中華"玉兔"登上月球 擺pose玩互拍

A Chinese rover has made tracks in the Moon’s soft dust, the latest step in Beijing’s goal for a manned landing by 2025, writes Lucy Hornby in Beijing.

一輛中國探測器已在月球表面塵土上留下印記，這是北京方面朝着2025年前載人登月目標邁出的最新一步。

The arrival of the Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, on Saturday made China the third nation to complete the controlled landing of a spacecraft on the satellite, joining the US and the former Soviet Union in a feat of technological strength and national pride.

“玉兔號”(Jade Rabbit)月球車上週六到達月球，使中國成爲繼美國和前蘇聯之後第三個實現航天器受控登陸月球的國家，彰顯技術實力和民族自豪。

Chang’e 3, the lunar lander that carried the vehicle, made the first “soft landing” since 1976, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The craft, named after a lunar goddess, then opened to release the remote-controlled rover, which will conduct geological surveys.

官方的新華社報道稱，搭載“玉兔號”月球車的“嫦娥三號”着陸器實現了自1976年以來人類對月球的首次“軟着陸”。該着陸器隨後打開，釋放出遙控探測器，由其進行地質勘探。“嫦娥”是一位居住在月球的神話人物。（編者注：新華社快訊，嫦娥三號任務已取得完滿成功。）

China has trumpeted the rapid advance of its space programme as a symbol of pride and as a sign that it is joining the ranks of the most powerful and advanced nations. However, the scientific pay-off from the programme has been less obvious.

中國大力宣揚其航天計劃取得的飛速進步，作爲民族自豪的象徵，並標誌着中國正進入全球最強大、最先進國家行列。然而，該航天計劃的科學成果並非特別明顯。

The Soviet Union achieved the first orbit and first soft landing on the Moon, in 1966, but the US is the only nation to land a person on the satellite, in 1969. The European Space Agency, Japan and India have all deliberately crashed probes into the lunar surface.

蘇聯早在1966年就實現了人類首次環月飛行和軟着陸，而美國在1969年實現了載人登月，是迄今唯一有此成就的國家。歐洲空間局(European Space Agency)、日本和印度都曾發射了以撞擊月球表面告終的硬着陸式探測器。

The prospect of Chinese taikonauts reaching the Moon, even after a four-decade gap, is likely to increase US anxiety over the power of the most populous nation.

不過，即便中國航天員在美國同行登月的40年後登上月球，也可能使美國更加擔心全球人口最多國家的實力。