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A large number of things have to go right for the landing to succeed—and the failures of other recent lunar missions demonstrate the sheer variety of ways in which things can go wrong.
要想成功着陆，很多事情都必须按照预期进行——最近其他登月任务的失败表明，事情出错的方式五花八门。
Sometimes the problem is software-related: hakuto-r failed last April because its navigation software was confused by the unexpectedly high rim of a crater near the landing site.
有时，问题与软件有关：去年4月，hakuto-r登录失败，因为它的导航软件被着陆点附近一个陨石坑出奇高的边缘搞混了。
Assuming that the probe was close to the surface, the software initiated a low-speed powered descent.
假设探测器离地面很近，软件启动了低速动力下降。
In fact the probe was 5km above the lunar soil, and soon depleted its fuel supply, after which it fell to the surface and was destroyed.
事实上，探测器在月球土壤上方5公里处，很快耗尽了燃料供应，之后它坠落到月球表面并被摧毁。
In other cases, hardware is at fault.
在其他情况下，是硬件出了问题。
Luna 25 crashed in August because its engine failed to shut down correctly while it was manoeuvring into a pre-landing orbit, putting it instead on a collision course with the Moon.
Luna 25号在8月份坠毁，因为它在进入预着陆轨道时发动机未能正确关闭，导致它与月球相撞。
Peregrine's propellant leak last month seems to have occurred after a valve failed to close properly, causing a build-up of pressure and a rupture in its oxidiser tank.
游隼号上个月的推进剂泄漏似乎是由于一个阀门未能正确关闭，导致压力积聚和氧化罐破裂。
As a result, it had insufficient fuel to complete its mission, and burned up in Earth's atmosphere on January 18th.
结果，它没有足够的燃料来完成任务，并于1月18日在地球大气层中烧毁。
The following day, the SLIM probe lost one of its two engine nozzles in the final seconds of its descent to the lunar surface, but its software was smart enough to compensate, bringing it to a soft landing within 55 metres of its target—astonishingly close for a mission to a different world.
第二天，SLIM探测器在降落到月球表面的最后几秒失去了两个发动机喷嘴中的一个，但它的软件足够聪明，可以进行补偿，使它在距离目标不到55米的地方软着陆——对于一个探索另一个世界的任务来说，这距离惊人的近。
However, instead of landing on its side as intended, SLIM tipped over onto its nose, ending up with its engines pointing upward and leaving its solar panels in shadow.
然而，SLIM探测器并没有像预期的那样侧身着陆，而是翻倒在了机头上，最终导致发动机指向上方，太阳能电池板处于阴影中。
SLIM's controllers shut the probe down to conserve power, but were able to power it up again nine days later, when the Sun was at a more suitable angle.
SLIM的控制器关闭了探测器以节省电力，但9天后，当太阳处于一个更合适的角度时，它又重新启动了。
The fate of SLIM shows that mishaps need not always lead to mission failure.
SLIM的命运表明，事故不一定总是导致任务失败。
Its troubled landing was nevertheless the most precise in spacefaring history, demonstrating the potential of its novel vision-based navigation system.
尽管如此，它的着陆困难重重，但却是航天史上最精确的一次，这证明了其新型基于视觉的导航系统的潜力。
And, scientific achievements aside, the mission also made Japan the fifth country to have soft-landed a craft on the Moon.
撇开科学成就不谈，这次任务还使日本成为第五个在月球上软着陆的国家。
Whether Odysseus succeeds or fails in the coming days, many other private landing attempts are planned for later in 2024.
无论奥德修斯号在未来几天成功还是失败，许多其他私人登陆尝试都计划于2024年晚些时候进行。
NASA has several clps missions lined up: at least one (and possibly two) by Intuitive Machines, using the same type of lander as Odysseus;
美国国家航空航天局(NASA)有几个clps任务：Intuitive Machines公司至少有一个(也可能是两个)，使用与奥德修斯号相同类型的着陆器；
another mission by Astrobotic, using a larger lander called Griffin, carrying a NASA-built robotic rover called Viper; and a lander called Blue Ghost, built by Firefly Aerospace, yet another American company which, like Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic, has no track record in the landing game.
Astrobotic公司有一个，是使用更大的着陆器，名叫Griffin，携带美国宇航局制造的机器人探测器，名叫viper；还有一个名为Blue Ghost的着陆器，由Firefly Aerospace公司制造，这是另一家美国公司，与Intuitive Machines公司和Astrobotic公司一样，在这场登录月球的游戏中没有任何记录。
Ispace, the Japanese firm behind last year's failed hakuto-r mission, also hopes to have another try this year.
去年发射失败的hakuto-r号的日本公司Ispace，也希望今年再试一次。
And those are just the private missions slated for 2024; China's space agency also intends to launch Chang'e 6, the latest in its successful series of Moon landers, in the next few months.
这些还只是2024年预定的私人登月任务;中国航天局还打算在未来几个月发射嫦娥六号，这是其成功登月系列中的最新一枚。
But for now the immediate question is whether Odysseus can succeed where all previous private landers have failed.
但目前最直接的问题是奥德修斯号能否在之前所有私人登陆器都失败的地方成功。
The companies involved in this private Moon race insist that it does not really matter which of them comes first—their shared aim is to provide regular service to the Moon's surface, for both public and private entities.
参与这场私人月球竞赛的公司都坚持认为，谁先到并不重要——他们的共同目标是为公共和私人实体提供月球表面的常规服务。
"We are all standing on the shoulders of those that attempted, failed and succeeded," says Steve Altemus, the boss of Intuitive Machines, whose fingers are no doubt firmly crossed.
“我们都站在那些尝试过、失败过和成功过的人的肩膀上，”Intuitive Machines公司的老板史蒂夫·阿尔特姆斯说，他的手指无疑是坚定地交叉着的。
The return to the Moon is proving difficult. But the direction of travel is clear.
事实证明，重返月球非常困难。但发展方向是明确的。
