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Cassini Survives First "Grand Finale" Dive

卡西尼號倖存於首次「最終任務」俯衝

· 每日跟讀單元 Daily English,國際時事跟讀Daily Shadowing

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is a survivor. Launched in 1997, Cassini has given us an amazing ride, becoming the only mission to enter orbit around Saturn and explore the planet, its rings, and its system of moons in amazing, never-before-seen detail.

美國航太總署(NASA)的卡西尼號太空船,是一個倖存者。自1997年發射以來,卡西尼號已帶給我們精彩的旅程,進入圍繞土星的軌道的唯一任務,探索這顆行星、土星環及其衛星系統令人驚豔且前所未見的細節。

Now, Cassini is astounding us once again, as it completed the first of 22 Grand Finale orbits this week, becoming the first mission to thread the gap between Saturn and the inner edge of its rings.

現在,卡西尼號再次令我們驚嘆,它在本週完成共22次「最終任務」軌道的第一次,成為史上首次穿過土星及(土星)環內緣間縫隙的任務。

"No spacecraft has ever seen Saturn this close before," says Earl Maize(NASA-JPL)in a recent press release. "We could only rely on predictions, based on our experience with Saturn’s other rings. I am delighted to report that Cassini shot through the gap just as we planned and has come out the other side in great shape."

「從來沒有太空船曾如此靠近土星」,艾爾梅茲(美國航太總署噴射推進實驗室)在最新發佈的新聞中表示。「我們只能依靠預測,以我們對於土星環的經驗為基礎。我很開心能報告卡西尼號穿過該縫隙,如同我們先前所計畫的,它以很好的狀態抵達(該縫隙的)另一邊」。

The first raw closeup images of Saturn are simply amazing. Here, we see the dark "eye" of the polar hexagon and churning convection cells of Saturn’s upper atmosphere.

第一張未加工過的土星影像令人驚嘆。在這裡,我們可以看到(土星)北極六邊形的黑色「眼睛」,以及土星上層大氣圈的環流圈擾動。

Source article: http://iservice.ltn.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=1098649&day=2017-05-01