全民太空飞行，是梦想照进现实？

遨游无垠星际

探索浩瀚宇宙

是全人类千百年来的共同梦想

无数文学影视作品

层出不穷

在1902年的电影《月球旅行记》中

第一次展现了想象中探索外太空的景象

一对年轻的夫妇通过大炮被发射至月球

图源：电影《月球旅行记》

随后的几十年中，

这样的科幻作品比比皆是，

电影《目标月球》里

科学家们造出单级火箭样式的宇宙飞船

以求到达月球

图源：电影《目标星球》

《鲁宾逊太空历险》中，

还畅想过火星探测器的模样。

从影像中的大炮到现实的火箭

人类终于飞向了太空

从幻想到现实

一步步走来

1961年

苏联宇航员加加林成为

第一个飞向太空的宇航员；

1969年，

美国宇航员阿姆斯特朗在月球上迈出

“人类的一大步”

而在刚刚过去的2020年

我国的“天问一号”、“嫦娥五号”等

航天任务取得重大突破

也为我国航天事业的伟大蓝图

再添上浓墨重彩的一笔

看到这些成就，

也令不少人开始再次畅想：

普通人上太空的梦想

什么时候可以实现？

美国SpaceX航天公司

近日宣布了首个纯民用

太空任务计划。

该任务代号为 Inspiration 4，

计划使用龙飞船（Crew Dragon），

在今年第四季度

把四名乘客送入太空，

环绕地球表面飞行一圈.

图源：NBC新闻网视频

作为Space X CEO埃隆·马斯克

称自己两三年后就会进入太空。

他坚信2026年Space X能够送人上火星，

并且能够把前往火星的时间

从6个月缩短至1个月。

人类一步一个脚印的努力

把探索太空从

瑰丽的想象

变成了现实

《21世纪学生英文报·初三》寒假合刊

带你回顾星辰大海间，

人类走出科幻世界，

飞向太空

To the stars we will go

Humankind’s dream of traveling into space was first shown on film in 1902, when the French film Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon, 《月球旅行记》) was released (发行). In this film, a young couple is shot to the moon in a cannon (大炮). In the decades to come, many more films like Le Voyage would come out. In the 1950s and 1960s, for example, films like Destination Moon (《登陆月球》) and Robinson Crusoe on Mars (《鲁宾逊太空历险》) showed humans traveling into space. In Destination Moon, scientists travel to the moon aboard a single-stage (单级的) rocket-powered (以火箭为动力的) spacecraft － very similar to what we would later use to travel to the moon in real life. And in Robinson Crusoe on Mars, the film’s stars reach Mars aboard a probe (探测器) that is similar to the Mars probes we have now.

After these films came out, it wouldn’t be long until we would start exploring (探索) the stars for real. In 1961, Russian cosmonaut (宇航员) Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. He traveled aboard the Vostok 3KA, a simple spacecraft that was little more than a tin can (金属罐) floating in space. But it worked － and just eight years later, the US would put a man on the moon for the first time.

Spaceflight has developed quickly in the years since. For example, scientists living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are able to stay in space for months at a time. They spend most of their days doing experiments, taking care of the station, and exercising. The probes, rockets and shuttles (航天飞机) that we use these days are stronger and faster than the ones we used in earlier space missions (任务). New advances that make spaceflight cheaper and safer are being made all the time.

What does the future hold?

The greatest challenges in space exploration are the distance (距离) we can travel and the amount of time we can spend in space. Things like faster than light (FTL) travel and taking “shortcuts” in space by traveling through black holes are common in sci-fi films.

Our current (现在的) knowledge of physics says these things are impossible. But advances are still being made. John Brophy, a NASA flight engineer, is developing a new type of rocket engine that would allow us to travel 10 times farther than we currently can. Other technologies such as 3D printing will allow astronauts to spend more time in space by simply printing the supplies (日常物资) they need.