美国宇航局开始太阳探测计划
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-10-07 01:00 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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A University of Delaware researcher is helping1 to design instruments for a robotic(机器人学) space probe that will go where no other has gone before: the sun. William Matthaeus, professor of physics and astronomy at UD, is involved in NASA's Solar Probe Plus project, which is slated2 to launch by 2018.

The unmanned spacecraft, the size of a small car, will plunge3(投入,跳进) directly into the sun's atmosphere to help uncover answers to perplexing(复杂的,令人费解的) mysteries about the fiery4 ball of plasma5(等离子体,血浆) at the center of our solar system.

"The experiments selected for Solar Probe Plus are specifically designed to solve two key questions of solar physics -- why is the sun's outer atmosphere so much hotter than the sun's visible surface, and what propels the solar wind that affects Earth and our solar system? We've been struggling with these questions for decades and this mission should finally provide those answers," said Dick Fisher, director of NASA's Heliophysics Division, in a NASA news release.

Astrophysicists(天体物理学家) have been discussing the idea of sending an unmanned mission to the sun for years, Matthaeus says, but the technology to protect a space probe from the star's mega-heat was unavailable until recently.

To avoid the fate of the mythical6(神话的,虚构的) Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and melted his wax-and-feather wings, the spacecraft's heat shield must be able to withstand(抵抗) extremely high temperatures and blasts of intense radiation in the solar atmosphere as it makes the nearly 90-million-mile trip from Earth to within 4 million miles of the sun.

"At the Solar Probe's closest approach, the light from the sun will be more than 500 times as intense as at Earth, and the surrounding gas, although very tenuous(纤细的,稀薄的) , will likely be at hundreds of thousands of degrees," Matthaeus notes. "Fortunately, NASA engineers have developed an effective special carbon-fiber heat shield and thermal7 control system."

The Solar Probe Plus mission encompasses8(包含,环绕) five investigations10 totaling approximately $180 million for preliminary analysis, design, development and testing of the spacecraft and the instruments that will fly aboard it.

Matthaeus is the lead theorist on the Integrated Science Investigation9 of the Sun (ISIS) project, which is led by David McComas at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. The team is developing two instruments for monitoring the electrons, protons and ions that are accelerated to high energies in the sun's atmosphere. This continuous stream of outward-flowing particles from the sun is known as solar wind. It causes the northern and southern lights on Earth, and can cause magnetic storms capable of knocking out electrical power grids11.

"The more we rely on satellite technology, such as GPS, the more vulnerable to magnetic storms we become. So we need to understand how they work in order to protect societal assets such as satellites in space, as well as humans who explore or work in space," says Matthaeus.

"The Solar Probe Plus orbit will spiral inward. The spacecraft will eventually get as close to 9-10 solar radii12, which is about 20 times closer to the sun than Earth is," he notes.

As the instruments aboard the spacecraft measure magnetic and electric properties, astrophysicists will be able to eliminate some theories for how solar wind is generated and better understand the heliosphere, the vast magnetic bubble that contains our solar system.

"It is a real mission of discovery, visiting the sun's immediate13 environment for the first time," notes Matthaeus. "All along its journey into the solar atmosphere, Solar Probe will measure many of the ongoing14 processes that are responsible for maintaining and controlling the heliosphere."



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1 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
2 slated 87d23790934cf766dc7204830faf2859     
用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
  • Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。
3 plunge 228zO     
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
参考例句:
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
4 fiery ElEye     
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的
参考例句:
  • She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
  • His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。
5 plasma z2xzC     
n.血浆,细胞质,乳清
参考例句:
  • Keep some blood plasma back for the serious cases.留一些血浆给重病号。
  • The plasma is the liquid portion of blood that is free of cells .血浆是血液的液体部分,不包含各种细胞。
6 mythical 4FrxJ     
adj.神话的;虚构的;想像的
参考例句:
  • Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认,他是一个神话般的人物。
  • Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。
7 thermal 8Guyc     
adj.热的,由热造成的;保暖的
参考例句:
  • They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
8 encompasses cba8673f835839b92e7b81ba5bccacfb     
v.围绕( encompass的第三人称单数 );包围;包含;包括
参考例句:
  • The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
  • Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句
9 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
10 investigations 02de25420938593f7db7bd4052010b32     
(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究
参考例句:
  • His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查,但没有发现什么。
  • He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。
11 grids 3ee63c2476f49cd6c03c72e14687b4f7     
n.格子( grid的名词复数 );地图上的坐标方格;(输电线路、天然气管道等的)系统网络;(汽车比赛)赛车起跑线
参考例句:
  • Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
  • The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅,以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句
12 radii 736eba6ae8f603ee16e88a83cdc35f90     
n.半径;半径(距离)( radius的名词复数 );用半径度量的圆形面积;半径范围;桡骨
参考例句:
  • Hence, the damage radii can not be determined from overpressure alone. 因此,破坏半径不能单单由超压力大小来决定。 来自辞典例句
  • It is now necessary to introduce a sign convention for radii of curvature. 现在必须介绍曲率半径的正负号规则。 来自辞典例句
13 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
14 ongoing 6RvzT     
adj.进行中的,前进的
参考例句:
  • The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
  • The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。
TAG标签: space solar sun
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