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Space: The Final Frontier
太空：最后的边缘
"Are we alone? What's out there? " Looking up at the stars, people have always wanted to learn more about space, and scientists work hard to find answers.
仰望星空，（人们）不禁要问：“我们是孤独的吗？那里是什么？”人们一直想更多地了解太空，而且科学家在努力工作寻求答案。
They make vehicles to carry brave people into space to find out the secrets of the universe.
为了查明宇宙的秘密，他们制作了交通工具把那些勇敢的人带到太空找出宇宙的秘密。
They also really wish to discover other planets that are suitable enough to support life.
他们也真的希望能发现其他适合生命生存的行星。
Before the mid-20th century, most people felt travelling into space was an impossible dream.
在20世纪中期以后，绝大多数人认为太空旅行是不可能的。
However, some scientists were determined to help humans realise their dream to explore space.
然而，一些科学家决意要帮助人类实现探索太空的梦想。
After many experiments, they succeeded in making rockets that could escape Earth's gravity.
经过多次实验之后，他们成功地造出了能够逃脱地球引力的火箭。
On 4 October 1957, the Sputnik 1 satellite was launched by the USSR and successfully orbited around Earth.
在1957年10月4日，苏联成功发射了Sputik1号卫星，且成功地实现了让卫星绕地球运转。
Afterwards, the USSR focused on sending people into space, and on 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person in the world to go into space.
后来苏联专注于研究送人类进入太空（这个问题）并且在1961年4月12日，尤里·加加林成为世界上进入太空的第一人。
Over eight years later, on 20 July 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, famously saying, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
八年之后，也就是在1969年7月20日，美国宇航员尼尔·阿姆斯特朗登上月球，说了一句著名的话，“对一个人来说，这是一小步；对人类来说，这是一大步。”
Following this, many more goals were achieved.
随之而来的是，许多目标都实现了。
For example, America's NASA space agency launched Voyager 1 on 5 September 1977 to study deep space, and it still transmits data today.
例如，为了研究外层空间，美国航空航天局在1977年9月5日发射了航行者1号，时至今日它仍然在传送一些数据。
Although scientists try to make sure nothing goes wrong, accidents can still happen.
虽然科学家竭力确保不出任何错误，但事故仍然可能发生。
All the astronauts on the USSR's Soyuz 11 and America's Challenger died during their missions.
在执行任务期间，在苏联的联盟11号和美国的挑战者（飞船上）的所有宇航员全部遇难。
These disasters made everyone sad and disappointed, but the desire to explore the universe never died.
这些灾难让每个人感到悲伤和失望，但是（人们）探索宇宙的渴望从未泯灭。
This is because people believe in the importance of carrying on space exploration despite the huge risks.
这是因为人们坚信太空探索的重要性，哪怕面临巨大的风险。
An example of this ongoing work is the International Space Station.
这种继续努力的一个例子就是国际太空站。
It orbits Earth and has astronauts from different countries on board, providing a continuous human presence in space.
它绕地球运行，允许来自不同国家的宇航员搭乘，让人类持续不断地出现在太空中。
China's space programme started later than those of Russia and the US, but it has made great progress in a short time.
中国的太空计划开始得比俄国和美国都晚，但是在短时间内取得了很大进步。
China became the third country in the world to independently send humans into space in 2003, when Yang Liwei successfully orbited Earth in the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.
在2003年，中国成为世界上第三个独立自主把人类送入太空的国家，当时杨利伟在神舟五号宇宙飞船里成功地绕地球运行。
Then Shenzhou 6 and 7 completed a second manned orbit and the first Chinese spacewalk, followed by the vehicle Jade Rabbit being sent to the moon to study its surface.
此后神舟六号和七号分别完成了第二次载人飞行以及中国人的第一次太空行走，紧接着月球探测车玉兔也被发射到月球去研究其表面。
After that, China launched the Tiangong 2 space lab into space and Tianzhou 1 to dock with it.
之后中国把天宫二号太空实验室送入太空，并且与天舟一号实现对接。
This signalled one step further in China's plan to establish a space station in the future.
这标志着中国未来建立空间站的计划又前进了一步。
More recently, China has sent Chang'e 4 to explore the surface of the far side of the moon to make measurements and observations.
最近，为了做好测量和观测，中国已经发射了嫦娥四号去探测月球离我们较远的那一边的表面。
The future of space exploration remains bright.
宇航探索的未来充满光明。
Europe, the US, and China all have plans to further study and explore planets like Mars and Jupiter.
欧洲、美国和中国都有计划要进一步研究和探索像火星和木星这样的行星。
Despite the difficulties, scientists hope future discoveries will not only enable us to understand how the universe began, but also help us survive well into the future.
尽管困难重重，科学家们希望末来的发现不仅能够使我们了解宇宙的起源，而且还帮助我们更好地走向未来。
