsion Laboratory 喷气推进实验所
8.intentionally adv. 有意地；故意地
9.contaminate v. 污染
10.fabulous adj. 难以置信的
Galileo Comes to an End
ANCHOR
A bittersweet weekend for the U.S. space agency ----- NASA. One of its more productive and enlightening research projects ended on Sunday, 14 years and 4.5 billion kilometers after it began. Frank Bucking now on the long illuminating life of the space probe Galileo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE
Three, two, one, we have ignition and lift -off of Atlantis and the Galileo spacecraft bound for Jupiter!
CORRESPONDENT
Galileo eventually got to Jupiter, giving us incredible images and spectacular science along the way.
COLLEEN HARTMAN, NASA
Lightning on Venus was discovered in the atmosphere, unprecedented close-ups of asteroids. As I’m sure you know, we found that there was a moon orbiting around an asteroid, first time ever that was suspected. Once again, you know, the planets and the contents in our solar system rewrote our history books for us in an encounter of an afternoon. Totally unexpected, even the views of Earth were very fascinating.
CORRESPONDENT
But scientists say Galileo was a problem child. The antenna that was supposed to beam back a pipeline of data never opened, and a small backup antenna could only spit out a soda straw’s worth of information. But JPL and NASA scientists had a chat with their troubled kid, as it sailed through space, and reprogrammed Galileo.
ED WEILER, NASA
And they found a way, even with that soda straw, to open the soda straw a little bit more and to pump more water through that soda straw. And eventually we got every bit of science we ever hoped to from Galileo.
CORRESPONDENT
It discovered strong evidence of liquid salt-water oceans on three of Jupiter’s moons.
ED WEILER
On the Earth, where there’s water, there’s life. And when you find liquid water outside of the Earth’s environment, you have to ask the question, ‘Could there be? Is it possible?’
CORRESPONDENT
Galileo will never know because the scientist and engineers who kept it going are intentionally crashing the spacecraft into the planet it orbited thirty four times to make sure Galileo doesn’t contaminate any of those moons when it runs out of gas. And for the men and women who spent the better part of their professional lives working on Galileo, it is a bittersweet day.
CLAUDIA ALEXANDER, NASA
For decades, the flight team has poured an extraordinary amount of dedication into keeping this thing going. And to a certain extent, it’s almost like having a troubled child that ends up graduating from law school, ok, you’re so happy that it was able to overcome the difficulties and do a fabulous return. I think that’s what’s going to be on people’s minds.
“伽利略”号的终结
主播
对于美国太空机构国家航空航天局而言，这是一个苦乐参半的周末。在这个星期天他们最有成效、最具启发性的研究项目之一在经历了14年之久后宣告结束。它已经运行了45亿公里。福兰克•巴金为我们报道伽利略行星探测器所做的大量启发性工作。
女被访者
三、二、一，我们已经将亚特兰蒂斯号（航天飞机）和伽利略号（探测器）点火发射送往木星。
记者
到达木星后的“伽利略”号探测器给我们发回了许多令人震惊的图像，并由此带来了一些相关的极具吸引力的科学研究。
科伦•哈特曼，美国国家航空航天局
在大气中发现了金星上的闪电，还有一些从未有过的小行星的近距离特写。我相信你知道我们已经观测到一个月亮正在围绕一个小行星运转。开始只是怀疑，一个下午的偶遇之下，太阳系中的行星再一次改写了我们的历史书。这是完全意想不到的，即便是地球上的景观也十分引人入胜。
记者
但是科学家们认为“伽利略”号还是一个问题儿童。本应该发回大量数据的主天线一直没有打开，只能用一个小的备用天线，它发出的信息量只有喝苏打水的麦杆吸管的容量。在把它送入太空后，喷气推进实验所和国家航空航天局的科学家们针对它进行过一次探讨，并给它重新编制了程序。
艾德•韦拉，NASA
他们发现一个方法，即使用苏打水的麦杆吸管，使它再张开一点，让更多的水通过。最终我们得到了希望从“伽利略”号上得到的所有科学结果。
记者
在木星的三个卫星上，它发现了液态盐水存在的有力证据。
艾德•韦拉
在地面上只要有水就有生命，当你发现地球环境以外存在液态水的时候，你就必须问这个问题：“那儿会有生命吗？这可能吗？”
记者
有一点“伽利略”号是永远也不会知道的，那就是制造“伽利略”号的科学家和工程师有意让“伽利略”号在所有燃料耗尽时，坠毁到这颗它围绕着旋转了34次的行星上，以保证“伽利略”号在燃料耗尽后不会对任何一个卫星造成污染。所以对于那些为“伽利略”号耗尽职业生涯的大半心血的人们来说，这真是苦乐参半的一天。
克劳蒂亚•亚历山大，NASA
几十年来，为了进行这项研究，我们的研究人员们倾注了大量的心血。在一定程度上，它就好像是一个淘气的孩子终于从法学院毕业了，你非常高兴，他能够战胜苦难，并且给予了最好的回报。我想大家心里就是这样想的。
