美国正在引领新太空竞赛——但其他国家紧随其后
The US is leading the new space race – but other countr…
It can be easy to lose sight of the fact that the US isn’t the only major actor in space.
人们很容易忽略一个事实：美国并非太空领域唯一的参与大国。
When NASA administrator Jared Isaacman unveiled the crew of the Artemis III mission at Johnson Space Center in Houston earlier this month, he was ebullient.
本月早些时候，当美国国家航空航天局（NASA）官员贾里德·艾萨克曼在休斯顿约翰逊航天中心揭晓了“阿尔忒弥斯三号”任务的宇航员名单时，他洋溢着兴奋之情。
We wish you godspeed on the journey ahead, you carry the fire of exploration from generations past, the confidence of this agency, and the support of this nation, and the dreams of millions who will be cheering you on.
我们祝愿你们在接下来的旅途中一路顺风，你们肩负着历代探索者的火焰、本机构的信誉、这个国家的支持，以及数百万人在为你们欢呼的梦想。
The all-male crew – Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and US astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio and Randy Bresnik – will launch into lower Earth orbit next year for a two-week mission to test lunar landers. This will build on the work of the Artemis II astronauts and the Artemis IV mission planned for 2028, which will see humans return to the Moon’s surface for the first time in 56 years.
这支全男性宇航员队伍——包括意大利宇航员卢卡·帕尔米塔诺和美国宇航员安德烈·道格拉斯、弗兰克·鲁比奥和兰迪·布雷斯尼克——计划在明年进入近地轨道，执行为期两周的月球着陆器测试任务。这将建立在“阿尔忒弥斯二号”宇航员的工作基础之上，并衔接2028年计划进行的“阿尔忒弥斯四号”任务，届时人类将首次在56年后重返月球表面。
Amid all of these headlines out of the US, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact it isn’t the only major actor in space. While the US might be leading the current space race, other countries are close behind.
在美国发布了如此多头条新闻的背景下，人们很容易忽略一个事实：它并非太空领域唯一的主要参与者。虽然美国可能正在引领当前的太空竞赛，但其他国家也紧随其后。
The race to the Moon and beyond is accelerating. Some say it’s for the benefit of all humanity. But is it really? In this seven-part series, we explore what our future in space will look like, how we might travel and survive out there, and what’s needed to stop a catastrophe from happening.
奔向月球乃至更远深空的竞赛正在加速。有人说这是为了全人类的利益。但这真的吗？在本七集系列报道中，我们将探索我们在太空的未来会是什么样子，我们如何才能在那里旅行和生存，以及需要采取哪些措施来阻止灾难发生。
China
中国
In May, China successfully launched three taikonauts to its Tiangong space station. One of the taikonauts will remain on the station for a year to “explore human adaptability and performance limits”, according to Chinese state media.
今年五月，中国成功将三名太空人送往天宫空间站。据中国官方媒体报道，其中一名太空人将在空间站停留一年，以“探索人类的适应性和性能极限”。
This will serve as a precursor to China’s plan to send a crewed mission to the Moon before the end of this decade, and establish a permanent lunar base by 2035.
这将为中国计划在本十年结束前执行载人登月任务，并在2035年前建立永久性月球基地做铺垫。
China announced its plans for the International Lunar Research Station (originally in partnership with Russia) in 2021. The base will likely be located somewhere near the Moon’s south pole and will be supported by the use of in-situ resources.
中国于2021年宣布了其国际月球科研站（最初与俄罗斯合作）的计划。该基地可能位于月球南极附近，并将利用就地资源进行支持。
These plans are very similar to those of NASA as part of the Artemis program. As such, they put China in direct opposition to the US.
这些计划与美国“阿尔忒弥斯”计划的部分内容非常相似。因此，这使中国直接对立于美国。
China has actively invited other countries to become involved in the International Lunar Research Station. This is a deliberate attempt to position this opportunity as being more collaborative than the US-led Artemis project. States are actively invited to help set the rules of that collaboration.
中国积极邀请其他国家参与国际月球科研站的建设。这是有意识地试图将这一机会定位为比美国主导的“阿尔忒弥斯”项目更具合作性的平台。各国被积极邀请来帮助制定这种合作的规则。
Along with China, current participants include Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Serbia, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Venezuela, Kazakhstan and Senegal.
除了中国，目前的参与国包括俄罗斯、阿塞拜疆、白俄罗斯、埃及、尼加拉瓜、塞尔维亚、巴基斯坦、南非、泰国、委内瑞拉、哈萨克斯坦和塞内加尔。
Although no taikonaut has yet set foot on the Moon, China has had several very successful lunar missions.
尽管尚未有太空人踏足月球，但中国已经执行了几次非常成功的月球任务。
These include Chang’e 1 in 2007, a lunar orbiter mission that collected more than 1.3 terabytes of data used to produce a detailed map of the lunar surface. This was followed by Chang’e 2, which was launched in 2010 and captured high-resolution images of the Moon.
其中包括2007年的嫦娥一号，这是一项月球轨道器任务，收集了超过1.3太字节的数据，用于制作详细的月球表面地图。随后是2010年发射的嫦娥二号，它拍摄了高分辨率的月球图像。
Chang’e 3 delivered the Jade Rabbit rover to the lunar surface in 2013. Chang’e 4 completed the first successful landing on the far side of the Moon in 2019. One year later, Chang’e 5 returned a lunar sample to Earth.
嫦娥三号于2013年将玉兔月球车送到了月球表面。嫦娥四号于2019年完成了首次成功着陆于月球背面。一年后，嫦娥五号将月球样本带回地球。
In 2024, Chang’e 6 returned another lunar sample – this time from the far side of the Moon – which has been studied for its resource potential.
2024年，嫦娥六号又带回了另一批月球样本——这次是从月球背面采集的——这些样本已被研究其资源潜力。
These missions are notable for their diversity, as well as their steady cadence across a relatively short timeframe.
这些任务因其多样性以及在相对较短的时间内保持的稳定节奏而值得关注。
India
印度
India has also achieved lunar landing success with Chandrayaan-3 in 2023, becoming the first country to land at the lunar South Pole – the desired destination for most planned crewed missions.
印度在2023年利用月船三号（Chandrayaan-3）实现了登月成功，成为第一个登陆月球南极的国家——这也是大多数计划载人任务的目标目的地。
Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, was India’s first deep space mission. It consisted of a lunar orbiter and lunar probe that provided new insights into water molecules on the Moon. Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, consisted of a lunar orbiter, lander and rover. The lander crashed at the lunar South Pole.
月船一号（Chandrayaan-1）于2008年发射，是印度首次深空任务。它由一个月球轨道器和一个月球探测器组成，为月球上的水分子提供了新的见解。月船二号（Chandrayaan-2）于2019年发射，由一个月球轨道器、着陆器和车轮探测器组成。该着陆器在月球南极坠毁。
India plans to launch Chandrayaan-4 no earlier than 2028 to collect samples from the Moon’s surface. This is set to be followed by Chandrayaan-5 – a planned collaboration between India and Japan – to further explore the lunar South Pole.
印度计划在2028年或之后发射月船四号（Chandrayaan-4），以收集月球表面的样本。随后将是月船五号（Chandrayaan-5）——这是印度和日本计划合作的项目——用于进一步探索月球南极。
Russia
俄罗斯
Russia’s lunar activities remain focused on uncrewed missions.
俄罗斯的月球活动仍侧重于无人任务。
Russia has a long and successful history of lunar orbiters and landers, with its last successful lunar landing in 1976 during the Soviet era. Its lunar program received a setback in 2023, with the crash of Luna25 at the lunar South Pole.
俄罗斯在月球轨道器和着陆器方面拥有悠久而成功的历史，其最后一次成功的月球着陆发生在苏联时期（1976年）。然而，由于“月神25号”（Luna25）在月球南极坠毁，其月球计划在2023年遭遇了挫折。
However, as a partner in the International Lunar Research Station, Russia has announced the intention to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon by 2036.
然而，作为国际月球科研站的合作伙伴，俄罗斯宣布计划在2036年前于月球建造一座核电站。
The rest of the pack
包中的其余部分
Other countries are also actively involved in lunar missions.
其他国家也积极参与月球任务。
Japan’s iSpace, for example, has experienced two unsuccessful lunar landing attempts: Hakuto-R in 2023 and Resilience in 2025. This shows lunar landings remain a difficult and challenging exercise.
例如，日本的 iSpace 经历了两次月球着陆尝试：2023年的“白斗-R”和2025年的“韧性”。这表明月球着陆仍然是一项困难且具有挑战性的任务。
The Outer Space Treaty provides that space is “free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind” and that the Moon (and other celestial bodies) are “not subject to national appropriation” by claim of sovereignty or any other means.
《外层空间条约》规定，太空“可供所有国家自由探索和使用，不带任何歧视”，并且月球（和其他天体）“不得通过主权宣称或任何其他方式进行国家占有”。
This of course means any state is open to establish a base on the Moon. Far more complex will be establishing how these various bases may operate safely on the challenging lunar surface.
当然，这意味着任何国家都可以建立月球基地。更复杂的是如何确保这些各种基地能够在充满挑战的月球表面安全运行。
Melissa de Zwart receives funding from the ARC. ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, CE230100015.
Melissa de Zwart 获得了 ARC 的资助。ARC 太空植物卓越中心，CE230100015。
