英國希望促成國際合作登陸火星

There will be a person on Mars within the next 30 years, according to the science minister, who has outlined an ambitious plan to put Britain at the heart of a Sino-American programme to go where no man has gone before.

英國科技大臣大衛•維萊茨(David Willetts)表示，30年內人類將登上火星。他披露了一項雄心勃勃的計劃，希望英國在中美太空探索計劃中能夠處於核心位置。

Speaking on his return from last week’s UK trade trip to China, David Willetts predicted that Britain would be able to broker an international effort to get humans to another planet.

結束上週的訪華行程返英之後，維萊茨預測稱，英國可以促成國際合作，以完成人類登上另一個星球的計劃。

Mr Willetts said: “If you wanted to bring the great powers together, probably looking a decade or two ahead, trying to get a man on Mars as a shared project between the Chinese, the Europeans and the Americans – it would be very exciting. Our hunger for discovery isn’t over. And one of the big advantages of the challenge of getting a manned mission to Mars is that it is such a big project that it probably requires global cooperation.”

維萊茨表示：“要讓大國聯合起來，就力爭在一、二十年後，在中國、歐洲和美國的共同努力下，將人送上火星——這將是一件十分激動人心的事情。人類的探索欲永無止境。登陸火星計劃的挑戰帶來一個很大的好處，這樣一項宏偉的任務或許需要全球合作。”

He added: “I think it is possible within 30 years.”

他補充道：“我認爲這項任務有可能在30年內完成。”

Mr Willetts accompanied David Cameron, the prime minister, on his trade mission to China last week, where the science minister spoke to his Chinese counterparts about Growing cooperation between the countries over space exploration.

維萊茨陪同英國首相戴維•卡梅倫(David Cameron)參加了上週的訪華行程，期間維萊茨向中方有關官員表達了加強兩國空間探索合作的意願。

Last week, Beijing launched its first mission to put a rover on the moon as it looks to catch up with the US space programme, and could become the first country to put a woman on the moon, according to Mr Willetts.

維萊茨表示，中國希望趕上美國空間計劃的進度，上週首次向月球發射了探測車，並有望成爲第一個將一名女性送上月球的國家。

He said: “They will then put a man – or I suspect a woman – on the moon . . . and then go on to Mars. It’s a long-term plan and we are up for co-operation with them.”

他表示：“接下來他們會將人類——我懷疑可能會是一名女性——送上月球……再然後會將人類送上火星。這是一項長期計劃，我們打算與他們合作。”

Ministers are in talks with Beijing over using British robotics on future Chinese missions as part of a broader push to develop the UK space industry.

英國多位大臣正在與北京方面洽談有關中國在未來太空探索任務中使用英國機器人技術的事宜，這是英國推動本國空間產業發展的舉措之一。

Mr Willetts last month unveiled a Space Innovation and Growth Strategy that aimed to increase the industry’s revenues from £10bn this year to £40bn in 2030, which would equate to 10 per cent of the anticipated global market.

維萊茨上月宣佈了一項《空間創新和增長戰略》(Space Innovation and Growth Strategy)，該戰略的目標是到2030年，使英國空間產業的收入從今年的100億英鎊提高至400億英鎊，那將相當於全球市場預計收入的10%。

Much of the activity is based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, which Mr Willetts wants to develop into an internationally-recognised space hub.

英國空間產業的一個主要基地是赫特福德郡的斯蒂夫尼奇(Stevenage)，維萊茨希望將那裏發展成一個受到國際認可的空間產業中心。

“In the old days it was Cape Canaveral, in the future it will be Stevenage at the heart of the global space effort,” he said.

他表示：“全球空間探索活動的中心在過去是卡納維拉爾角（Cape Canaveral，美國著名的航空海岸，附近有肯尼迪航天中心和卡納維拉爾角空軍基地——譯者注），未來將是斯蒂夫尼奇。”

Technology from Stevenage will be used on the Mars rover vehicle to be launched by the European Space Agency in a couple of years.

在斯蒂夫尼奇開發的技術將應用於歐洲空間局(European Space Agency)預定幾年內發射的火星探測車上。

Stevenage faces competition from the Isle of Man, which has earned the nickname “space isle” in its bid to build a presence in the sector. The UK territory has attracted companies such as Odyssey Moon, which is competing for a $30m prize being offered by Google to be the first private company to land a robot on the moon. The island’s space industry is expected to turn over £1.7bn in the next three years – over half the size of its annual domestic product.

斯蒂夫尼奇需要與馬恩島(Isle of Man)競爭，後者因大力發展空間產業而贏得了“空間島”的外號。這個英屬島嶼吸引了奧德賽月球(Odyssey Moon)等企業入駐，奧德賽月球是谷歌月球機器人競賽競爭者之一，該賽事意在鼓勵個人和公司展開月球探索，獎項總額達3000萬美元。馬恩島的空間產業預計未來3年可創收17億英鎊，超過該地年生產總值的一半。

In addition to UK technology, Mr Willetts believes Britain can also play a diplomatic role in brokering an international Mars mission.

維萊茨認爲，除提供技術以外，英國還能扮演外交斡旋者，促成國際合作探索火星的計劃。

The science minister said: “We are in a very good position . . . We are trusted partners of America. We are active players in the European Space Agency and we are now opening up a new relationship with China, because we signed this week a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in space.”

維萊茨表示：“我們的條件很有利……我們是美國信賴的合作伙伴，還是歐洲空間局的重要參與者，如今我們又與中國開啓了新關係，因爲我們本週簽署了一項空間合作諒解備忘錄。”

Ministers hope Mr Cameron’s trip last week, which marked the end of an 18-month freeze in relations between the two countries, will open up a raft of new trading opportunities, with space exploration just one sector they think could benefit.

英國各位大臣希望卡梅倫上週的訪華之行將帶來一系列新的貿易機會，空間探索行業可能只是其中的一個受益者。卡梅倫此次訪華，標誌着中英關係結束了長達一年半的冷凍期。