日本機器人探測器成功登陸小行星

Japan's space agency (JAXA) has made history by successfully landing two robotic explorers on the surface of an asteroid.

近日，日本航天局（JAXA）的機器人探測器在一座小行星表面成功登陸，創造了歷史。

The two small "rovers", which were despatched from the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft last Friday, will move around the 1km-wide space rock known as Ryugu.

上週五從隼鳥二號航天器發射的兩個小型“探測車”，將在這個寬爲1公里、被稱爲“龍宮”的小行星上工作。

The asteroid's low gravity means they can hop across it, capturing temperatures and images of the surface.

該小行星上的低重力意味着探測器可以在上面跳躍，捕捉表面的溫度和圖像。

JAXA proudly tweeted pictures from the rovers, which reached Earth via the spaceship Hayabusa-2.

日本航天局自豪地發佈了探測車的照片，這些照片是通過隼鳥2號飛船發回地球的。

Hayabusa-2 reached the asteroid Ryugu in June this year after a three-and-a-half-year journey.

經過三年半的旅程，隼鳥二號在今年六月到達了小行星“龍宮”。

While the European Space Agency had previously managed to land on an icy comet, this is the first spacecraft to place robot rovers on the surface of an asteroid.

雖然歐洲航天局以前設法在冰冷的彗星上降落，但這是第一個將機器人探測器成功降落在小行星表面的航天器。

Asteroids are essentially leftover building materials from the formation of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago. Ryugu is a particularly primitive variety, and studying it could shed light on the origin and evolution of our own planet.

小行星基本上是由46億年前太陽系形成時的剩餘物質材料構成。其中“龍宮”小行星是由一種特殊的原始材料構成的，通過研究它，有助於揭示我們自己星球的起源和演變。