蚂蚁+牛油果+机械臂上太空

A SpaceX shipment of ants, avocados and a human-sized robotic arm rocketed toward the International Space Station on Sunday.

周日，太空探测技术公司的一架飞船搭载了蚂蚁、牛油果和一个人类大小的机械臂，被火箭送往了国际空间站。

The delivery — due to arrive Monday — is the company’s 23rd for NASA in just under a decade.

这是该公司近十年来向美国宇航局交付的第23艘飞船，预计将于周一抵达。

A recycled Falcon rocket blasted into the predawn sky from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

黎明前，一枚回收再利用的猎鹰火箭从美国宇航局肯尼迪航天中心发射升空。

After hoisting the Dragon capsule, the first-stage booster landed upright on SpaceX’s newest ocean platform, named “A Shortfall of Gravitas.”

在完成带动“龙”号太空舱任务后，第一级助推器垂直降落在太空探测技术公司最新的海洋平台上，该平台名为“重力缺失区”。

SpaceX founder Elon Musk continued his tradition of naming the booster-recovery vessels in tribute to the late science fiction writer Iain Banks and his Culture series.

太空探测技术公司创始人埃隆·马斯克延续了为助推器回收船命名的传统，以纪念已故科幻作家伊恩·班克斯和他的《文化》系列作品。

The Dragon is carrying more than 4,800 pounds (2,170 kilograms) of supplies and experiments, and fresh food including avocados, lemons and even ice cream for the space station’s seven astronauts.

“龙”号运载了超过4800磅(2170公斤)的物资和实验用品，以及新鲜食品，包括鳄梨、柠檬，甚至为空间站的7名宇航员准备的冰淇淋。

The Girl Scouts are sending up ants, brine shrimp and plants as test subjects, while University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are flying up seeds from mouse-ear cress, a small flowering weed used in genetic research.

这次“女童子军号”将把蚂蚁、盐水虾和植物作为测试对象送上太空，而威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的科学家们则把拟南芥(一种用于基因研究的小型开花杂草)的种子一同送了上去。

Samples of concrete, solar cells and other materials also will be subjected to weightlessness.

混凝土、太阳能电池和其他材料的样品也将接受失重实验测试。

A Japanese start-up company’s experimental robotic arm, meanwhile, will attempt to screw items together in its orbital debut and perform other mundane chores normally done by astronauts.

与此同时，日本一家初创公司的实验性机械臂将尝试在其轨道首次亮相时将物品组装在一起，并完成其他通常由宇航员做的日常琐事。

The first tests will be done inside the space station.

第一批测试将在空间站内部完成。

Future models of Gitai Inc.'s robot will venture out into the vacuum of space to practice satellite and other repair jobs, said chief technology officer Toyotaka Kozuki.

Gitai公司的首席技术官丰隆上月说，该公司未来的机器人模型将冒险进入太空，进行卫星测试和其他维修工作。

As early as 2025, a squad of these arms could help build lunar bases and mine the moon for precious resources, he added.

他补充说，最早在2025年，这些机械臂就可以用于帮助建立月球基地，开采月球上的宝贵资源。

SpaceX had to leave some experiments behind because of delays resulting from COVID-19.

由于新冠疫情造成的延误，太空探测技术公司不得不放弃一些实验。

It was the second launch attempt; Saturday’s try was foiled by stormy weather.

这次发射是第二次发射尝试了;星期六的首次尝试因暴风雨天气而失败。

NASA turned to SpaceX and other U.S. companies to deliver cargo and crews to the space station, once the space shuttle program ended in 2011.

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2011年航天飞机项目结束后，美国宇航局就开始求助于太空探测技术公司和其他美国公司向空间站运送货物和机组人员。