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Coming up next on Jonathan Bird's Blue World, Jonathan goes to inner space at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab, where astronauts are trained.
接下来请收看乔纳森·伯德的《蓝色世界》，乔纳森前往国家航空与航天局无重力实验室的内部空间，宇航员都在这里接受训练。
Hi, I'm Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world!
嗨，我是乔纳森·伯德，欢迎来到我的世界！
Blue World takes me on adventures all over the planet.
《蓝色世界》节目带我在整个星球漫游冒险。
Today’s adventure takes me to the Johnson Space Center at NASA, in Houston, Texas!
今天，我的探险之旅将把我带到德克萨斯州休斯顿的国家航空与航天局约翰逊航天中心！
And, I’m standing on the International Space Station!
我现在站在国际空间站上！
Well, not exactly.
不完全是这样。
I’m standing on an underwater full size replica of the International Space Station in a gigantic indoor swimming pool.
我站在一个巨大的室内游泳池里，这是一个全尺寸的国际空间站的水下复制品。
Here they train astronauts to work in zero gravity by simulating these conditions underwater.
在这里，他们通过在水下模拟这些条件，训练宇航员在零重力状态下工作。
Outside, it just looks like a huge warehouse, but inside is the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory: The NBL.
它从外面看，就像一个巨大的仓库，但里面是无重力实验室。
I arrive early in the morning and meet Daniel Sedej, the facility manager, who has arranged our visit.
我一大早就到了，见到了设备经理丹尼尔·塞德杰，他安排我们参观。
We drag all our gear inside and get our first glimpse of the NBL.
我们把所有的装备都拖了进去，也第一次看到了无重力实验室。
This thing is huge—a swimming pool nearly the size of a football field!
这是一个巨大的游泳池，几乎有足球场那么大！
As we arrive, the morning mission briefing is just starting.
当我们到达时，上午的任务通报会刚开始。
The entire team, from astronauts to support divers to technicians, are all given a thorough run-through on the training exercises for the day.
整个团队，从宇航员到支持潜水员，再到技术人员，都将在这一天的演习中进行彻底的演练。
And Cameraman Tim and I are part of this meeting, because they are going to let us dive in the NBL today with the astronauts!
我和摄影师蒂姆参加这次会议，因为他们今天要让我们和宇航员一起在实验室中潜水！
Our morning starts with a quick checkup.
早上，我们快速地开始检查。
All divers in the NBL must pass a rigorous physical, and a checkup before the dive.
实验室中所有的潜水员，在潜水前必须经过严格的体检。
Cameraman Tim and I are no exception.
我和摄影师蒂姆也不例外。
We pass our checkup, and next we meet up with Sara Williams, the Dive Training Officer who gives us a dive safety briefing.
通过体检后，接下来要见萨拉·威廉姆斯了，他是给我们做潜水安全介绍的潜水训练官。
What to do and what not to do in the NBL.
在实验中该做什么、不该做什么。
Just as we finish our briefing, the team is gathering on the deck to begin preparations for putting the astronauts in the water.
介绍结束时，小组聚集到甲板上，开始准备让宇航员下水。
Getting into a space suit is no easy feat.
要穿上太空服并非易事。
In fact, it might be easier in the zero gravity of orbit.
事实上，在轨道零重力状态下可能会更容易。
But here on land, it takes assistance.
但在陆地上，则需要别人帮忙。
The astronauts wear liquid-cooled underwear to keep them from overheating.
宇航员们穿着液态冷却式内衣，防止过热。
That’s what these tubes are for.
这就是这些管子的用途。
The torso of the suit is clamped to a cage because it's too heavy to lift.
这套太空服的躯干部位固定在一个笼子上，因为它太重无法抬起。
That’s because this space suit is specially modified for underwater use, and has a lot of lead weight in it.
因为这套太空服是专门为水下使用改装的，而且里面有很多铅。
Climbing into the torso is a little tricky.
爬进这件衣服的躯干部位有点棘手。
It takes nearly an hour to suit up.
穿上它要将近一个小时。
The last thing to go on is the helmet.
最后一件事是戴头盔。
Underwater, a high-oxygen blend of air will be fed to the astronauts through their umbilicals.
在水下，一种高浓度氧气的混合气体将通过脐带缆线供应给宇航员。
Meanwhile, the safety divers are in the water getting ready.
与此同时，安全潜水员已经正在水下准备就绪。
They wear double scuba tanks so they have enough air to stay down as long as necessary to complete the mission.
他们带着双气瓶，所以有足够的氧气，可以让他们停留在水下完成任务。
Tim and I are getting ready too.
我和蒂姆也准备好了。
I can’t wait to see this enormous underwater facility!
我迫不及待想看看这个巨大的水下设施！
I descend into the clearest water I have ever seen, and it looks like an underwater movie set!
我潜入了我见过的最清澈的水质中，它看起来就像一个水下电影场景！
The pool is a staggering 40 feet deep, and everywhere I look are full-size replica sections of the International Space Station.
游泳池有40英尺深，我看到的每一个地方都是国际空间站的全尺寸复制品。
I take a few minutes to explore the pool.
我花了几分钟在游泳池里探游。
I can see from one end to the other very clearly, meaning that the underwater visibility is over 200 feet!
我可以很清楚地从泳池的一端看到另一端，这意味着水下的能见度超过了200英尺！
I could spend a few hours just swimming around down here.
我可以在这儿游几个小时。
It’s like a playground for divers, with all sorts of great structures to swim through!
它就像是潜水员的游乐场，有各种各样大型的建筑体让你来回穿游！
For the astronauts--now, the moment of truth.
对宇航员来说，现在就是关键时刻了。
A crane lifts them into the pool, wearing 300 pounds of space suit apiece.
一台起重机把他们吊进游泳池，他们每人都穿着300磅重的太空服。
Underwater, the safety divers meet them and carefully remove them from the platform.
在水下，安全潜水员与他们会合，并小心地把他们从平台上移开。
Each astronaut is carefully weighted to be precisely neutrally buoyant.
每个宇航员都要经过仔细称重，以精确地保持中立浮力。
Hey, they don’t call it the Neutral Buoyancy Lab for nothing!
他们可不是平白无故把它叫做无重力实验室的！
Once weighted properly, the astronauts hover in the water as if floating in the weightlessness of space.
重量合适时，宇航员们就会像漂浮在失重的太空中一样在水中盘旋。
Since fins don’t work in space, the astronauts don’t get to wear them here.
由于脚蹼在太空中不起作用，宇航员不能在这里穿脚蹼。
They must be moved from task to task by the divers.
潜水员要把他们从一个任务处转移到另一个任务处。
