中国最近在月球上着陆了第三艘航天飞行器，并表示该探险器成功从月球表面采集到物质。
The effort marks the first time in more than 40 years that any nation has collected samples from the moon for return to Earth.
此举标志着近40多年来首次有国家从月球表面采样返回地球。
China is a generation behind the United States and Russia in its space exploration efforts. But its space program is quickly developing. Among its space projects are a robot explorer on the way to Mars, development of a reusable space plane and a planned human mission to the moon.
中国在太空探索方面比美国和俄罗斯落后了一代。但是该国的太空项目正在迅速发展。在该国的太空项目中，包括一个火星自动探测器，开发可重复使用航天飞机以及计划中的人类登月任务。
Kathleen Campbell is an astrobiologist and geologist at The University of Auckland in New Zealand. She told The Associated Press that the next 10 years will be "quite critical" in space exploration.
凯瑟琳·坎贝尔是新西兰奥克兰大学的天体生物学家和地质学家。她对美联社表示，太空探索的未来10年将会非常关键。
"This is where we're going to transform out of near Earth orbit and back into what people will call ‘deep space,'" Campbell said.
坎贝尔表示：“我们将从近地轨道转向人们所谓的外太空。”
In 2003, China became the third nation to launch an astronaut into orbit on its own. It took place more than 40 years after the former Soviet Union and the United States launched astronauts into orbit. China's first orbiting laboratory was launched in 2011. A second was launched in 2016. Plans call for a permanent space station to be established after 2022.
2003年，中国成为第三个自行将宇航员送入轨道的国家。这发生在前苏联和美国将宇航员送入轨道40多年之后。中国的第一个轨道实验室于2011年启动。第二个实验室于2016年启动。中国计划在2022年之后建立永久性空间站。
The latest moon landing represented "a historic step in China's cooperation with the international community in the peaceful use of outer space," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
中国外交部发言人表示，最近一次登月是中国与国际社会合作，和平利用外层空间迈出的历史性一步。
The spokeswoman added, "China will continue to support "international cooperation and the exploration and use of outer space in the spirit of working for the benefit of all mankind."
这位发言人表示：“中国将继续本着为全人类谋福利的精神，推动国际合作、促进外层空间的探索和利用。”
After astronaut Yang Liwei's 2003 flight, Chinese space officials expressed hope for a crewed mission to the moon as early as 2020. They later pushed back that target to at least 2024.
在中国宇航员杨利伟2003年的那次飞行之后，中国航天官员表示希望最早于2020年进行登月任务。后来他们将这一目标推迟到至少2024年。
China's space plane would be it's version of the American Space Shuttle and the former Soviet Union's short-lived Buran space plane.
中国将在继美国航天飞机以及前苏联的布兰航天飞机之后开发自己的航天飞机。
China also has launched its own network of GPS satellites so its military does not need to depend on GPS systems operated by the U.S. or Russia.
中国还发射了自己的全球卫星定位系统的卫星网络，因此其军队无需依赖美国或俄罗斯运营的全球卫星定位系统。
Last year, China became the first nation to land a spacecraft on the moon's little-explored far side. The Chang'e 4 and its robot explorer are still operating. The spacecraft sends signals to Earth through an orbiter that passes over the moon's far side. China's first moon lander, the Chang'e 3, is still operating.
去年，中国成为首个在探测甚少的月球背面着陆航天器的国家。嫦娥四号探测器及其月球探测车仍在运行当中。该探测器通过飞越月球背面的轨道器向地球发送信号。中国的第一个月球着陆器嫦娥三号也还在运行。
China has also joined the race to explore Mars. Its Tianwen-1 spacecraft launched in July on a mission to search the Red Planet for signs of water. It is set to complete its 470-million-kilometer trip in February.
中国也加入了探索火星的竞赛。该国的天文一号飞船于7月1日发射升空，其任务是探测火星上是否有水的迹象。它将在明年二月走完其4.7亿公里的行程。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)