英国希望促成国际合作登陆火星

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.

英国科技大臣大卫•维莱茨(David Willetts)表示，30年内人类将登上火星。他披露了一项雄心勃勃的计划，希望英国在中美太空探索计划中能够处于核心位置。

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.

结束上周的访华行程返英之后，维莱茨预测称，英国可以促成国际合作，以完成人类登上另一个星球的计划。

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.”

维莱茨表示：“要让大国联合起来，就力争在一、二十年后，在中国、欧洲和美国的共同努力下，将人送上火星——这将是一件十分激动人心的事情。人类的探索欲永无止境。登陆火星计划的挑战带来一个很大的好处，这样一项宏伟的任务或许需要全球合作。”

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

他补充道：“我认为这项任务有可能在30年内完成。”

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.

维莱茨陪同英国首相戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)参加了上周的访华行程，期间维莱茨向中方有关官员表达了加强两国空间探索合作的意愿。

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.

维莱茨表示，中国希望赶上美国空间计划的进度，上周首次向月球发射了探测车，并有望成为第一个将一名女性送上月球的国家。

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：“接下来他们会将人类——我怀疑可能会是一名女性——送上月球……再然后会将人类送上火星。这是一项长期计划，我们打算与他们合作。”

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.

英国多位大臣正在与北京方面洽谈有关中国在未来太空探索任务中使用英国机器人技术的事宜，这是英国推动本国空间产业发展的举措之一。

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.

维莱茨上月宣布了一项《空间创新和增长战略》(Space Innovation and Growth Strategy)，该战略的目标是到2030年，使英国空间产业的收入从今年的100亿英镑提高至400亿英镑，那将相当于全球市场预计收入的10%。

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

英国空间产业的一个主要基地是赫特福德郡的斯蒂夫尼奇(Stevenage)，维莱茨希望将那里发展成一个受到国际认可的空间产业中心。

“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：“全球空间探索活动的中心在过去是卡纳维拉尔角（Cape Canaveral，美国著名的航空海岸，附近有肯尼迪航天中心和卡纳维拉尔角空军基地——译者注），未来将是斯蒂夫尼奇。”

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

在斯蒂夫尼奇开发的技术将应用于欧洲空间局(European Space Agency)预定几年内发射的火星探测车上。

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.

斯蒂夫尼奇需要与马恩岛(Isle of Man)竞争，后者因大力发展空间产业而赢得了“空间岛”的外号。这个英属岛屿吸引了奥德赛月球(Odyssey Moon)等企业入驻，奥德赛月球是谷歌月球机器人竞赛竞争者之一，该赛事意在鼓励个人和公司展开月球探索，奖项总额达3000万美元。马恩岛的空间产业预计未来3年可创收17亿英镑，超过该地年生产总值的一半。

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

维莱茨认为，除提供技术以外，英国还能扮演外交斡旋者，促成国际合作探索火星的计划。

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.”

维莱茨表示：“我们的条件很有利……我们是美国信赖的合作伙伴，还是欧洲空间局的重要参与者，如今我们又与中国开启了新关系，因为我们本周签署了一项空间合作谅解备忘录。”

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.

英国各位大臣希望卡梅伦上周的访华之行将带来一系列新的贸易机会，空间探索行业可能只是其中的一个受益者。卡梅伦此次访华，标志着中英关系结束了长达一年半的冷冻期。