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1.VOA常速
【Space Exploration Enthusiasts Say US Program Adrift】
TEXT:A half century ago, NASA sent astronauts to the moon, and for the past three decades used its
space shuttle for low-earth orbit missions.
But many veterans of NASA's glory years, such as former Johnson Space Center Director Chris Kraft, are critics of the agency's plan to send astronauts to Mars.
“That objective is ludicrous. It cannot be done. It cannot be done technically and, more importantly, it cannot be done financially,” Kraft said.
Kraft says the new Space Launch System proposed by NASA at a cost of around $5 billion is too expensive and that it would be better to utilize existing rocket systems for exploration beyond earth's orbit. He also says an ambitious goal like sending humans to Mars requires a detailed plan with intermediate, preliminary steps, like establishing bases on the moon.
“We know how to go back to the moon; it is a reasonable program; it is a feasible program; it can be done with today's capabilities.”
NASA's Constellation program did include such steps, but President Barack Obama cancelled it in 2010 with approval from many scientists, who wanted a more ambitious goal.
Among those who now think that was a mistake is the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, Neil deGrasse Tyson.
“I understand the rhetoric that we have been to the moon, so why go back? But the real answer is that we have not been to the moon in 40 years,” Tyson said.
Tyson says the current Mars plan is too vague.
“I think we have lost our way, in the real world. What works on paper does not always work in the real world and, in the real world, we have lost our way,” Tyson said.
David Alexander, director of the Space Institute at Rice University, puts the blame for NASA's current predicament on the politicians who tightly control the funding.
“A lot of people blame NASA for not having a plan or not having this and that, but, actually, they have lots of plans based on what they have been told to do by Congress and by various Congresses over the years,” Alexander said.
But Congress has many enthusiastic supporters of space exploration, says NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver.
“We work closely with appropriators and authorizers and we believe there is broad support for a stable NASA budget,” said Garver.
And Garver believes Congress will fund the new launch system and other technology NASA needs to get humans to Mars, fulfilling a goal that she says NASA has had in mind for decades.
“It is finally getting to the point where we are investing in the capabilities that will get us there in a time frame when people are really beginning to talk about it realistically,” Garver said.
But before that can happen, David Alexander thinks NASA administrators and the nation's leaders need to answer some fundamental questions.
“The biggest issue that a lot of critics are saying is 'why? Where are we going, what are we doing there, and what are we going to do with this big thing we have developed?,'” Alexander said.
As the U.S. Congress struggles with the national debt and how to maintain vital federal programs, it could be tempted to cut funding for a trip to another planet set many years in the future.
2.VOA慢速
【New Rules for Sina Weibo Users in China】
TEXT:Recent developments in India and China have put the issue of Internet censorship back in the news. Last week, China’s largest microblogging service announced new policies that will restrict what its users can place online.
Sina Weibo is a service like Twitter. It lets users publish text and pictures in real time. There are about three hundred million Sina Weibo users. The service has been under increasing pressure from the Chinese government to better censor its content.
Last week, Sina Weibo announced new policies aimed at preventing what it called offensive or questionable material from being posted online. This includes information that is said to be false or threatens the honor of the nation. It also includes postings that it says support evil teachings or destroy the security of society.
Many Web users have criticized the new policies. They say they will restrict free speech. Chad Catacchio is an American-based blogger who follows technology news out of China. He agrees with others who say similar policies have been in place all along.
CHAD CATACCHIO: "These kinds of rules have existed for a while on the Internet in China, so I wouldn't say anything is necessarily a surprise. Take it for what it is, but on a positive side at least it’t -- they are putting it in writing publicly. What that means and if that's good for the users, that's very far to be seen."
Sina Weibo’s new policies are set to take effect on May twenty-eighth. Last month, the company deleted several user accounts after stories of a possible government overthrow spread across its service.
It was among several microblogging services that the Chinese government punished for failing to restrict the false stories. Also in March, the government announced new rules requiring microblog users to register their accounts using their real names.
China has more than five hundred thirteen million Internet users. The country has taken great steps to control Internet use. It has one of the largest and most developed censorship systems in the world. Websites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are banned in the country.
In other news last week, the Delhi High Court in India once again delayed censorship hearings against Facebook and Google. It is the second time the hearings have been delayed this year. The two companies are part of a group of companies accused of not censoring offensive content on their websites. The Delhi High Court has set the new hearing date for August seventh.
And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm June Simms.
