Privately Developed Moon Lander Model Arrives at NASA for Testing
2020-08-31
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A full-size model of a privately-developed moon lander has arrived at the U.S. space agency NASA for examination and testing.
2The model, also known as a mock-up, stands more than 12 meters high.
3The design represents one of three lunar landers being developed for NASA by three different companies.
4The mock-up was recently sent to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
5Blue Origin, a Washington state-based space flight company, produced it.
6NASA announced earlier this year it had chosen three American businesses to develop, build and fly lunar landers for future missions to the moon.
7The other two companies are California's SpaceX and Dynetics of Alabama.
8SpaceX made history in May by launching two astronauts into space aboard a spacecraft the company built and operated for NASA.
9It was the first time astronauts had launched from American soil since the last space shuttle flight in 2011.
10Altogether, NASA has agreed to pay the three companies $967 million to design and develop human landing systems for its Artemis program.
11The goal of Artemis is to return astronauts to the moon in 2024, NASA officials have said.
12The space agency's next goal is to establish a long-term base on the moon by 2028.
13From there, NASA says it hopes to launch a series of space operations, including missions to Mars.
14Blue Origin's model is not a working version of the lander.
15But it does include full elements designed to give NASA engineers an up-close look at the landing system.
16One of the main goals of the mock-up operation will be to test how effectively the lunar lander can get crew, equipment and supplies on and off of the vehicle, Blue Origin said in a statement.
17It will also be a chance for astronauts to examine the equipment and provide their feedback on the design.
18Blue Origin formed a "National Team" with other companies to work on the lunar lander project.
19The team includes Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper.
20The system is based on three main parts: the Ascent Element, the Descent Element and the Transfer Element.
21Lockheed Martin is designing the Ascent Element, where the crew would be housed during moon missions.
22The Descent Element, developed by Blue Origin, would carry the astronauts to the surface of the moon.
23The Transfer Element, designed by Northrop Grumman, links up with the lander and would guide the crew through low lunar orbit in preparation for landing.
24Leaders of the National Team say they decided to create the three lander components to speed up the design and development process.
25This method permits the team to carry out independent development and testing of individual elements, without affecting the full system, Blue Origin said.
26Both the Ascent Element and the Descent Element were sent to NASA for examination and testing.
27Brent Sherwood is vice president of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin.
28"Testing this engineering mock-up for crew interaction is a step toward making this historic mission real," he said in a statement.
29He noted the importance of receiving NASA's expertise and feedback on Blue Origin's design as early as possible to help improve the overall development progress.
30"The learning we get from full-scale mock-ups can't be done any other way," Sherwood added.
31I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A full-size model of a privately-developed moon lander has arrived at the U.S. space agency NASA for examination and testing. 2The model, also known as a mock-up, stands more than 12 meters high. The design represents one of three lunar landers being developed for NASA by three different companies. 3The mock-up was recently sent to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Blue Origin, a Washington state-based space flight company, produced it. 4NASA announced earlier this year it had chosen three American businesses to develop, build and fly lunar landers for future missions to the moon. The other two companies are California's SpaceX and Dynetics of Alabama. 5SpaceX made history in May by launching two astronauts into space aboard a spacecraft the company built and operated for NASA. It was the first time astronauts had launched from American soil since the last space shuttle flight in 2011. 6Altogether, NASA has agreed to pay the three companies $967 million to design and develop human landing systems for its Artemis program. The goal of Artemis is to return astronauts to the moon in 2024, NASA officials have said. 7The space agency's next goal is to establish a long-term base on the moon by 2028. From there, NASA says it hopes to launch a series of space operations, including missions to Mars. 8Blue Origin's model is not a working version of the lander. But it does include full elements designed to give NASA engineers an up-close look at the landing system. 9One of the main goals of the mock-up operation will be to test how effectively the lunar lander can get crew, equipment and supplies on and off of the vehicle, Blue Origin said in a statement. It will also be a chance for astronauts to examine the equipment and provide their feedback on the design. 10Blue Origin formed a "National Team" with other companies to work on the lunar lander project. The team includes Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper. 11The system is based on three main parts: the Ascent Element, the Descent Element and the Transfer Element. 12Lockheed Martin is designing the Ascent Element, where the crew would be housed during moon missions. The Descent Element, developed by Blue Origin, would carry the astronauts to the surface of the moon. The Transfer Element, designed by Northrop Grumman, links up with the lander and would guide the crew through low lunar orbit in preparation for landing. 13Leaders of the National Team say they decided to create the three lander components to speed up the design and development process. This method permits the team to carry out independent development and testing of individual elements, without affecting the full system, Blue Origin said. 14Both the Ascent Element and the Descent Element were sent to NASA for examination and testing. 15Brent Sherwood is vice president of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin. "Testing this engineering mock-up for crew interaction is a step toward making this historic mission real," he said in a statement. 16He noted the importance of receiving NASA's expertise and feedback on Blue Origin's design as early as possible to help improve the overall development progress. "The learning we get from full-scale mock-ups can't be done any other way," Sherwood added. 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Blue Origin and NASA. Caty Weaver was the editor. 19We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 20________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22mission - n. an important task, usually involving travel somewhere 23feedback - n. helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to say what can be done to improve a performance or product 24component - n. one of the parts of something, especially a machine 25full-scale - adj. very large or serious and involving everything that is possible or expected