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本文選自《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》11月21日刊文章。11月24日凌晨4時(shí)30分，中國嫦娥5號(hào)探月裝置成功在海南文昌發(fā)射場(chǎng)發(fā)射，這意味著中國太空探索又向前邁出重要一步。這次月球探索最關(guān)鍵的任務(wù)是從月球帶回2公斤的采樣，這是自1976年前蘇聯(lián)月球探測(cè)器送回過月球樣品以來，首次將月球采樣送回地球，這也是中國探月工程“繞、落、回”三步走中的收官之戰(zhàn)，更是中國航天領(lǐng)域迄今為止最復(fù)雜、難度最大的任務(wù)之一。然而嫦娥5號(hào)的發(fā)射并非一帆風(fēng)順，它原本計(jì)劃在2017年發(fā)射，但由于另一項(xiàng)太空項(xiàng)目的失敗推遲了它的發(fā)射，也許正因?yàn)樗某晒Τ錆M曲折，它在太空劃過的光線才異常耀眼。 
選文精講 China plans to bring back the first Moon rocks for 40 yearsIf it succeeds, they will arrive in December如果它能成功，這批月球巖石將于12月抵達(dá)（地球）IN JANUARY 2019, when a Chinese spacecraft called Chang’e 4 visited the Moon, the mission broke new ground, figuratively speaking, by landing on the far side of that orb, which is perpetually invisible from Earth and thus also out of direct radio contact. This meant communications had to be relayed by a satellite （which had been cunningly located （for the purpose） at a place） （where the interaction of the gravitational fields of Earth and Moon meant it could orbit a point in empty space.）- break new ground: 有了新的突破、開辟新天地
2019年1月，中國的“嫦娥4號(hào)”探測(cè)器造訪月球，形象的說，該任務(wù)（在月球）開辟了新的處女地，它著陸在月球的遠(yuǎn)端，即地球永遠(yuǎn)無法看到月球的一面，因此也無法通過無線電直接聯(lián)系。這意味著通訊必須由一顆衛(wèi)星轉(zhuǎn)播，而這顆衛(wèi)星需要被巧妙地定位在一個(gè)位置，在地球和月球的重力場(chǎng)相互作用下，該位置的衛(wèi)星可以在空曠的太空中繞某一點(diǎn)旋轉(zhuǎn)。China’s next lunar mission, by contrast, will break ground literally. Chang’e 5, scheduled for launch around November 24th, is intended to drill two metres down into the Moon’s surface, retrieve about 2kg of rock, and then return this to Earth. If successful, it will be the first lunar sample-return mission since 1976, when a Soviet probe called Luna 24 sent back a mere 170g of the stuff. And it will be another step forward in China’s space programme.相比之下，中國的下一次探月任務(wù)將會(huì)真正地取得突破性進(jìn)展。嫦娥五號(hào)定于11月24日左右發(fā)射，計(jì)劃向月球表面鉆2米深，回收約2公斤巖石，然后將這些巖石送回地球。如果成功，這將是自1976年以來的第一次月球采樣送回地球的飛行任務(wù)，當(dāng)時(shí)蘇聯(lián)的月球24號(hào)探測(cè)器只送回了170克的月球樣本。這將是中國太空計(jì)劃的向前邁出的又一步。The Chang’e missions, named after a Chinese Moon goddess, have had their ups and downs. Chang’e 5 was originally scheduled for blast off in 2017, but the failure in July of that year of an otherwise-unrelated project that was, like Chang’e 5, using a Long March 5 as its launch vehicle, caused a delay. (Chang’e 4 used a different sort of launcher, a Long March 3B.) The “go” does, however, now seem to have been given. State media reported on November 17th that the rocket with Chang’e 5 on board has been moved to its launch pad at Wenchang space centre, on Hainan island.以中國的月宮仙子命名的“嫦娥”飛行任務(wù)經(jīng)歷了起起落落。嫦娥5號(hào)原本計(jì)劃在2017年發(fā)射，但那年7月，一個(gè)與嫦娥5號(hào)無關(guān)的太空項(xiàng)目失敗，而它所使用的長征5號(hào)運(yùn)載火箭也是嫦娥5號(hào)所用的，這導(dǎo)致嫦娥5號(hào)發(fā)射推遲(嫦娥四號(hào)使用了一種不同的發(fā)射裝置——長征三號(hào)乙運(yùn)載火箭)。然而，現(xiàn)在看來確實(shí)下達(dá)了（嫦娥5號(hào)）“行動(dòng)”的命令。據(jù)官方媒體11月17日?qǐng)?bào)道，搭載嫦娥5號(hào)的火箭已被轉(zhuǎn)移到位于海南島文昌航天中心的發(fā)射臺(tái)。
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