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Topic: In space, at sea: tips on isolation from the pros

With billions of people around the world suddenly adjusting to social distancing measures as part of the battle to slow the spread of COVID-19, some professionals who are used to confinement have some tips. From astronauts to submariners, here are some practical ways to boost your well-being and stave off cabin fever during those weeks stuck at home.

為減緩武漢肺炎的傳播,全世界有數十億人忽然得要適應政府的抗疫措施,以保持社交距離。對此,幾位習於禁足狀態的專業人士提供了一些訣竅。從太空人到潛水艇人員,以下是他們所提供的實用方法,可以讓你待在家這幾週的健康情況改善,並避免幽閉煩躁症。

‘Have a schedule’

Scott Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut, spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station. He told AFP that mindset was crucial. “People need to have the right expectation, we don’t know when this is gonna be over,” he said. “We could be in this for the long haul so your mindset needs to be: I’m living a similar thing to living in space for a year, I need to have a schedule, I need to get up at a regular time, to go to sleep at a regular time.” He also said exercise was key for both physical and mental well-being while confined. “You need to schedule time for exercise. If you cannot get out if you don’t have a garden, raise the window shade, open the window and stick your head outside, make that part of daily routine.”

「按表操課」

自美國太空總署退休的太空人史考特‧凱利,曾在國際太空站待了將近一年。他告訴法新社說,心態是至關重要的。他說:「我們不知道這情況何時會結束,人們必須有這正確的預期心理」。「我們可能會處於這種狀態很長的時間,因此你的心態應該是這樣:我現在就像是要在太空生活一年,我需要有作息時間表,需要定時起床、定時去睡覺」。他還說,禁足在家時,運動對於身體和心理的健康至關重要。「你需要安排運動的時間。如果你沒有花園、不能出去,那就拉起窗簾、打開窗戶,然後把頭伸到外面,把它排程為每日例行公事之一」。

Find your mission

For Vincent Larnaudie-Eiffel, a former commander of a nuclear submarine, working well in confinement means finding and investing in your own personal “mission.” Just like on board the sub, “stuck in our apartments, we all share a mission and that is to protect others, medical workers, and successfully navigate this ordeal.” He said it was important to establish a daily routine and stick to it. “You can’t give in... you need to do something with this suspended time.” For Larnaudie-Eiffel and his crewmates, this involved building models or growing plants under artificial light during their spare time. “It’s also important that everyone has their own space,” he told AFP. “In a submarine it might be a cramped bed-space. It’s the same in a cramped apartment.”

找到你的使命

對曾任核子潛艇司令官的凡松‧拉諾迪—艾菲爾來說,在居家隔離時把工作做好,意味找到你自己的「使命」並投入其中。如同在潛艇中一樣,「我們困在公寓裡,所有人都有著共同的使命,那就是保護別人、保護醫療人員,並成功度過這嚴酷的考驗」。他說,建立一套每日例行程序並堅持下去,是很重要的。「你不能屈服……你必須用這段停擺的時間來做點事情」。對於拉諾迪—艾菲爾及其潛艇組員來說,這包括在閒暇時組裝模型,或是利用人造光種植物。「每個人都有自己的空間也是很重要的」,他告訴法新社說。「在潛水艇中,此個人空間或許是個狹窄的床位。若是身處狹小的公寓,也是一樣的道理」。

‘Try new things’

Sailor Isabelle Autissier was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe alone. This involved a lot of time to herself. But she said she never felt lonely because “I chose to be alone.” For people stuck at home she recommends using the time “to try new things, reading, listening to different music, write your journal, take photos, start drawing.” Above all it’s important that people don’t look too far ahead. When she was at sea, facing an indeterminate amount of time alone “the first thing is not to count the days,” said Autissier. “You can’t constantly be thinking I’ll get there in three months, in a month, in 10 minutes.”

「嘗試新事物」

航海家伊莎貝‧歐提西耶是第一位獨自環繞地球航行的女性。要完成此舉,她必須孤身一人很長一段時間。但她說她從不覺得孤獨,因為「是我選擇了獨自一人」。對於那些困在家裡的人,她建議可以利用這段時間「嘗試新事物、閱讀、聽不同的音樂、寫日記、拍照、開始畫畫」。最重要的,是不要想得太遠。歐提西耶說,當她在海上時,面對不知將會持續多久的獨處時間,「第一件事就是不要去數日子」。「你不能一直去想說我會在三個月、一個月、十分鐘後抵達那裡」。

‘Morale dips are normal’

Cyprien Verseux, an astrobiologist at Germany’s University of Bremen, once spent over a year in a small pod with five other volunteers simulating conditions in a future mission to Mars. “It’s normal for your morale and productivity to dip,” he said. “That’s not a sign of weakness. Don’t add guilt to your problems.” When in confinement for the experiment, Verseux wasn’t allowed outside and was forbidden from communicating in real time with the outside world. “Even if we don’t all react the same to confinement we can adopt good practise that makes these periods more manageable,” he said.

He recommends choosing one or two activities and practising hard. “Also do your sport, light weights, do yoga, zumba... even if there’s a lack of space there are solutions to stay in shape,” he said.

「士氣低落是正常的」

德國不來梅大學的天體生物學家西普揚‧維索曾與五名志願者一起,在一個小艙裡待了一年多,模擬未來火星探索任務之情境。

他說:「你的士氣和生產力下降是正常的」。「這並不表示你軟弱。不要把罪惡感再加到你的問題上頭」。

維索參與這禁足的實驗時,不能到艙外,也被禁止與外界進行即時溝通。他說:「即便我們對被禁足的反應不同,我們也可以採用一些好的做法,來使這些時間更容易度過」。

他建議選擇一、兩項活動並努力練習。他說:「你也可以做運動、減肥、做瑜伽、跳森巴舞……即使空間不足,也可以找到解決辦法來維持身材」。

Stay in touch

In 2009, astronaut Frank de Winne became the first European to command the International Space Station. He said it was vital to maintain human contact, even if only electronically. “Means of communication are there, you have to make the effort and use them,” he said. The Belgian, now in quarantine on Earth, makes sure to video call his elderly mother at the same time each day. “That allows her to see me. It also creates a bit of structure for her because she knows that I’m going to call her,” he said.

保持聯繫

太空人法蘭克‧德溫勒在二○○九年成為指揮國際太空站的第一位歐洲人。他說,保持人與人之間的聯繫極為重要,即便只是透過電子的方式。「我們已經有了溝通的工具,你必須付諸行動來運用它」。比利時籍的他現正在地球上進行隔離,且每天一定會在同樣的時間跟年邁的母親視訊通話。他說:「這讓她可以看到我。這也給她一個時間框架,因為她知道我會在這時候打電話給她」。

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/03/31/2003733674

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Topic: NASA and Tide team up to do laundry in space

Tide is going to outer space. The Procter & Gamble brand is partnering with NASA to keep astronauts’ spacesuits fresh, even on Mars.

汰漬正在前往外太空。這個寶鹼公司的品牌正與美國航太總署合作,維持太空人太空服的乾淨,即便是在火星。

Company and NASA scientists have created a fully degradable detergent that will clean clothes without wasting water.

該公司與NASA科學家已經創造一款完全可自然分解的洗滌劑,不用浪費水就能潔淨衣物。

Over the next decade, they’ll be testing fabric care products, including Tide pens and wipes, at the International Space Station and on missions to the moon and Mars.

在未來10年中,他們將在國際太空站與登月、登火星的任務中,測試織物照護產品,包括汰漬的筆與濕紙巾。

The months or even years that astronauts spend away from Earth means that their spacesuits and clothes can become smelly and stained. Clothes have to be reworn several times before they are ejected with other waste into the atmosphere or sent back to Earth as trash. A crew member will receive 160 pounds of clothes per year through resupply shipments.

太空人離開地球數月,甚至數年的時間,意味著他們的太空服與衣物會變臭且染色。這些衣物與其他廢物被拋入大氣層或當成垃圾送回地球前,必須重複穿著許多次。1名組員每年將透過補給,拿到160磅重的衣物。

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Topic: Russia wants to return to Venus, build reusable rocket 俄羅斯希望重返金星,打造可重複使用的火箭

The head of Russia’s space agency said Friday that Roscosmos wants to return to Venus and bring back soil samples and build spacecraft that will surpass Elon Musk’s rockets.

俄羅斯太空機構負責人週五說,俄羅斯航太太空活動國有公司(Roscosmos)想重返金星 ,帶回土壤樣本,並打造超越(太空探索科技公司)創辦人穆斯克的火箭的太空船。

"We are making a methane rocket to replace the Soyuz-2," Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with state news agency RIA Novosti.

「我們正在打造一種甲烷火箭取代聯合2號火箭(Soyuz-2)」,俄羅斯航太總裁羅戈辛在接受國營「俄羅斯新聞社」訪問時說。

He said it will be a reusable space complex, noting that it will be possible to use its first stage at least 100 times.

他說,新火箭將是可以重複使用的太空綜合體,並強調第一節將有望重複使用至少100次。

"Of course we are looking at what our American colleagues are doing," said Rogozin. "But our engineers are trying to take a shortcut - not to repeat what our SpaceX colleagues are doing but surpass them."

「我們當然有在關注美國同業的進展」,羅戈辛說。「但我們的工程師正試圖抄近路—不是重複SpaceX在做的事,而是超越他們。」Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1457274; https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/paper/1395146

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Topic: Chinese rocket’s chaotic fall to Earth highlights problem of space junk

Remnants of China’s biggest rocket landed in the Indian Ocean on May 9, ending days of speculation over where the debris would hit and drawing US criticism over a lack of transparency.

中國最大火箭之殘骸已在五月九日墜落印度洋,讓數天來對殘骸究竟將撞擊何處的猜測告一段落,也引起美國對此事缺乏透明度的批評。

But the fiery fate of a booster rocket, wherever it comes down, speaks to the larger issue of space debris and space sustainability, especially as space becomes a target not just for national space programs but also increasingly the private sector. Under international treaty, private space actors, who are expected to put 45,000 satellites in low Earth orbit over the next several years, are under the legal responsibility of their host nations.

火箭推進器在熊熊烈焰中的宿命,無論它掉在哪裡,都觸及太空垃圾與太空永續性這更大的問題,尤其此時太空不僅成為國家太空計畫之標的,也愈趨成為私有公司之標的。在未來幾年中,經營太空業務的私有公司將把四萬五千顆衛星送入低空地球軌道,而根據國際條約規定,法律責任是由其東道國所承擔。

Add to that an estimated 9,300 tonnes of space junk that is already orbiting the planet and the probability of space collisions and debris pollution is an issue of concern.

此外,據估計,現已有九千三百噸太空垃圾在繞著地球轉,太空中的碰撞與垃圾污染問題令人關注。

Previously, a piece of paint the size of a fingernail struck the windscreen of a space shuttle, piercing two of three layers of glass.

此前,一塊指甲大小的油漆打到一艘太空船的擋風玻璃,刺穿了三層厚玻璃的其中兩層。

The fate of Long March 5B could refocus governments and international bodies on the issue of space sustainability, and that could provide more opportunity to firms like UK-based Astroscale that are preparing to tackle the debris problem with commercial junk-collecting services.

長征五號的命運可能使政府及國際組織重新關注太空的永續性問題,而可能給像英國的Astroscale這樣的公司帶來更多機會,這些公司正準備提供收集垃圾之商業化服務,以解決太空垃圾問題。

Astroscale is currently demonstrating a vehicle called “ELSA-d” in lower Earth orbit to show that space debris clean-up is indeed possible. It is a fiendishly difficult task, especially if the target satellite is spinning and tumbling. The test is using a satellite to capture a test drone with a magnet. In time, larger objects will require a robotic arm.

Astroscale正在地球較低軌道展示一種名為「ELSA-d」的運載工具,以證明清除太空垃圾的確可行。這是一項艱鉅的任務,尤其是目標衛星處於旋轉與翻滾的情況時。該測試透過衛星進行,以磁鐵來捕獲測試用無人機,最後也會需要用到機械臂來抓取較大的物體。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/05/17/2003757510