(单词翻译:单击)
This episode was brought to you by Brilliant.org.
本节目是由Brilliant.org为您播出的。
About a year ago, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced
大约一年前，SpaceX公司首席执行官埃隆·马斯克(Elon Musk)宣布，
the company's ambitious goal to put a million humans on Mars by the end of the century.
该公司的宏伟目标是在本世纪末将100万人送上火星。
And last week, he was back with a more detailed plan and some even bigger ideas.
上周，他又提出了一个更为详细的计划，还有一些更宏大的想法。
Because if Elon Musk doesn't disrupt the entire space industry every time he gives a talk, does it even count?
因为如果埃隆·马斯克每次讲话都不扰乱整个太空行业的话，那还算讲话吗？
It all went down at the International Aeronautical Congress,
这一切都发生在国际航空大会上，
a yearly meeting of space agency heads, aerospace experts, and industry leaders in Adelaide, Australia.
它是太空机构领导、航空专家和行业领袖在澳大利亚阿德莱德举行的一个年度会议。
Just like last year, the plans rely on being able to launch the same rocket over and over again, a concept SpaceX uses a lot.
和去年一样，计划依赖于能够反复发射同一枚火箭，这是SpaceX惯用的观念。
They've now launched and landed sixteen Falcon 9 rockets in a row,
他们已经连续发射和降落16枚猎鹰9号火箭了，
and earlier this year, they reused one of those boosters for the first time ever.
今年早些时候，他们第一次重新使用了其中的一个助推器。
Last year, the company revealed plans to build an Interplanetary Transport System,
去年，该公司公布了建立星际运输系统的计划，
which would send hundreds of people to Mars in the early 2020s.
计划在本世纪20年代初期，将会把数百人送到火星上。
Now, they're still planning to send people to Mars, but after twelve months to think about it,
现在，他们仍计划送人到火星，但经过一年的思考，
they've scaled back their rocket design a bit.
他们已经缩减了自己的火箭设计。
But don't worry. It is still really, really big.
但不用担心，它仍然很大很大。
They don't have the final name figured out yet, but in the meantime,
它的最终名字还没确定，但与此同时，
they're calling this new vehicle the BFR, which almost definitely stands for Big Fracking Rocket.
他们正用BFR称呼这个新飞行器，叫它大型火箭就实至名归。
Which if you ask me, is probably a better name than what they're going to officially decide on.
如果你问我的意见，它可能要比官方命名更好。
Either way, it's planned to be one of the largest rockets ever built.
不管怎么说，它计划成为有史以来最大的火箭之一。
BFR will consist of 31 engines, stand 106 meters tall, and have a diameter of nearly 9 meters.
BFR将由31个引擎组成，高106米，直径近9米。
That's dramatically larger than any rocket available today,
这比现在的任何火箭都要大得多，
and it will be even more powerful than the Space Launch System, the rocket NASA is currently working on.
它将比宇航局目前正在研制的太空发射系统更强大。
In a fully-reusable configuration, it will be able to put 150 metric tons into Earth orbit, 20 more than the SLS.
在完全可再用的配置中，BFR能够将150公吨重的东西送入地球轨道上，是太空发射系统的20多倍。
And unlike the SLS, BFR will also be able to fly over and over again,
与太空发射系统不同，它能够反复飞行，
which should make the cost of a flight way less expensive.
这会使得航班的费用降低。
Musk said that besides going to Mars, BFR will also be able to fly to all sorts of smaller destinations,
马斯克说BFR除了去火星之外，也能够飞到各种各样小型的目的地，
like delivering cargo to the International Space Station or launching a bunch of satellites,
比如向国际空间站运送货物，或发射一堆卫星。
which would help the company pay for the cost of developing it.
这将帮该公司赚取研发费用。
And it could be used to start a moon base! Because why not?
它也可以用来启动月球基地！为什么不能呢？
During his presentation, Musk teased pictures of what he called Moonbase Alpha,
马斯克在他的展示中取笑“月球基地阿尔法”中的图片，
a futuristic, sci-fi-looking outpost.
它是未来主义色彩的科幻基地。
The moon might only be a few days away, compared to the months-long trip to Mars,
与到火星的漫长旅途相比，到月球只是几天的路程而已，
but returning there would give everyone involved more experience to help them plan the safest journey to the Red Planet.
但回到月球将会为每个人提供更多的经验，帮助他们计划到火星的最安全旅程。
Still, for a new launch vehicle to really make economic sense,
不过，对于一款真正具有经济意义的新型运载火箭来说，
the company needs to go all-in on it, and that is exactly what they plan to do.
该公司需要全力投入，这正是他们计划要做的。
Besides getting funding from all these smaller missions,
除了从小任务中获得资金之外，
SpaceX plans to eventually stop building their other stuff: the Falcon 9, the Falcon Heavy, and the Dragon capsule.
SpaceX 公司计划最终停止建造其他的物体：猎鹰9号运载火箭、猎鹰重型火箭和龙飞船。
But all that experience won't go to waste.
但所有的经验不会浪费。
Years of launching and landing the Falcon 9 have taught them about reusing the rockets,
几年发射和降落猎鹰9号运载火箭的经验教会了他们重复使用火箭，
while the Falcon Heavy is teaching them the unique challenges of building a really big rocket.
而猎鹰重型火箭正在向他们传授建造真正大型火箭的独特挑战。
By switching to just one system, they'll be able to focus their time and resources on one product that combines all of those lessons.
通过切换到一个体系，他们将能够集中时间和资源到一个结合了所有经验的产品上。
And in a few years, all of this might even lead to a city on Mars, at least, according to Musk.
未来几年，所有这些甚至可能导致火星上一座城市的建立，至少，马斯克是这么说的。
At last week's talk, he proposed sending uncrewed BFRs to Mars as early as 2022, with crewed missions only two years later.
他在上周演讲中提出，最早于2022年向火星发射无人操作的的BFRs，两年后才有载人任务。
But building a Mars colony has a lot of challenges, like how to get fuel or oxygen. Or everything else.
但建立一个火星殖民地有很多挑战，比如如何获得燃料和氧气，或其他所有物品。
To produce water, oxygen, and even rocket fuel on Mars, SpaceX might use a reaction called the Sabatier process,
为了在火星上制造水、氧气甚至火箭燃料，SpaceX可能会使用一种叫做萨巴捷反应，
which chemists have known about for around a hundred years.
这个化学反应化学家一百年前就知道了。
It would involve combining hydrogen brought from Earth, or from the water ice on Mars,
它需要地球带来的氢或火星上的水冰
with carbon dioxide pulled from the Martian atmosphere.
与火星大气释放的二氧化碳相结合。
Of course it's important to note, we've never tried to make it happen on Mars.
当然，值得注意的是，我们从没在火星上试过。
And before you put me on a BFR, I would want to know that there was air waiting for me on the other end!
在将我放到BFR之前，我想知道另一端有空气在等着我。
SpaceX plans to start building the rocket sometime next year,
SpaceX公司计划明年某个时候开始建造火箭，
but they have a lot to figure out before then.
但在此之前，还有很多事情需要弄清楚。
As if all of this weren't enough, Musk also suggests that the BFR could compete with airlines here on Earth,
似乎这还不够，马斯克还建议，BFR可以与地球上的航空公司竞争，
flying travelers anywhere on the planet in less than an hour.
在不到一小时的时间里，在地球上的任何地方飞行。
Traveling at up to 27,000 kilometers per hour, you could get from LA to Australia in about 40 minutes.
如果以每小时2.7万公里的速度旅行，你可以在40分钟内从洛杉矶到澳大利亚。
Which sounds awesome, but also a little ambitious, even for SpaceX.
这听起来很了不起，但甚至对于SpaceX公司来说，还有点儿难以企及。
For now, that the company still has a lot of other goals on their plate.
目前，该公司仍有很多其他目标在忙。
They plan to fly the Falcon Heavy for the first time by the end of this year,
他们希望在今年年底第一次试飞猎鹰重型火箭，
they hope to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station by 2019,
他们希望到2019年将宇航员运送到国际空间站，
and, y'know, still have all the time and money needed to build the BFR.
而且，你知道，他们还要有建造BFR需要花费的时间和金钱。
Mostly, this seems more like sci-fi than real life right now, but SpaceX has never been a company to aim low.
大多数时候，这似乎更像是科幻小说，而不是现实生活，但SpaceX从来都不是瞄准低目标的公司。
So someday, you might be watching SciShow Space from the comfort of your BFR-delivered habitat,
所以某一天，你可能会从BFR发射的栖息地上观看太空科学秀，
but there's still a very, very long way to go.
但在此之前还有很长的路要走。
To accomplish all this, of course Elon Musk will need an energetic generation of scientists,
为了实现所以这些目标，埃隆·马斯克需要精力充沛的一代科学家、
astronomers, and programmers, and SciShow Space viewers are great candidates.
天文学家、程序员，太空科学秀的观众是很好的候选人。
Our partner Brilliant.org has unlocked access to their Bus to Mars quiz for free, now through October 12.
我们的合作伙伴Brilliant网站已经开启了免费的“火星测试”，现在是10月12日。
Go to brilliant.org/SciShowSpace and design your own mission using an elongated orbit from Earth to Mars,
登录brilliant.org/SciShowSpace，使用一个从地球到火星的细长轨道来设计自己的任务，
figure out how much fuel it would need, and how much time it would take.
弄清楚它需要多少燃料，以及需要多少时间。
You could sign up to check your answers.
你可以报名检查你的答案。
If you want much more to explore, and to support SciShow Space,
如果你想要更多的探索，并支持太空科学秀栏目，
click the link in the description and sign up for free.
点击描述中的链接并免费注册。
As a bonus, the first 200 people to subscribe to Brilliant will get a 20% discount on their annual subscription,
作为奖励，前200名在Brilliant订阅的人可享年订阅费的8折优惠，
which unlocks all of the quizzes for you to learn about a wide range of subjects.
它解开了所有的测验，让你学习范围广泛的科目。
