China launched its youngest-ever crew for its orbiting space station Thursday. The launch is part of the country's plan to put astronauts on the moon before 2030.
中国周四将其有史以来最年轻的航天员送上了轨道空间站。此次发射是中国在2030年前将航天员送上月球计划的一部分。
The Shenzhou 17 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 03:14 UTC. The China Manned Space Agency said the average age of the three-member crew is the youngest since the launch of the space station. Their average age is 38, state media China Daily said.
神舟十七号宇宙飞船于协调世界时03:14从中国西北部的酒泉卫星发射中心升空。中国载人航天局表示，这3名机组人员的平均年龄是天宫空间站发射以来最年轻的。据官方媒体《中国日报》报道，他们的平均年龄为38岁。
The three astronauts are Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin. They will replace a crew that has been on the station for six months.
这三名航天员分别是汤洪波、唐胜杰和江新林。他们将接替已经在空间站工作了六个月的航天员乘组。
The new crew will perform experiments in space medicine, space technology, and other areas during their mission. And they will help to place and do possible repairs to equipment inside and outside the station, the agency said.
这个新的航天员乘组将在任务期间进行太空医学、太空技术和其他领域的实验。该机构表示，他们将帮助安装空间站内外的设备，并对其进行可能的维修。
New space race
新太空竞赛
China also has plans to place astronauts on the moon before the end of 2030 in competition with the United States in space exploration. This follows other competition for influence between the world's two largest economies in the technology, military, and diplomatic fields.
中国还计划与美国在太空探索方面展开竞争，在2030年底前将航天员送上月球。此前，世界上最大的这两个经济体在技术、军事和外交领域展开了其他影响力竞争。
Earlier on Wednesday, the Chinese space agency also announced plans to send a new telescope to look deep into the universe. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the telescope would permit for mapping of the sky, but no timeline was given for when it would be placed.
周三早些时候，中国航天局还宣布计划发射一台新望远镜深入探索宇宙。中国国家广播公司CCTV表示，该望远镜将允许绘制天空地图，但没有给出任何具体的时间表。
In 2022, the Chinese government built its own space station after it was not permitted to join the U.S.-led International Space Station.
在未被允许加入美国领导的国际空间站后，中国政府于2022年建造了自己的空间站。
China's first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a person into space using its own resources.
2003年，中国首次执行载人航天任务，成为继前苏联和美国之后第三个利用本国资源将航天员送入太空的国家。
The American space program is believed to be far ahead of China at this time. But, China has made some important steps. They include bringing back samples from the moon's surface for the first time in many years and landing a vehicle on the less explored far side of the moon.
据信，美国的太空计划目前远远领先于中国。但是，中国已经取得一些重要的进展。其中包括多年来首次从月球表面带回样本，以及将一辆运载工具降落在探索较少的月球背面。
The U.S., meanwhile, aims to put astronauts back on the moon's surface by the end of 2025. It is aided by private American companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
与此同时，美国的目标是在2025年底前让航天员重返月球表面。它得到了像太空探索技术公司和蓝色起源公司这样的美国私营公司的帮助。
In addition to their moon, or lunar, programs, the two countries have also separately landed vehicles on Mars. And China plans to follow the U.S. in landing a spacecraft on an asteroid.
除了月球计划外，两国还分别在火星上着陆了运载工具。中国计划效仿美国，将一艘宇宙飞船降落在小行星上。
I'm Gregory Stachel.
我是格雷戈里·施塔赫尔。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)