VOA慢速：美国航天局计划开发月球资源
US Space Agency Aims to Develop Moon Resources
刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
A NASA scientist recently told a mining conference in Brisbane, Australia, that the U.S. space agency aims to develop resources on the moon.
Gerald Sanders has been a rocket scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre for 35 years. He said that the first resources NASA wants to develop are oxygen and water. Later, he said, the space agency may try to mine iron and rare earth metals.
NASA is taking steps to be able to dig into the moon’s soil in 2032.
The U.S. space agency plans to return Americans to the moon as part of its Artemis mission. The goal is to learn from the mission and plan for explorations deeper into space.
An important part of the Artemis mission is advancing commercial use of space. The agency plans to measure possible resources, including energy, water and lunar soil, to gain outside investment, Sanders said.
He added that developing resources on the moon will be important to cutting costs and creating a circular economy. A circular economy is a system that is based on reuse of materials or products.
“We are trying to invest in the exploration phase, understand the resources to lower risk such that external investment makes sense that could lead to development and production,” Sanders told the mining conference.
“We are just scratching the surface,” he said.
NASA plans to send a test drilling device to the moon soon and plans a larger digging project for moon soil, sometimes called regolith, and a testing processing system in 2032.
The first customers are expected to be commercial rocket companies that could use the moon’s resources for fuel or oxygen.
The Australian Space Agency is involved in developing a device that will take regolith samples on a NASA mission as early as 2026, said Samuel Webster. He is an assistant director at that agency.
The rover will demonstrate the collection of lunar soil that contains oxygen in the form of oxides.
Using separate equipment sent to the moon with the rover, NASA will aim to extract that oxygen, Webster said.
He added that finding resources on the moon was an important step towards establishing a lasting “human presence on the moon, as well as supporting future missions to Mars.”
I’m Ashley Thompson.
VOCABULARY
1. regolith n. 风化层，土被；浮土
2. rover n.（行星等的）探测器
QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
1. What are the first resources that NASA wants to develop on the moon according to Gerald Sanders?
A) Oxygen and water.
B) Iron and rare earth metals.
C) Energy and lunar soil.
D) Fuel for commercial rockets.
2. What is one of the primary goals of Artemis Mission as stated in the passage?
A) Mining gold from the moon.
B) Establishing a human colony by 2030.
C) Advancing commercial use of space.
D) Finding extraterrestrial life on the moon.
3. What major operation does NASA plan to undertake in 2032, according to the passage?
A) Sending humans back to the moon.
B) Digging into the moon’s soil.
C) Establishing a permanent base on the moon.
D) Landing a probe on Mars.
4. Who are expected to be the first customers for the moon’s mined resources?
A) Australian Space Agency.
B) Commercial rocket companies.
C) Universities around the world.
D) Private individuals.
5. Why is finding resources on the moon an important step, according to Samuel Webster?
A) It would help establish a lasting human presence on the moon and support future missions to Mars.
B) It can lead to significant scientific breakthroughs.
C) It will help combat resource scarcity on Earth.
D) It would attract more private investment in the space sector.
KEY
1. What are the first resources that NASA wants to develop on the moon according to Gerald Sanders?
A) Oxygen and water.
B) Iron and rare earth metals.
C) Energy and lunar soil.
D) Fuel for commercial rockets.
【答案】A
【解析】细节题。命题出处在第二段中的“He said that the first resources NASA wants to develop are oxygen and water.” 根据这句话，我们知道NASA想要首先在月球开发的资源是氧气和水。
2. What is one of the primary goals of Artemis Mission as stated in the passage?
A) Mining gold from the moon.
B) Establishing a human colony by 2030.
C) Advancing commercial use of space.
D) Finding extraterrestrial life on the moon.
【答案】C
【解析】细节题。命题出处在第五段中的“An important part of the Artemis mission is advancing commercial use of space.” 根据这句话，我们知道阿特米斯任务的一个主要目标是推进空间的商业用途。
3. What major operation does NASA plan to undertake in 2032, according to the passage?
A) Sending humans back to the moon.
B) Digging into the moon’s soil.
C) Establishing a permanent base on the moon.
D) Landing a probe on Mars.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。命题出处在第三段的“NASA is taking steps to be able to dig into the moon’s soil in 2032.”根据这句话，我们知道NASA计划在2032年挖掘月球土壤。
4. Who are expected to be the first customers for the moon’s mined resources?
A) Australian Space Agency.
B) Commercial rocket companies.
C) Universities around the world.
D) Private individuals.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。命题出处在第十段的“The first customers are expected to be commercial rocket companies that could use the moon’s resources for fuel or oxygen.”根据这句话，我们知道预期的第一批客户将是可以利用月球资源进行燃料或氧气生产的商业火箭公司。
5. Why is finding resources on the moon an important step, according to Samuel Webster?
A) It would help establish a lasting human presence on the moon and support future missions to Mars.
B) It can lead to significant scientific breakthroughs.
C) It will help combat resource scarcity on Earth.
D) It would attract more private investment in the space sector.
【答案】A
【解析】细节题。命题出处在最后一段的“He added that finding resources on the moon was an important step towards establishing a lasting ‘human presence on the moon, as well as supporting future missions to Mars.’”根据这句话，我们知道找到月球上的资源是一个重要的步骤，它有助于在月球建立持久的人类存在，并支持未来的火星任务。
（封面图片来源于摄图网，版权归摄图网所有）