了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）
How the Universe Works S09E02
Part 1
March 16, 2022, 8:54 a.m.
彗星……太阳系
Comets... messengers from
诞生之初的信使
the dawn of the solar system.
我们第一次发射一艘宇宙飞船，进入其中一个
For the first time,
we sent a spacecraft
彗星的轨道并着陆
to orbit and land on one.
奥卢塞伊:进入太阳系内部
OLUSEYI: To go outside of
the inner solar system
捕捉一颗加速的彗星
and catch a speeding comet
然后发射着陆器在其表面着陆……
and then send a lander down
to land on its surface...
那简直是疯了
That is nuts.
“罗塞塔”任务回答了
The Rosetta mission answers
我们最基本的问题
our most fundamental questions.
萨特:“罗塞塔”真的是在实时地告诉我们
SUTTER:
Rosetta is really teaching us
彗星是如何运行的
how comets live in real time.
这改变了游戏规则
This is a game changer.
“罗塞塔”永远改变了
Rosetta changes
our understanding
我们对宇宙的理解
of the cosmos forever.
生命本身的秘密可能就在67P彗星上
The secrets of life itself may
be wrapped up on Comet 67P.
♪♪
[电的嗡嗡声]
[electricity buzzing]
宇宙是如何运行的
第九季第2集 彗星任务
在距离太阳5.3亿英里（约8.5亿公里）的地方
530 million miles from the sun,
一小块冰和岩石开始了
a tiny lump of ice and rock
它通往太阳系内部的旅程
starts its journey towards
the inner solar system.
塞勒:从科学角度上讲，彗星
THALLER: Scientifically,
comets are more precious
比纯金更珍贵……它们是真正的时空胶囊
than pure gold...
They're actual time capsules.
它们保存了我们太阳系形成时的
They're preservations of what
the chemistry, the environment
化学物质和环境
was like when
our solar system formed,
它们还保存了组成我们的化学物质
and they hold clues as to how
our chemistry arrived
如何到达地球的线索……
here on Earth...
Comets are some of
彗星是现存最有价值的科学宝藏之一
the most valuable scientific
treasures that exist.
找到一颗我们可以研究的彗星并非易事
Finding a comet we can
study is not an easy task.
为了任务找到合适的彗星……
Finding the right comet
for a mission...
这有点像你在给他们试镜，对吧？
It's kind of like you're
auditioning them, right?
一颗彗星进来了，它有点像，哦，另一个轨道OK
One comes in, and it's like,
oh, the other orbit's okay,
但这不是我们想要的
but it's not exactly
what we're looking for.
哦，这个太大了
And, oh, this one is too big.
这个太小了 这个太活跃了
This one's too little.
This one's too active.
沃尔什:我们真正想看到的是
WALSH: What we really want to
see is that comet come from
那颗来自太阳系的外层部分的彗星
outer parts of the solar
system and get heated up as it
它们接近太阳时加热
gets close to the sun,
接着绕过太阳，然后掉头回到
pass around the sun and head
back out to the outer part of
外太阳系，所以你需要在太阳系中找到
the solar system, so you need
to get way out in
一条轨道，并在彗星进入的路上抓住它
the solar system and catch
a comet on its way in.
彗星67P正好符合这个要求
Comet 67P fits the bill.
67P彗星的特别之处
The special thing
about Comet 67P
在于它在地球上的可访问性
is how accessible
it is here on Earth.
它实际上每6.5年绕太阳公转一圈
It actually orbits around
the sun once every 6.5 years,
它的公转轨道并没有让它离太阳很远
and its orbit doesn't
take it all that far out,
只到离木星这么远的地方
only about this far out of
the planet Jupiter.
这给了我们很多机会
That gives us many chances
to actually
真正到达彗星并成功与它会合
reach the comet and successfully
rendezvous with it.
[播音员语♥音♥不清楚]
[announcer
speaking indistinctly]
67P成为公众焦点的时刻到了
67P's moment in
the spotlight arrived.
[播音员语♥音♥不清楚]
[announcer
speaking indistinctly]
欧洲航♥天♥局发射了具有开创性的探测器
The European Space Agency
launched the groundbreaking
“罗塞塔”号♥
Rosetta probe.
普里特:多年来，我们一直在研究来自远方的彗星
PLAIT: For years,
we've studied comets from afar.
我们从未用尖端技术
We had never seen one up close
近距离观察过彗星
with cutting-edge technology to
以了解它们围绕太阳运行时的行为
learn about how comets behave
as they orbit the sun.
针对大型行星大小的天体的任务就已经是很困难了
Missions to large,
planet-sized objects are hard.
哈勃太空望远镜拍摄的模糊图像显示
The Hubble space telescope's
blurry images revealed
“罗塞塔”的目标只有两英里（约3.2公里）宽
Rosetta's target
is just two miles wide,
并且不只是一个小目标，而且是一个移♥动♥的目标
and not just a small target,
a moving one.
67P彗星以每小时33000英里（约53100公里）的速度
Comet 67P
races through the solar system
穿越太阳系
at over 33,000 miles an hour.
其中的精确度令人难以置信
The precision involved is
pretty incredible.
就像从纽约把高尔夫球
It's like making
that hole-in-one
打到旧金山并且一杆进洞一样
golf shot from New York
to San Francisco.
但捕捉67P彗星并不是一次简单的发射
But catching Comet 67P
wasn't just a straight shot.
航♥天♥器的速度必须与彗星♥相♥同
The spacecraft had to actually
get the same velocity
而目前的推进系统
as the comet, and with current
propulsion systems,
我们无法通过直接飞向彗星来实现这一目标
we can't achieve that by
flying directly to the comet.
相反，“罗塞塔”进行了一次
Instead,
Rosetta performed a slingshot
弹弓式运行，耗时10年
maneuver that would take
10 years.
谢里丹:所以它实际上所做的是
SHERIDAN: So what it's doing,
it's actually taking
从行星带走了一些能量
some energy
away from the planet,
所以它让行星慢下来一点
so it's slowing the planet
down a little bit and then
然后把这些能量传递给探测器
imparting that energy
into the probe.
“罗塞塔”飞过木星
Rosetta flew past Jupiter
距离温暖的太阳将近1亿英里（约1.6亿公里）
nearly 100 million miles
from the warmth of
进入了旅程中最危险的部分——
the sun and entered the most
dangerous part of its journey,
体眠
hibernation.
拉德堡:尽管“罗塞塔”上安装了太阳能电池板
RADEBAUGH: Even though Rosetta
had solar panels on it,
但它仍然必须体眠,原因是
it still had to be put to sleep,
and the reason for that
它必须在67P飞向太阳的时候去追踪它
is that it had to track 67P
a ways away from the sun,
而且也没有足够的面♥积♥
and there just was not enough
collection area
来收集太阳能为仪器供电
and solar power to be able
to power the instruments.
谢里丹:让宇宙飞船进入体眠状态是正常操作
SHERIDAN: It's normal to put
spacecraft into hibernation,
但你内心深处担心的是
but the worrying thing at
the back of your mind is that it
这是以前从来没有做过的
had never been done
for this long before.
31个月的体眠让“罗塞塔”的团队
31 months of hibernation
gave Rosetta's team plenty
有足够的时间来担心可能出现的问题
of time to worry about
what could go wrong.
沃尔什:太空里又黑又冷
WALSH: It's dark and cold
out there in space.
有很多事情在发生
There's a lot
of things going on.
太空中有很多微小的陨石
There's a lot of little
micro-meteorites out there,
了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）
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