I was 17 when I chose my career.
我是在17岁的时候选定自己的职业的。
I was standing outside on a hot summer night in Florida and just a few miles from the ocean.
那是在佛罗里达一个炎热的夏夜，我站在户外距离海边也就几英里的地方。
I was waiting for a miracle to happen. That summer, I was privileged to work as an intern at NASA's Kennedy Space Center,
我在等待一个奇迹的发生。那年夏天，我有幸作为一名实习生在NASA的肯尼迪航天中心工作，
and the miracle I was waiting for was the launch of the Columbia Space Shuttle carrying the Chandra X-Ray Observatory,
而我等待的这个奇迹，就是哥伦比亚号航天飞机的发射，它装载了钱德拉X射线天文台，
a telescope that would allow scientists to peer into the edge of black holes.
那是一台望远镜，可以帮助科学家观察黑洞的边缘。
The entire sky filled with light. And it was as if it was daytime in the middle of the night.
整个天空都被点亮了。午夜被照得如同白昼。
Soon, we could feel the rumble of the engines vibrating in our chests. And it wasn't a miracle;
很快，引擎的轰鸣在我们的胸中产生了共鸣。这不是奇迹，
it was the combined effort of a team of thousands of people who worked together to make was seemed impossible a reality.
而是数千人共同努力，同甘共苦，完成了一项不可能完成的任务。
And I wanted to join that team.
我想成为他们中的一员。
So I decided to apply to a university where I could study aerospace engineering.
于是我决定申请一所能让我学习航天工程学的大学。
And the following year, I started at MIT in my engineering training and joined a student project building space robots.
接下来的那年，我开始在麻省理工学习工程学，参与了一个学生项目，建造太空机器人。
And everything was going as I planned, except I was confused about something important.
一切都很顺利，按计划进行，除了一点，我在某些重要的事情上感到困惑。
Now, my confusion arose in my summer breaks.
具体说来，我的困惑产生于那年暑假。
I traveled to a school in Kenya, and there I volunteered with girls ages five to 17,
我旅行到了肯尼亚的一所学校，在那里支教，辅导5到17岁的女孩，
giving them lessons in English and math and science.
给她们上英文、数学和科学课。
And they taught me songs in Swahili. And mostly, I just spent time getting to know the girls, enjoying their presence.
她们教我用斯瓦西里语唱歌。大部分时间里，我都是在跟姑娘们增进了解，跟她们在一起我就很开心。
And I saw that these girls and the leaders in their community,
我看到这些女孩和她们的社区领袖，
they were overcoming important barriers to allow these girls to have the best possible chances in life.
突破了重重障碍，给了这些姑娘们一生中可能最好的机会。
And I wanted to join that team.
我也想加入这个团队。
I wanted to be part of a team that would help break down barriers and improve the lives of girls around the world.
我想成为他们中的一员，帮助他们突破阻碍，改善世界各地女孩的生活。
But I was worried that studying aerospace engineering wasn't the most useful.
但我感到担心，觉得学习航天工程对此并无太大帮助。
I was worried this team in Kenya couldn't use the technology I was learning about space.
我担心肯尼亚的这个团队，用不上我所学的太空技术。
But thankfully, I still learned that I was wrong.
但谢天谢地，后来我发现自己错了。
I came back and interned at NASA again, and this time,
我再次回到NASA实习，这一次，
a mentor taught me that countries like Kenya had been using space technology for decades to improve the lives in their own countries.
一位导师告诉我，像肯尼亚这样的国家，使用太空技术来改善他们的生活已经几十年了。
And then I knew that I could have a career in space and in development.
之后我了解到，我可以从事一门与太空和发展都有关的职业。
This idea is not new. In fact, in 1967, the nations of the world came together to write the Outer Space Treaty.
这个想法并不新鲜。实际上，在1967年，世界各国就签署了《外层空间条约》。
This treaty made a bold statement, saying,
该条约做了一个明确的声明，
"The exploration and use of outer space should be carried on for the benefit of all peoples,
“外层空间的探索和使用，必须有利于全人类，
irrespective of their level of economic or scientific development."
无论他们的经济发展水平或科技发展水平如何。”
We have not truly lived up to this ideal, although people have worked for decades to make this a reality.
尽管我们已经努力了数十年，但这一理想并未真正实现。
Forces such as colonialism and racism and gender inequality have actually excluded many people from the benefits of space
殖民主义、种族主义和性别不平等已经阻碍了很多人享受太空开发的福利，
and caused us to believe that space is for the few or the rich or elite.
以至于我们会误以为，太空只属于少数人，富人或者精英群体。
But we cannot afford this attitude, because the world is engaged in a vital mission to improve life for everyone.
但我们不能接受这种态度，因为世界给我们一个重要的使命，就是让所有人都生活得更好。
Our road map for this mission comes from the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
这项使命的发展蓝图来自于联合国的17个可持续发展目标。
All the member states of the United Nations have agreed that these are priorities between now and 2030.
联合国所有成员国一致同意，这是2030年前的优先目标。
These goals give us our key moments and opportunities of our time
这些目标展示了我们这个时代的关键时刻和机会，
opportunities to end extreme poverty, to insure that everyone has access to food and clean water.
消除极端贫困的机会，保证每个人都可以得到食物和清洁用水。
We must pursue these goals as a global community. And technology from space supports sustainable development.
国际社会必须共同努力，来实现这些目标。而太空技术可以支持可持续发展。
In fact, there are six space services that can help us pursue the Sustainable Development Goals.
实际上，有6种太空服务可以帮助我们实现可持续发展目标。
Over the next few minutes, let's explore these six services,
在接下来的时间里，我们就来了解一下这6种服务，
and see examples of just a few of the goals they help support. You ready? OK.
看看它们支持的一些目标。准备好了吗？好的。
Communication satellites provide access to phone and internet service to almost any location on Earth.
通信卫星让我们可以在地球上几乎任何一个角落使用电话和网络服务。
This is particularly important during times of disaster recovery.
尤其在灾后重建的时候非常重要。
When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, the local communication networks needed to be repaired,
当台风“海燕”袭击菲律宾的时候，当地的通信网络需要修复，
and teams brought in inflatable communication antennas that could link to satellites.
抢险队带来了充气式卫星天线，可以与卫星连接。
This was useful during the time of repair and recovery.
在灾后修复和重建时期非常有用。
Positioning satellites tell us where we are by telling us where they are.
定位卫星通过告诉我们它们的位置来确定我们的位置。
Scientists can use this technology to track endangered wildlife.
科学家们可以利用这种技术来跟踪濒危野生动物。
This turtle has been fitted with a system that allows it to receive location information from positioning satellites,
这只海龟就装载了定位系统，可以接收定位卫星发来的位置信息，
and they send the location information to scientists via communication satellites.
他们将位置信息通过通信卫星发给科学家。
Scientists can use this knowledge to then make better policies and help determine how to keep these animals alive.
科学家可以利用这些资料，制定更好的政策，来保护这些动物。
Earth observation satellites. They tell us what's going on in our environment.
地球观测卫星。它们监测我们的周边环境。

Right now, there are about 150 satellites operated by over 60 government agencies, and these are just those observing the Earth.
目前，有差不多150颗卫星，由超过60个政府部门控制，这还仅仅只是用来监测地球的。
And meanwhile, companies are adding to this list.
同时，还有许多公司也在参与进来。
Most of the governments provide the data from the satellites for free online.
大部分政府都会将这些数据免费公布在网上。
Some of these satellites provide images like this, that show what you would see from a camera.
有些卫星会提供这样的图片，是通过摄像头拍摄的。
This is an image showing agricultural land in Kansas.
这张照片拍的是堪萨斯州的农业用地。
However, the majority of the Earth observation satellites don't take pictures at all. They take measurements.
然而，大部分的地球观测卫星根本不会拍摄照片。而是进行测量。
And they combine these measurements with complex computer models and make beautiful, global visualizations such as this one,
然后将这些测量结果输入复杂的计算机模型，生成美丽的全球可视化图像，就像这幅，
showing the ocean currents and the temperature of the ocean, globally.
展示的是洋流以及全球海洋的温度。
Or we can look at the salt and smoke and dust in the atmosphere, or the rainfall and snowfall, globally,
我们还可以查看全球大气中的盐分、烟气以及沙尘，或者降雨和降雪，
as well as the annual cycle of vegetation on land and in the ocean.
还有陆地和海洋植物在一年中的变化。
Now, scientists can take this information about the rainfall and the vegetation
科学家可以利用降雨和植被的信息来进行推测，
and use it to understand what areas on Earth are in danger of a famine or a drought
地球上的哪些地区处于饥荒或干旱的危险中，
and provide that information to aid organizations so they can be prepared with food aid before the hunger becomes severe.
并把这些信息提供给救援组织，以便准备应急食物，防止饥荒情况恶化。
In space, we have an orbiting laboratory on the International Space Station.
在太空中的国际空间站有轨道实验室。
The vehicle and everything inside are in a form of free fall around the Earth, and they don't experience the effect of gravity.
这个实验室和里面的所有东西在绕地球运行时都处于自由落体状态，不受重力的影响。
And because of this, we call it "microgravity."
因此我们称之为“微重力”。
When astronauts are in the microgravity environment, their bodies react as if they're aging rapidly.
当宇航员处于微重力环境下时，他们的身体反应就如同迅速变老一般。
Their bones and muscles weaken, and their cardiovascular system and their immune system change.
骨骼和肌肉变弱，心血管系统和免疫系统发生变化。
As scientists study how to keep astronauts healthy in space,
科学家们正在研究如何保证宇航员在太空中的健康，
we can take the exercises and techniques we use for astronauts and transfer them to people on Earth to improve our health here.
而我们则可以将用在宇航员身上的实践和技术，应用在普通人身上，以改善他们的健康。
Often, as we develop technology for astronauts and exploration or for spacecraft,
通常情况下，我们用在宇航员、宇宙探索或者宇宙飞船上的技术，
we can also transfer those inventions to improve life on Earth. Here's one of my favorites.
也同样可以转化用于改善地球上的生活。下面是我最喜欢的一种。
It's a water filtration system, and a key component of it is based on the technology to filter wastewater on the space station.
水过滤系统，其中的关键部件就是基于空间站废水过滤技术而制造出来的。
It's now being used around the world. Space is also an infinite source of inspiration,
现在全世界都在用它。太空还是灵感的无限源泉，
through education, through research and astronomy and that age-old experience of stargazing.
通过教育，通过研究和天文学以及长时间的观星。
Now, countries around the world are engaging in advancing their own development
现在，全球各国都在努力推动自身的发展，
by increasing their local knowledge of engineering and science and space.
通过增强其在工程、科学和太空领域的实力。
Let's meet some of the world's newest satellite engineers. This is Elyka Abello, from Venezuela.
让我们来认识一下最新一代的卫星工程师。这是来自委内瑞拉的艾丽卡·阿贝罗。
Elyka is training as a satellite engineer as part of her national satellite program in Venezuela.
艾丽卡学的是卫星工程，是委内瑞拉国家卫星计划的一部分。
She has designed a software tool that allows her team to better design the power systems for engineering.
她设计了一种软件工具，能帮助她的团队更好的设计工程动力系统。
This is Adel Castillo-Duran, from the Philippines.
这是阿黛尔·卡斯蒂略-杜兰，菲律宾人。
Adel is both a meteorologist and a satellite engineer, and she uses data from satellites in her weather forecasting.
阿黛尔既是气象学家，又是卫星工程师，她使用卫星数据进行天气预测。
And finally, meet Hala. Hala is from the Sudan, and as she was studying electrical engineering as an undergraduate in Khartoum,
最后这位是哈拉。哈拉来自苏丹，她本科在喀土穆学的是电子工程，
she and several students decided to build their own satellite.
她和几个同学决定做一颗自己的卫星。
And later, Hala earned a scholarship to study satellite engineering at the graduate level.
不久后，哈拉获得了卫星工程研究生奖学金。
These stories that I've shared with you all illustrate that space truly is useful for sustainable development for the benefit of all peoples.
我分享给大家的这些故事，充分证明了太空技术对于可持续发展的用处，它是惠及全人类的。
But we have more work to do, because there are still barriers that exclude people from space and limit the impact of this technology.
但我们还任重道远，因为还存在不少阻碍，让人们无法进一步接近太空，更限制了各种技术的应用。
For many people, Earth observation data is complex. And satellite communication services are too expensive.
对许多人来说，地球观测数据很复杂。卫星通信服务很昂贵。
And microgravity research just appears to be inaccessible. This is what motivates my work as a professor at MIT's Media Lab.
微重力研究看起来又是那么遥不可及。这就是我成为麻省理工媒体实验室一名教授的原因。
I've recently founded a new research group called Space Enabled.
我最近成立了一个新的研究小组，叫做“拥抱太空”。
We are working to tear down these barriers that limit the benefits of space.
我们致力于消除阻碍，让大家充分享受太空技术的好处。
And we're also going to develop the future applications that will continue to contribute to sustainable development.
我们也会继续发展前瞻性的应用，继续为可持续发展做贡献。
We'll keep on this work until we can truly say that space is for the benefit of all peoples, and we are all space enabled. Thank you.
我们将不断努力，直到我们可以真正宣布，太空技术惠及了全人类，太空属于我们每个人。谢谢大家。