We're living a new kind of space race
我們正處於新型的太空競賽

原文﹕

http://www.euronews.com/2013/12/20/were-living-a-new-kind-of-space-race/

We are right in the middle of a new kind of space race, one in which the heavens above our heads have become a stage for all kinds of exploits, both scientific, political and personal. You only have to cast your eyes back over the past week, let alone the past year, to see evidence of this fascinating competition.
我們正處於新型的太空競賽之中﹐其中之一便是我們頭頂上的蒼穹已經變成各式各樣科學﹑政治﹑及個人利用的舞台。 你只需將你的眼光回顧過去的一星期﹐遑論過去一年﹐即可看見這極據吸引力競爭的證據。

For starters the Iranians sent a monkey into space, for the second time.
就由伊朗第二次送隻猴子上太空講起。

The Chinese made a soft landing on the Moon and sent back pictures of their rover making tracks in the lunar dust. Then ESA launched the Gaia satellite into space using the Russian workhorse Soyuz rocket. All that in just seven days. The race to space is well underway, and everyone fancies having a go.
中國人已在月球上軟著陸並且送回他們月球車在月球塵土上留下軌跡的多張照片。    而後﹐歐洲太空局(簡稱“歐空局”﹐European Space Agency, ESA) 借由俄羅斯當紅的聯盟(Soyuz)火箭發射了蓋亞(Gaia, 希臘神話中大地女神)號衛星。所有這些都僅在七天之內。 比賽上太空正順序進行中﹐同時每個異想天開的都得去。

The privateers are here
散兵游勇們在這兒

The have-a-go heroes of the space world earned themselves some serious credibility in 2013. These private space companies have cracked open the market for launchers, at least in the US, and their rockets, which once seemed pie-in-the-sky ideas, are now actually up there, in the sky.
這些“得去”的太空世界英雄們2013為他們自己賺得厚實的信譽。 這些私有的太空公司已打開發射火箭的市場﹐至少在美國﹐一度他們的火箭只是空中的畫餅的念頭﹐如今是真的在空中了。

In January 2014 for example, Orbital Sciences one of the two commercial space companies working with NASA will send its Cygnus spacecraft, atop its Antares rocket, up to the ISS on a resupply mission. SpaceX , the other commercial company, has now completed two of its scheduled 12 trips to the International Space Station under a deal with NASA. This is a major shift in the space business, and one that's set to continue, at least in certain sectors of the market.
以2014一月為例﹐兩個與太空總署有來往的太空商務公司之一的軌道科學公司(Orbital
Sciences) 將遣送它的太空船天鵝座(Cygnus)﹐置於運載火箭心大星(Antares)之上﹐往國際空間站(International Space Station, ISS)出再運補任務。  另一家商務公司﹐太空X(SpaceX)﹐已完成與太空總署協議排定十二次往返國際空間站中的兩次。   這是太空業務中的主要轉變﹐並會繼續如此﹐至少在某些市場方面是如此。

Emerging powers head for the stars
新興強權前往星際

Some commentators see a race within the space race emerging, as India and
China battle it out for political prestige. These two have actually been slugging it out since the old days of the Cold War ǔ the Chinese launched a Soviet-built rocket called Base 20 in 1958, and the Indians lit the touch paper on the American-built Nike Apache rocket in 1963.
當印度與中國爭奪政治聲望時﹐一些評論家看到在太空競賽之中的競賽形成。 這兩國實際上在冷戰時期的老日子裡就已正纏鬥不休﹐中國人1958發射了蘇俄製造的火箭叫基礎20﹐而印度則於1963則刺激的發射了美製的勝利女神阿帕奇火箭。

In 2013, it got serious. The Indians upped the ante by sending the Mars Orbiter mission to the red planet ,it should arrive in 2014, and the Chinese raised their flag on the Moon. Look further ahead and by 2017 the first Indian should fly to space, and China will send a robot to the Moon, and back again to Earth. By early next decade both countries are predicting that they'll have men on the lunar surface.
2013事態變得更嚴重﹐印度以送火星軌道飛行器上紅色星球來加大賭注﹐2014該會到達﹐而中國則在月球上昇起她們的國旗。 向前看遠些﹐印度將於2017讓第一個印度人飛上太空﹐而中國則會將機器人送上月球而再返回地球 。  到未來十年的早期兩國皆預言會將人送上月球表面。

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這條新聞比藍綠惡鬥可有意思多了﹐要鬥就上月亮火星去鬥…
為何不去看看原來的全文?   I double dare you!