NASA working to fix Voyager 2 from 11.5 billion miles away 地面工程师远程抢修“旅行者2号”

李全忠

“旅行者2号”探测器带着人类的梦想已离开太阳系进行宇宙探索。不过，此前飞船疑似出现故障，并自动触发了保护程序，工程师们正在努力使飞船恢复到正常运行状态。

NASAs twin Voyager probes（航天探测器） have been on a mission of exploration for decades， and theyve performed admirably. Both probes have now left the solar system， providing the first direct measurements of the universe outside our little corner of it. Keeping a 42?year?old space probe working is no simple feat， though. Engineers are working to restore normal operations on Voyager 2 after automated fault protection routines shut off the probes science instruments.

The first sign of trouble came on January 25th when the spacecraft failed to execute a planned maneuver（移动） to calibrate（校准） its magnetic field instrument. Voyager 2 re?mained in contact with Earth， but its science instruments shut off after the failed maneuver. After studying the probes telemetry（遥测术）， the team determined that the missed spin left two high?power systems operating at the same time. That state would call for more power than the probe had， so the fault protection kicked in to turn off non?essential systems.

NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory （JPL） equipped Voyager 2 with a radioisotope thermoelectric generator（RTG） for power as its too far from the Sun for solar panels to be effective. This type of power source provides a constant supply of power， but its potency drops a bit every year as the plutonium（钚） fuel decays. Engineers have slowly ratcheted down the probes power requirements over the years.

With a full understanding of the issue， JPL staff were able to reactivate the science suite yesterday （January 28th） by flipping off one of the high?power subsystems. The team is currently working to restore normal operations， but that will take some time. This is a machine from the 1970s after all， and its 11.5 billion miles away. Each command takes 17 hours to reach Voyager 2， and the confirmation takes 17 hours to come back. So， thats almost a day and a half just to find out if a command does what it is supposed to do. Despite the difficulties， the Voyager probes remain vital tools in our study of deep space.

[閱读检测]

1. What do we know about Voyager 2 according to the first paragraph？

A. Its leaving the solar system. B. Its functioning very well.

C. It needs to have a good rest. D. It was launched in the 1970s.

2. What does the underlined word “execute” in paragraph 2 mean？

A. Carry out. B. Give away.

C. Focus on. D. Bring up.

3. What does the author think of the teams working to restore normal operations？

A. Very easy. B. Puzzling.

C. Challenging. D. Meaningless.

[语言学习]

难句分析

Engineers are working to restore normal operations on Voyager 2 after automated fault protection routines shut off the probes science instruments. 在“旅行者2号”探测器的自动保护程序关闭了探测器的科学仪器之后，工程师们正在努力使探测器恢复到正常运行状态。

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。Engineers are working to restore normal operations on Voyager 2主句，after引导时间状语从句。