葉培建委員:中國探測器有望2021年到達火星!
China is planning to launch a Mars probe in the year 2020 to carry out an independent exploration of the Red Planet after a joint mission with Russia failed in 2011, said Ye Peijian, a top space scientist and national political adviser.
近日，全國政協委員、頂級空間科學家葉培建透露，在2011年與俄羅斯的聯合任務失敗之後，我國計劃於2020年發射火星探測器，對火星開展獨立探索。The probe is expected to reach Mars in 2021 after a flight of seven to ten months, he said on Friday during the annual session of the national political advisory body in Beijing. "Consensus has been reached among policymakers and leading scientists," he said.
該探測器預計將飛行7-10個月，於2021年到達火星。葉培建委員是在上週五全國政協會議期間透露這一消息的。他說：“政策制定者和科學家之間已經達成了共識。”
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the main contractor of China's space missions, said on Friday that the Mars exploration is among the 10 major orders that Long March 5, the country's next-generation heavy lift rocket, has received so far.
作爲中國太空任務的主要承辦公司，中國航天科技集團公司上週五表示，探索火星是我國新一代重型火箭長征五號已經接受的10大訂單中的一個。
Other orders include the Chang'e-5 lunar probe mission that is expected to bring back soil from the moon around 2017, and the much-anticipated space station's core module that will be launched around 2020.
其他訂單還包括嫦娥五號的探月任務，該任務被寄希望於2017年從月球帶回泥土。此外還有2020年左右發射的備受期待的空間站核心艙等。The size and structure of the Mars probe will be similar to Chang'e-3, China's first lunar lander that was launched in 2013, though there are many differences, he said.
葉培建還透露，儘管有許多不同之處，但是我國火星探測器的大小和結構，與我國於2013年發射的第一個月球着陸器嫦娥三號相似。At present, scientists have started making technological preparations for communications, possible landing on the Mars, and how to deal with the planet's extreme environment, he said.
葉培建表示，目前，科學家們已經開始對包括通訊、着陸的可能性以及火星極端環境的處理進行着各項技術準備。"There are many challenges in front of us ... but I think it is likely we will send the probe to Mars given our all-out efforts, the know-how we gained from past missions and everybody's support," he said.
他說：“我們面臨着許多挑戰，但是我想，通過過去的發射經驗以及每個人的努力，我們一定會竭盡所能地將探測器發射到火星上去的。”
