了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

And put them in an artificial coma for a while.
所以，这听起来不错
So, it sounds good,
和其他方法一样 这种方法值得探讨
And like everything else, it's worth exploring.
无论是冷冻胚胎
Whether through freezing embryos
还是让成人沉沉睡去
Or putting adults into a cold, deep sleep,
休眠也许是我们的最佳选择
Suspended animation may be the best bet
好让珍贵的航♥天♥员能保住性命
For keeping our precious human cargo alive
度过漫长的旅程 抵达南门二
On the long trip to alpha centauri.
但要是他们到了那里 却找不到适居的星球呢？
But what if they get there and find there's no place like home?
宇宙飞船满载人类先锋
A spaceship filled with human volunteers
前往三合星系南门二
Approaches the triple-star system, alpha centauri.
他们希望能在众多的新世界中
The crew hopes to find the first of many new worlds
为人类找到一个新家
For mankind to call home.
但是哪个恒星会有
But which, if any, of these stars
这样适居的行星呢？
Will have the right kind of planets?
我要找的新家园
We want to find a home
最好和地球越像越好
That's as similar to earth as we can possibly find,
因为我们已经习惯了这个星球
Because we're fine-tuned for this planet.
还有这个地表的引力
We're just fine-tuned for this surface gravity.
以及这个大气层
We're fine-tuned for this atmosphere,
还有辐射环境
This radiation environment.
宇宙飞船的屏幕布满恒星
The stars fill the spacecraft's displays,
不久就能看到行星的轮廓
And soon, the outline of planets will be visible.
三合星系里最亮的是南门二A星
The brightest of the trio is alpha centauri "a."
它比我们的太阳大一点 也亮一点
It's slightly bigger and slightly brighter than our sun,
散发到周围太空的热能也比较多
Throwing more heat into the space around it.
邻近的南门二B星较小较冷
Its smaller, cooler neighbor, alpha centauri "b,"
两者靠得很近 引力
Lies so close, gravity pulls the two stars
让它们在宽广的双星轨道上缓慢运行
Into a wide, slow binary orbit...
公转一周需要80年
...Rotating once every 80 years.
对我们的太空先锋来说这是个坏消息
That's bad news for our pioneers.
很少有行星会绕宽广的双星系
Planets rarely form stable orbits
形成稳定的轨道
Around wide binary systems,
所以在这里殖民的机会微乎其微
So there's little chance of finding a place to settle here.
但第三颗恒星还有希望
But the third star in the trio offers hope.
比邻星是颗红矮星 也是M型主序星
Proxima centauri is a red dwarf or "m" dwarf star,
它太小太暗 地球上无法用肉眼看到
Too small and dim to be seen from earth with the naked eye.
然而天文学家发现
Yet astronomers have found earth-like planets
都有类地行星围绕这种恒星运转
Around this type of star throughout the milky way galaxy.
我们发现 红矮星是理想的目标
We're finding that red dwarfs are ideal in a number of ways.
这里有很多原因 其中特别的还是
In particular, they seem to be absolutely teeming
有很多地球般大的行星
With earth-sized planets.
天文学家已经发现
Astronomers have already discovered
有一颗类地行星围绕比邻星运转
One earth-sized planet around proxima centauri.
它的轨道太靠近恒星不适合人类生存
It orbits too close to the star to sustain human life,
但它很有可能
But there's a good chance
有个适合人类的行星姐妹
It may have sister planets that can.
如果我们仰望夜空
If we were to look up into the night sky
观察最近的M主序星
And look at the nearest "m" dwarf star ...
也就是比邻星
Say, proxima centauri ...
我们应该会看到
I would expect to see
三到六个非常小的行星
A system of three to six very small planets
在非常紧凑的轨道上运行
In extremely compact orbits,
它们的公转周期只有几天
Meaning orbital periods of only a few days.
比邻星或许有
Proxima centauri may well be home
适合生命的岩石行星
To a rocky planet ideal for life,
它会有厚厚的大气层 温暖的液态海洋
With a thick atmosphere, warm, liquid oceans,
以及强大的防护磁场
And a strong magnetosphere to protect it ...
这个完美的避难所可以让人类建立第一个新家园
The perfect refuge for mankind to set up our first new home.
但是要是我们找到的行星
But what if we find a planet
有点美中不足
That's a little less than perfect ...
也许太冷 也许重力太强
Too cold, perhaps, with too much gravity...
也许大气层的组成不一样
Or maybe the wrong kind of atmosphere?
我们的基因适合在地球繁衍
We are genetically programmed to thrive on the planet earth
我们只适合特定浓度的
With a specific amount of oxygen,
氧和二氧化碳
A specific amount of carbon dioxide,
以及特定的重力
And a certain weight.
然而我们在遥远的行星登陆时
However, once we land on a distant planet,
我们得改变我们的身体
We're gonna have to change our bodies
这样才能在不同的环境下繁衍
So that we can thrive in different environments.
我们必须能够改造人体
We're gonna have to be able to engineer ourselves.
我们必须能够快速演化
We're gonna have to be able to evolve ourselves rapidly.
也许要借用别种生物的基因
That may mean taking genes from other life forms
才能得到我们所需的特性
To give ourselves some property that we need.
这可能是最好的解决方案
That might just be the best solution.
科学家上天下海
Scientists have searched high and low
只为了寻找能让我们在太空存活的终极基因
To find the ultimate genes for survival in space,
他们发现这种基因
And they may have found them
或许就在沙粒那么大的生物体内
In a creature no bigger than a grain of sand.
在NASA 我们正在对微小的
Right now at nasa, we're doing experiments
节肢动物进行实验
On tiny, little animals called tardigrades.
节肢动物的生命力很强
Tardigrades are tough.
它们能在各种温度下生存
They can survive a range of temperatures
从冰点到沸点都不怕
From freezing to boiling point.
它们可以不吃不喝超过十年以上
They can live without food or water for a decade or more.
最重要的是 当它们的DNA被辐射破坏
And, crucially, when their dna gets damaged by radiation,
就会自行修复
It repairs itself.
这么小的微生物可以承受的辐射量
A tiny, little, microscopic thing can survive more radiation
足以杀掉一群大象
Than would kill a herd of elephants.
不知何故 它的DNA能自我修复
Somehow, the dna knows how to repair itself.
我们正在试图修改人类的DNA
We're trying to figure out
看能不能改造出同样的功能
How we could modify human dna to do the same thing.
总有一天 这种微生物的DNA
One day, dna from these tiny creatures
能够让我们踏上
May allow us to set foot on a planet
饱受其母星辐射袭击的行星
Battered by radiation from its parent star.
基因工程中可能存在更多的关键
And genetic tinkering may hold the key to much more,
让我们殖民到
Allowing us to colonize
各种环境严苛的外星球
A multitude of hostile, alien worlds.
如果那个行星的重力场比较强
If the planet has a larger gravitational field,
我们也许就得增强骨骼和肌肉
We may have to increase the strength of our bones
这样我们走在较大的行星地表时
And the strength of our muscles so we don't collapse
身体才能承受强大的重力而不垮掉
Every time we walk on the surface of a large planet.
我们或许还能适应不同的大气层
We could even adapt to different atmospheres.
要是我们抵达的行星
If we were to arrive on a planet
具有不同的氧气浓度
That has a different oxygen level,
或不同的二氧化碳浓度
Different carbon dioxide level,
我们或许就得改变我们的新陈代谢率
We may have to alter our metabolism rate.
我们已经开始掌控人类的演化
We are beginning to take control of our own evolution.
我们正在研发基因疗法
We are designing gene therapies.
我们也有办法改造生理
We are finding ways to modify our biology.
我们很有希望
There's a wonderful chance here
能够主宰我们自己的命运
To really take control of our own destiny
并且殖民到别的星球
And drive ourselves to the stars.
谁知道未来的航♥天♥员是什么样子？
Who knows what the future astronaut will look like?
但我强烈相信他们不会长得和你我一样
But i strongly suspect that they won't look like you or me.
如果我们在比邻星周围发现适居世界
If we find habitable worlds around proxima centauri,
宇宙飞船会满载经过基因改造的先锋
A shuttle full of genetically altered pioneers
飞向这个世界的地表
Will be dispatched to the surface
以建立一个新的人类文明。
In order to start a new human civilization.
但这仅仅是殖民计划的第一阶段
But this is just the first stage of a much bigger plan.
我们必须继续寻找更多的世界
We must continue to search out more worlds,
用更快的速度探索银河系的深处
Traveling ever deeper and faster into the milky way.
总有一天
One day, a cosmic event
地球会遭遇猛烈的宇宙事件
Is going to hit the earth so hard,
这将消灭地球上的所有人
It will wipe out every human on the planet.
如果我们要延续人类的命脉
If we're gonna live on indefinitely into the future,
人类一定要离开地球
Human beings are gonna have to leave planet earth.
我们唯一的希望是打造太空方舟
Our only hope is to build a space ark
带着我们到遥远星球的新世界
That will take us to new worlds around distant stars.
生命是脆弱的
Life is fragile,
这就是为什么我相信