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周四，中國成功地發(fā)射了一個無人駕駛火星探測器，這是中國首次獨立執(zhí)行火星探測任務(wù)，此舉旨在爭奪太空領(lǐng)域的全球領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位，并展示中國的技術(shù)實力和雄心。

China's largest carrier rocket, the Long March 5 Y-4, blasted off with the probe at 12:41 p.m. (0441 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan.

中國最大的運載火箭，長征五號運四號，于中午12:41(格林尼治標(biāo)準(zhǔn)時間04:41)從 Wenchang Space Launch Centre 發(fā)射升空。

The probe is expected to reach Mars in February where it will attempt to deploy a rover to explore the planet for 90 days.

該探測器預(yù)計在2月（2021年）份到達(dá)火星，它將在那里嘗試部署一個漫游者去探索這個星球，為期90天。

If successful, the Tianwen-1, or "Questions to Heaven", which is the name of a poem written two millennia ago, will make China the first country to orbit, land and deploy a rover in its inaugural mission.

“天文一號”是兩千年前一首詩的名字，如果成功的話，它將使中國成為第一個進(jìn)行軌道、著陸和部署探測器的國家。

There will be challenges ahead as the craft nears Mars, Liu Tongjie, spokesman for the mission, told reporters ahead of the launch.

隨著飛船接近火星，前方將會面臨挑戰(zhàn)，（中國相關(guān)發(fā)言人）劉通杰在發(fā)射前告訴記者。

"When arriving in the vicinity of Mars, it is very critical to decelerate," he said.

“當(dāng)?shù)竭_(dá)火星附近時，減速是非常關(guān)鍵的，”他說。

"If the deceleration process is not right, or if flight precision is not sufficient, the probe would not be captured by Mars," he said, referring to gravity on Mars taking the craft down to the surface.

“如果減速過程不正確，或者飛行精度不夠，探測器就不會被火星捕獲，”他指的是火星上的重力將飛船帶到火星表面。

Liu said the probe would orbit Mars for about two and a half months and look for an opportunity to enter its atmosphere and make a soft landing.

探測器將在火星軌道上運行約兩個半月，尋找機(jī)會進(jìn)入大氣層并軟著陸。

"Entering, deceleration and landing (EDL) is a very difficult (process). We believe China's EDL process can still be successful, and the spacecraft can land safely," Liu said.

“進(jìn)入、減速和著陸(EDL)是一個非常困難的過程。我們相信中國的 EDL 進(jìn)程仍然能夠成功，而且航天器能夠安全著陸。

China's probe will carry several scientific instruments to observe the planet's atmosphere and surface, searching for signs of water and ice.

中國的這個探測器攜帶著多臺科學(xué)儀器觀測火星的大氣層和表面，尋找水和冰的跡象。

The Tianwen-1 orbiter will be equipped with a high-resolution camera comparable to HiRise on board NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It also carries a medium-resolution camera, subsurface radar, mineralogy spectrometer, neutral and energetic particle analyzers and a magnetometer. The orbiter will also play a relay role for the mission rover.

天文1號軌道器會配備一個高分辨率相機(jī)，可與美國宇航局火星勘測軌道飛行器上的 HiRise 相媲美。它還攜帶了一個中分辨率照相機(jī)、地下雷達(dá)、礦物質(zhì)譜儀、中性和高能粒子分析儀和一個磁力儀。軌道飛行器還將扮演任務(wù)漫游者的中繼角色。

The roughly 240-kilogram solar-powered rover is nearly twice the mass of China’s Yutu lunar rovers. It will carry a ground-penetrating radar, multispectral camera, a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy instrument and payloads for detecting the climate and magnetic environment. The rover has a mission design lifetime of three Earth months.

這個大約240公斤重的太陽能車幾乎是中國玉兔月球車質(zhì)量的兩倍。它會攜帶一臺透地雷達(dá)、多光譜相機(jī)、一臺激光誘導(dǎo)擊穿光譜儀以及用于探測氣候和磁場環(huán)境的有效載荷。探測器的任務(wù)設(shè)計壽命為3個地球月。

中國火星探索計劃前期失敗的經(jīng)驗：

China previously made a Mars bid in 2011 with Russia, but the Russian spacecraft carrying the probe failed to exit the Earth's orbit and disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean.

中國曾在2011年與俄羅斯一起申請火星探測器，但是俄羅斯攜帶的探測器未能脫離地球軌道，在太平洋上空解體。

火星探索現(xiàn)狀2020年：

Eight spacecraft - American, European and Indian - are either orbiting Mars or on its surface with other missions underway or planned.

（截止2020年）已經(jīng)有八個航天器——美國、歐洲和印度——它們要么在繞火星軌道運行，要么在火星表面，正在執(zhí)行或計劃執(zhí)行其他任務(wù)。

The United Arab Emirates launched a mission to Mars on Monday, an orbiter that will study the planet's atmosphere.

周一，阿拉伯聯(lián)合酋長國（借用了日本的航天技術(shù)）發(fā)射了一枚火星探測器，該探測器將研究火星大氣層。

The United States has plans to send a probe in coming months that will deploy a rover called Perseverance, the biggest, heaviest, most advanced vehicle sent to the Red Planet by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

美國計劃在未來幾個月（2020年）發(fā)射一個探測器，名為“毅力號”，這是美國國家航空航天局(NASA)發(fā)送到火星的最大、最重、最先進(jìn)的探測器。

中國火星探索計劃“天問號”的命名與寓意：

《天問》是中國戰(zhàn)國時期詩人屈原創(chuàng)作的一首長詩。此詩從天地離分、陰陽變化、日月星辰等自然現(xiàn)象，一直問到神話傳說乃至圣賢兇頑和治亂興衰等歷史故事，表現(xiàn)了作者對某些傳統(tǒng)觀念的大膽懷疑，以及追求真理的探索精神。語言別具一格，句式以四言為主，不用語尾助詞，四句一節(jié)，每節(jié)一韻，節(jié)奏音韻自然協(xié)調(diào)。全詩通篇是對天地、自然和人世等一切事物現(xiàn)象的發(fā)問，內(nèi)容奇絕，顯示出作者沉潛多思、思想活躍、想象豐富的個性，表現(xiàn)出超卓非凡的學(xué)識和驚人的藝術(shù)才華，被譽(yù)為是“千古萬古至奇之作”。