[ti:NASA Pleased with Orion Test Flight as Spacecraft Heads Back to Earth] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The American space agency NASA says [00:04.24]its Orion spacecraft has performed beyond expectations [00:10.40]during its test mission to fly around the moon. [00:15.64]Orion is set to return to Earth on December 11. [00:20.84]NASA said the uncrewed spacecraft [00:24.76]will re-enter Earth's atmosphere and deploy a parachute [00:30.40]before splashdown in the Pacific Ocean [00:34.20]off the coast of California near San Diego. [00:38.44]The spacecraft, or capsule, made its second [00:43.36]and final close pass by the moon on December 5. [00:48.28]The move brought Orion to within 127 kilometers of the lunar surface. [00:58.12]This was the closest any spacecraft built to carry humans [01:03.76]has come to the moon since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972. [01:12.48]Orion's last pass by the moon [01:15.88]happened during an operation NASA describes [01:20.12]as a "powered flyby burn." [01:23.24]The three-and-a-half minute operation is designed [01:27.56]to change the vehicle's velocity [01:30.68]and set it on a course back to Earth. [01:34.32]One week earlier, Orion reached its farthest point in space [01:40.72]– about 434,522 kilometers from Earth. [01:48.08]That marked the midway point of the spacecraft's 25-day mission. [01:55.76]NASA administrator Bill Nelson looked forward [02:00.16]to Orion's return to Earth in a statement. [02:04.68]He said when the spacecraft re-enters Earth's atmosphere, [02:09.60]"it will come back hotter and faster than ever before [02:14.80]– the ultimate test before we put astronauts on board." [02:20.92]NASA has said Orion will be traveling at speeds [02:25.92]up to 32,000 kilometers per hour [02:29.84]while reentering Earth's atmosphere. [02:33.00]This is much faster than spacecraft returning to Earth [02:38.36]from the International Space Station. [02:41.52]The purpose of the Orion mission was to test the capsule, [02:47.32]as well as NASA's huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket [02:53.48]used to carry it to space. [02:56.52]The mission is part of the space agency's Artemis program, [03:01.88]which aims to land Americans on the moon by the mid-2020s. [03:08.24]The latest mission was called Artemis I. [03:12.64]Its goal is to prepare for Artemis II, [03:16.84]which will include astronauts traveling inside Orion. [03:22.12]If all goes well during that mission, NASA will launch Artemis III, [03:28.12]with the goal of landing astronauts on the moon's surface. [03:34.16]While Orion has no astronauts on board, [03:38.20]NASA placed three model humans, [03:41.44]known as mannequins, on the spacecraft. [03:45.40]The models are connected to a series of sensors [03:49.60]designed to measure radiation [03:52.48]and movements throughout the mission. [03:55.52]During a recent news briefing, NASA officials [04:00.00]said they had been very satisfied with how Orion [04:04.20]and its systems had performed during the mission. [04:08.64]No major problems have been reported. [04:12.04]Mike Sarafin is the Mission Manager for Artemis I. [04:17.52]He told the briefing, the mission was "going very well." [04:22.76]He said because of this, NASA had been able to complete [04:27.68]several mission objectives and was able to add [04:32.16]some unplanned ones as well. [04:35.20]Sarafin said that by the time the mission ends, [04:39.76]Orion will have traveled more than 2.2 million kilometers. [04:46.04]Debbie Korth is the deputy manager for the Orion program. [04:52.12]She told reporters: "We couldn't be more pleased [04:56.00]about how the spacecraft has been performing [04:59.92]– really beyond all our expectations." [05:03.52]The last major test of the spacecraft [05:07.12]will be to see how its heatshield performs during reentry. [05:13.44]The heatshield will have to survive temperatures [05:17.68]of around 2,800 degrees Celsius. [05:22.76]That temperature is about half that of the surface of the sun. [05:28.84]A recovery mission has been organized [05:32.56]to pick up the capsule from the Pacific Ocean. [05:36.20]NASA's Landing and Recovery Director is Melissa Jones. [05:42.00]She said her team of engineers and recovery specialists [05:47.28]has worked with U.S. Navy divers attached [05:51.24]to the USS Portland transport ship. [05:55.12]The divers will help NASA bring in Orion [05:59.64]after the spacecraft's splashdown near San Diego. [06:04.48]Korth said Orion represents the beginning [06:08.96]"of a series of increasingly complex missions" [06:13.28]yet to come in the Artemis program. [06:16.92]She added that with the mission progressing so well, [06:21.72]"we are really using this spacecraft to push the envelope [06:26.96]and see what we can get in terms of performance" [06:31.24]to prepare for future missions. [06:35.12]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM