印度科技水平突飛猛進 專注於推進火星項目

On Tuesday, India's space agency will launch a spacecraft designed to boldly go where no Asian nation has gone before: Mars.

印度航天部門週二將發射一枚航天器，按照設計方案，該航天器將前往亞洲國家此前還沒有去過的地方：火星。

The mission, if successful, would be a technological leap that would propel India ahead of space rivals China and Japan in the field of interplanetary exploration.

該任務如果成功，這一技術上的飛躍將令印度在行星際探測領域超過空間對手中國和日本。

It will take more than 10 months for India's Mars satellite, equipped with instruments that can examine the surface of the Red Planet from above, to reach Martian orbit and begin beaming information back to Earth.

印度的衛星將需要10個多月的時間才能到達火星軌道並從那裏向地球發送信息。該衛星配備了能夠從上方檢測這顆紅色行星表面的設備。

'This is a major turning point in our space program--towards exploration,' said Koppillil Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, the country's civilian space agency. It will bring 'technological advantage for the country.'

該國的民用航天機構印度空間研究組織(Indian Space Research Organization)的主席拉達克裏希南(Koppillil Radhakrishnan)說：這是我國空間項目一個重大的轉折點，在空間探測方面的轉折點。他說，這將給印度帶來技術優勢。

Decades after the U.S. and Soviet Union battled for supremacy in space during the Cold War, Asian powers have embarked on their own space race-a contest with political, military and technical ramifications here on Earth.

美國和前蘇聯在“冷戰”期間的太空爭霸賽幾十年後，亞洲大國已經紛紛開始了自己的空間競賽，而這一競賽將對地球上的政治、軍事和技術等方面的力量對比產生影響。

In recent years, Japan, China and India-in cooperation with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration-have put satellites into lunar orbit. China has also put astronauts into Earth orbit and conducted spacewalks.

近些年來，日本、中國和印度（與美國國家航空航天局(NASA)合作）已經把衛星送到了月球軌道。中國還把航天員送到了地球軌道，並完成了空間行走。

India spends 68 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) a year on its space program and has 20 satellites in orbit for communication and remote sensing.

印度每年花在空間項目上的資金有680億盧比（合11億美元），有20顆在軌衛星，執行通訊和遙感等任務。

Critics argue that a country where more than 350 million people live on less than $1.25 a day and where a third of the population lacks access to electricity should be focused more on terrestrial problems.

批評人士辯稱，在一個有3.5億人口每天生活費不足1.25美元、三分之一的人口用不上電的國家，更多的精力應該用來解決地球上的問題。

'The bread or gun argument' is real for India, said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, a space-security expert at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi think tank. 'But India doesn't live in a benign neighborhood.'

總部位於新德里的智庫組織印度觀察家研究基金會(Observer Research Foundation)的空間安全專家拉賈戈帕蘭(Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan)說，這種“要麪包還是要機槍”的爭論的確是印度面臨的一個現實問題，但印度的周邊環境並不怎麼友好。

Ms. Rajagopalan said that while India is focused on peaceful use of outer space, 'this is the background against which the Mars mission is taking place. There is a sort of arms race,' especially since China in 2007 successfully tested an antisatellite missile.

拉賈戈帕蘭說，印度正專注於和平利用外太空，火星項目的背景就是如此；但這有點像軍備競賽，特別是在中國於2007年成功試射了一枚反衛星導彈之後。

In August, India launched its first dedicated military satellite for naval intelligence gathering, amid mounting concerns about the Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean.

隨着對中國在印度洋的海軍力量的擔憂不斷加劇，今年8月印度發射了首顆專用軍事衛星，用來蒐集海軍情報。

Boosters also point to the civilian benefits of the space program, such as improved meteorological forecasting, which prompted the government to evacuate 1 million people from areas along the southeast coast before a major cyclone last month-a move credited with saving thousands of lives.

支持者還指出，空間項目也有民事用途，例如提高氣象預報能力。上個月印度政府就在一場大颶風來臨前從東南沿海疏散了一百萬人，據信挽救了成千上萬人的性命。

India's Mars satellite, dubbed Mangalyaan, or Mars craft in Hindi, is scheduled to reach Martian orbit on Sept. 24 after a journey of 422 million miles. If it makes it, it will join two rovers and two orbiters belonging to NASA and a European satellite already exploring Mars.

印度的火星衛星名爲“Mangalyaan”，在北印度語中是火星飛行器的意思。按計劃，該衛星將在行駛了4.22億英里後，於9月24日到達火星軌道。如果獲得成功，這顆衛星將加入已經在探索火星的美國國家航空及太空總署(NASA)的兩輛火星車和兩顆衛星及一顆歐洲衛星的行列。

China's 2011 attempt with Russia to send the Yinghuo-1 satellite to Mars failed after the Russian rocket carrying it was unable to leave Earth orbit. A Japanese 2003 mission to Mars was unable to place a satellite into Martian orbit.

中國和俄羅斯曾於2011年合作嘗試發射螢火1號火星探測衛星，由於搭載該衛星的俄羅斯運載火箭未能飛離地球軌道，發射失敗。日本在2003年試圖發射的一顆衛星也未能進入火星軌道。

China's National Space Science Center has been quoted in Chinese media as saying that it won't attempt another voyage to Mars until at least 2016.

中國媒體援引中國國家空間科學中心(National Space Science Center)的話稱，至少在2016年之前，中國不會再有火星探測新動作。

India's Mars mission, with a budget of $73 million, is far cheaper than comparable missions including NASA's $671 million Maven satellite that is expected to set off for Mars later in November. The program was approved by the government in 2012.

印度的火星探測項目在2012年獲得政府批准，預算爲7,300萬美元，比包括NASA 6.71億美元的Maven衛星在內的同類項目要低的多。NASA的Maven火星探測衛星預計將在11月晚些時候發射。

'Our previous experience has helped a lot,' said Deviprasad Karnik, spokesman for the Indian Space Research Organisation. 'We had an indigenous space craft bus already available from our moon mission and the design [for the satellite] was already available so we could do it quickly.'

印度空間研究組織(Indian Space Research Organisation)發言人Deviprasad Karnik稱，印度之前的經驗幫了大忙，有來自月球探測項目的現成宇宙飛船可以用，（衛星）設計也已經有了，因此火星探測可以很快成行。

Ram Jakhu, a professor at the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University in Canada, said the space contest among India, China and Japan was different from the U.S.-Soviet race, because 'to some extent it's about a rush for natural resources.' He said India's Mars mission 'is a signal to the world about equality and efforts and capabilities to look for resources.'

加拿大麥吉爾大學(McGill University)航空航天法研究所(Institute of Air and Space Law)教授Ram Jakhu稱，印度、中國和日本之間的空間競賽與美國和蘇聯之間的空間競賽不同，因爲從某種程度上說前者是爲了爭奪自然資源。他稱印度的火星探測計劃是向全世界釋放的一個關於在尋找資源方面的平等、努力和能力的信號。

If India were to land upon a major deposit of titanium, for instance, during future missions, it would be a boost to the economy, he said. 'India and China want to be major world players and feed their huge populations so they need natural resources.'

例如，若印度在未來的探測行動中發現了大量的鈦儲備，那麼印度經濟將獲得提振。他稱，印度和中國希望成爲世界強國並養活大量人口，因此它們需要自然資源。