Just days after the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon, India’s space agency successfully launched its first lunar lander bound for the moon.

就在全世界庆祝人类登月50周年的几天后，印度航天局成功向月球发射了第一个月球着陆器。

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) achieved a successful liftoff and injection into Earth’s orbit of its Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft early this morning.

印度空间研究组织（ISRO）的月船2号今天一大早成功发射并进入地球轨道。

The Chandrayaan-2 now begins its six-week journey to the moon. Once in the moon’s orbit, the Chandrayaan-2 will attempt to land on the moon’s surface in September.

现在月船2号开始了飞向月球的为期6周的行程。九月份一进入月球轨道就会尝试在月球表面着陆。

If that landing is successful, India will become only the fourth nation to ever land an intact vehicle on the moon.

如能成功着陆，印度将会成为史上第四个月球车完整着陆月球的国家。

Previous nations that have done so include the U.S., Russia, and China.

此前登月的国家有美国、俄罗斯和中国。

In 2008 India sent the Chandrayaan-1 to the moon, where it achieved successful orbit and then launched a probe into the moon’s surface.

2008年印度向月球发射了月船1号，成功绕轨道运行，之后向月球表面发射了一个探测器。

From a scientific standpoint, the Chandrayaan-1 mission was a huge success.

从科学角度来看，月船1号圆满完成任务。

The probe it launched into the lunar surface found evidence of water ice on the moon’s south pole.

向月球表面发射的探测器在月球南极发现了水冰的证据。

The goal of the Chandrayaan-2 is to land a lunar rover on the moon’s surface and keep it operating there for 14 days—which is equal to one lunar day.

月船2号的目标是要让一辆月球车在月球表面着陆，在那里运行14天，相当于月球上的一天。

During that time, the Chandrayaan-2 lander will search the moon’s south pole to see just how much water ice could be contained there.

在此期间，月船2号着陆器将搜索月球南极，看看那里有多少水冰。

If the amount found is significant, it could go a long way toward helping further lunar expeditions or even setting up a moon colony.

如果发现的数量很大，可能对进一步的月球探险，甚至建立月球殖民地，都会有很大帮助。

The ice could be mined and turned into drinking water for human inhabitants or even converted to fuel for spacecraft.

可以开发这些水冰，转化成适合人类居民的饮用水，甚至还可以转化成航天器燃料。

 

翻译：菲菲