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Japan on Friday became the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon.
周五，日本成为第五个将航天器送上月球的国家。
The mission's aim was to carry out an exact landing and to collect information about the Earth's only natural satellite.
这次任务的目的是精确登陆月球，并收集有关地球唯一的天然卫星的信息。
Japan's space agency, known as JAXA, said its Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, called SLIM, landed on the moon's surface at 15:20 UTC Friday.
日本宇宙航空研究开发机构表示，其名为SLIM的智能月球探测着陆器于周五标准时间15：20降落在月球表面。
It then re-established communication with Earth.
然后，它重新与地球建立了通信。
But its solar panels were not able to create electricity, possibly because they are pointed in the wrong direction.
但它的太阳能电池板无法发电，可能是因为它们指向了错误的方向。
"SLIM is now operating only on its battery, and we are prioritizing the transfer of its data to Earth," Hitoshi Kuninaka, the head of JAXA's research center, told reporters.
日本宇宙航空研究开发机构研究中心的负责人国仲仁告诉记者：“SLIM目前仅靠电池运行，我们正在优先考虑将其数据传输到地球上。”
A battery is a device that stores electricity.
电池是一种储存电的装置。
Space officials are attempting to save power by turning off equipment like its heaters.
航天官员正试图通过关闭加热器等设备来节省电力。
But SLIM's battery only lasts "a few hours."
但SLIM的电池只能维持“几个小时”。
JAXA hopes a change in the sun's position in the sky will cause the panels to receive sunlight to power the vehicle, Kuninaka said.
国仲仁说，日本宇宙航空研究开发机构希望太阳在天空中的位置发生变化，从而使太阳能电池板接收到阳光，为该航天器提供动力。
He added that it takes 30 days for the direction of sunlight to change on the moon.
他补充说，月球上的阳光方向需要30天的时间才能改变。
SLIM attempted to land within 100 meters of its target, instead of within several kilometers.
SLIM试图在距离目标100米的范围内着陆，而不是在几公里范围内。
JAXA said this exact landing technology will become a powerful tool in the search for oxygen, fuel, and water on the moon.
日本宇宙航空研究开发机构表示，这种精确的着陆技术将成为在月球上寻找氧气、燃料和水的有力工具。
Japan aims to play a bigger part in space, partnering with ally the United States.
日本的目标是与盟友美国合作，在太空领域发挥更大的作用。
Japan is also home to several private space companies.
日本也是几家私营航天公司的所在地。
JAXA aims to send an astronaut to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program in the next few years.
作为美国国家航空航天局阿尔忒弥斯计划的一部分，日本宇宙航空研究开发机构的目标是在未来几年内将一名宇航员送上月球。
But the Japanese space agency has recently faced several setbacks in rocket development.
但日本航天局最近在火箭研发方面遭遇了几次挫折。
They include the launch failure in March of its new H3 rocket which is meant to compete with rockets made by private companies like SpaceX.
其中包括3月份发射失败的新型H-3火箭，该火箭旨在与SpaceX等私营公司制造的火箭竞争。
The failure caused delays in Japan's space missions, including SLIM and joint moon exploration with India.
这一失败导致日本的太空任务延迟，包括SLIM和与印度的联合月球探测任务。
India made a historic landing on the moon's most southern point with its Chandrayaan-3 probe.
印度通过发射月船3号探测器在月球最南端着陆取得了历史性的进展。
JAXA has twice landed on asteroids, but the moon's gravity makes landing on it more difficult, its scientists said.
日本宇宙航空研究开发机构的科学家表示，该机构曾两次使得航天器在小行星上着陆，但月球的重力使着陆变得更加困难。
Three missions to the moon by Japanese company ispace, Russia's space agency, and American company Astrobotic have failed in the past year.
去年，日本iSpace公司、俄罗斯航天局和美国宇航机器人技术公司开展的三次登月任务都以失败告终。
Only four nations, the former Soviet Union, the United States, China and India, have successfully carried out a soft landing on the moon.
只有前苏联、美国、中国和印度四个国家成功实现了月球软着陆。
No private company has been able to do it.
没有一家私营公司能够做到这一点。
SLIM measures 2.4 meters by 2.7 meters—about the size of a car.
SLIM高2.4米、宽2.7米，大约一辆汽车大小。
It has two main engines, along with 12 smaller thrusters.
它有两个主发动机，以及12个较小的推进器。
It also includes equipment like solar cells, radar, and cameras.
它还包括太阳能电池、雷达和相机等设备。
SLIM weighed 700 kilograms at launch.
SLIM在发射时重达700公斤。
That is less than half the weight of India's Chandrayaan-3.
这还不到印度月船3号重量的一半。
As the probe got closer to the surface, it was designed to compare its camera's images with satellite photos of the moon.
随着探测器越来越接近月球表面，它将相机拍摄的图像与卫星拍摄的月球照片进行比较。
JAXA has said this method permits an exact landing.
日本宇宙航空研究开发机构表示，这种方法可以实现精确着陆。
On landing, reports say SLIM successfully released two small robot probes.
据报道，SLIM在着陆时成功释放了两个小型机器人探测器。
One moves by taking small jumps, or hops.
一个机器人通过小跳来移动。
The other is an even smaller baseball-sized wheeled vehicle.
另一个机器人是更小的棒球大小的轮式车。
Sony Group and toy company Tomy, and several Japanese universities developed the robots.
索尼集团和玩具公司多美卡以及几所日本大学开发了这两个机器人。
SLIM was launched on Japan's H-IIA rocket in September.
SLIM于9月搭载日本的H-IIA运载火箭发射的。
It has taken a fuel-saving four-month trip to the moon.
它已经进行了长达四个月的节省燃料的月球之旅。
I'm Gregory Stachel.
格雷戈里·施塔赫尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
