奥巴马发声:2030年前送人类上火星并安然无恙返回地球

One of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandfathers shoulders, waving a flag as our astronauts returned to Hawaii. 我最先的回想之一，就是我躺在祖父的肩头上，手持着小旗子，庆贺宇航员们回到夏威夷。This was years before wed set foot on the moon. Decades before wed land a rover on Mars. A generation before photos from the International Space Station would show up in our social media feeds.在那之后，又过了几年，我们才顺利登月；又过了几十年，我们才向火星上升空了一台登陆器；又过了一代人的时间，国际空间站摄制的照片才以求经常出现在社交媒体上。

I still have the same sense of wonder about our space program that I did as a child. 而时至今日，我对太空项目的惊讶之心仍与童年时异于。It represents an essential part of our character -- curiosity and exploration, innovation and ingenuity, pushing the boundaries of whats possible and doing it before anybody else. 它代表了人类性格中至关重要的一部分——好奇心和探寻精神，创意精神和精妙的技艺，大大挑战可能性的无限大，并争先恐后地去构建它。The space race we won not only contributed immeasurably important technological and medical advances, but it also inspired a new generation of scientists and engineers with the right stuff to keep America on the cutting edge.我们夺得了这场太空竞赛，不仅对科技和医学的变革作出了巨大贡献，还鼓舞了新一代的科学家和工程师，让美国一直回头在时代前茅。

Thats one of the reasons why, in my first address as President to the American people, I vowed to return science to its rightful place. 因此，在我首次以总统身份向美国人民公开发表致词时，我曾誓言说道，要让科学充分发挥其理应的起到。In our first few months, my administration made the largest single investment in basic research in our history, and I went to the Kennedy Space Center to call for reimagining and reinvigorating our space program to explore more of our solar system and look deeper into the universe than ever.在我任期的头几个月中，我们作出了迄今为止在基础研究上得出的仅次于一笔单项投资，我还回到了肯尼迪航天中心，敦促大家一起使太空项目新的绽放生机，更进一步探寻我们的太阳系，并更为了解地研究宇宙。In the years since, weve revitalized technology innovation at NASA, extended the life of the International Space Station, and helped American companies create private-sector jobs by capitalizing on the untapped potential of the space industry.在那之后的几年间，我们挽回了NASA的科技创新精神，缩短了国际空间站的工作寿命，并向未研发领域的太空企业投资，协助美国私营企业建构出有了更加多的工作机会。

Last year alone, NASA discovered flowing water on Mars and evidence of ice on one of Jupiters moons, and we mapped Pluto -- more than 3 billion miles away -- in high-resolution. 意味着在去年一年当中，NASA就构建了几大伟业：在火星上找到了液态水、在木星其中一颗卫星上找到了冰的迹象、送给距地球30亿英里（约合48亿公里）之遥的冥王星摄制了高分辨率照片。Our space telescopes revealed additional Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars, and were pursuing new missions to interact with asteroids, which will help us learn how to protect the Earth from the threat of colliding with one while also teaching us about the origins of life on Earth. 我们的太空望远镜顺利寻找了一些环绕着很远的星球运转的类地行星，我们还积极开展了一些与小行星有关的新任务，这将协助我们更佳地理解该如何维护地球、免受小行星撞击的威胁，其中一项研究还让我们对地球上的生命起源有了更佳的理解。Weve flown by every planet in the solar system -- something no other nation can say. 我们早已卡西尼号了太阳系中的每一颗行星，别的国家都未曾做过这一点。And we continue to drive down the cost of space exploration for taxpayers.此外，我们还在大大减少太空探寻的成本，减低纳税人的开销。

This week, well convene some of Americas leading scientists, engineers, innovators and students in Pittsburgh to dream up ways to build on our progress and find the next frontiers. 本周，我们将在匹兹堡开会一些美国顶尖的科学家、工程师、创意人士和学生，一起设想我们该如何之后变革下去，并寻找下一个挑战的目标。Just five years ago, US companies were shut out of the global commercial launch market. 意味着五年以前，在全球商业火箭升空市场上，美国企业还被人拒之门外。

Today, thanks to groundwork laid by the men and women of NASA, they own more than a third of it. 而如今，多谢NASA工作人员的兢兢业业，我们早已攻占了全球市场的三分之一。More than 1,000 companies across nearly all 50 states are working on private space initiatives.在全美将近50个州里，早已有多达1000家企业正在积极开展私人太空探寻工作。We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of Americas story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time. 为了盖住美国太空探寻的新篇章，我们早已成立了一个明晰的目标：在本世纪30年代之前，把人类送来上火星，然后再行让他们安然无恙地回到地球；同时还要抱着有更大的雄心壮志，有朝一日让宇航员在火星上逗留更加长时间。Getting to Mars will require continued cooperation between government and private innovators, and were already well on our way. 要想要构建火星之旅，政府和私营创意企业之间必须进行更进一步合作，而我们早已在这方面著手希望了。

Within the next two years, private companies will for the first time send astronauts to the International Space Station.在接下来两年内，私营企业将首次把宇航员送来上国际空间站。The next step is to reach beyond the bounds of Earths orbit. 而下一步乃是飞出有地球的轨道。Im excited to announce that we are working with our commercial partners to build new habitats that can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration missions in deep space. 我在此怀著兴奋的心情宣告，我们正在与商业领域的合作伙伴合力，联合打造出新的太空居所，可供宇航员在深空中继续执行长年任务时保持生活和展开运输。

These missions will teach us how humans can live far from Earth -- something well need for the long journey to Mars.这些任务可以协助我们理解，人类能在距离地球多近的地方生活——如果我们要积极开展前往火星的长途旅行，这些信息都是我们必须去理解的。The reporter who covered the moon landing for The New York Times, John Noble Wilford, later wrote that Mars tugs at our imagination with a force mightier than gravity. Getting there will take a giant leap. 为《纽约时报》编写了登月报告的记者约翰诺伯威尔福德后来写到，火星对我们的吸引力比地心引力还大。如果能抵达火星，那将是一次极大的进步。

But the first, small steps happen when our students -- the Mars generation -- walk into their classrooms each day. 但在此之前，我们必须一步步地来。我们的学生每次迈向教室、自学科学知识，都是一次微小的变革，他们是火星一代。Scientific discovery doesnt happen with the flip of a switch; it takes years of testing, patience and a national commitment to education.科学找到得来不易，它必须经历长年累月的测试和冷静、还必须整个国家对教育的推崇。President Eisenhower knew this: In 1958, he devoted great resources to science and math education around the same time he created NASA. 艾森豪威尔总统就确切地认识到了这一点。

1958年，差不多就在他创办NASA的那段时间，他还向科学和数学教育领域投放了大量资源。And its why Im proud that weve passed important milestones in STEM education. 于是以因为如此，我才因为我们在STEM教育（即科学、技术、工程、数学）中获得的成就而自豪。For the first time, more than 100,000 engineers are graduating from American schools every year, and were on track to accomplish my goal of training 100,000 excellent new STEM teachers in a decade.有史以来第一次，每年都有10万名工程师从美国的学校中毕业，而我们也正在构建我原作的、在十年内训练出有10万名卓越的STEM教师这一目标。

When our Apollo astronauts looked back from space, they realized that while their mission was to explore the moon, they had in fact discovered the Earth. If we make our leadership in space even stronger in this century than it was in the last, we wont just benefit from related advances in energy, medicine, agriculture and artificial intelligence, well benefit from a better understanding of our environment and ourselves.当阿波罗号上的宇航员在太空中回首地球时，他们意识到，虽然他们的任务是探寻月球，但他们实质上也找到了地球。如果我们本世纪能更进一步奠定太空探寻在这个国家的领先地位，我们不仅能从涉及领域、如能源、医学、农业和人工智能中大大获益，还能更佳地解读我们的环境、以及我们自身，并借此获益无穷。Someday, I hope to hoist my own grandchildren onto my shoulders. 有朝一日，我期望也能让自己的孙辈躺在我的肩头上。Well still look to the stars in wonder, as humans have since the beginning of time. 我们仍不会满怀奇怪地看著夜空中的繁星，就像人类自古以来做到的那样。

But instead of eagerly awaiting the return of our intrepid explorers, well know that because of the choices we make now, theyve gone to space not just to visit, but to stay -- and in doing so, to make our lives better here on Earth.但到那时，我们将不是等候勇气的探险者从太空中回来，因为我们告诉，由于我们现在所做到的要求，他们前往太空并不是展开短期造访，而是长年地逗留——并通过这种作法，让地球上的生活更为幸福。

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