English World

India First Country in Asia to Reach Mars

亞洲第一  印度火星探測器入軌

India became the first country in Asia to reach Mars on September 24 when its unmannedspacecraft, named Mangalyaan, entered the Red Planet’s orbit. The 660 million kilometersvoyage to Mars took 10 months.

The success of the mission is a great source of national pride for India as it competes with its Asian rivals for success in space. "The success of our space program is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation." said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) base. He went on to say "History has been created. We have dared to reach out into the unknown and have achieved the near impossible."

The mission’s budget of US$74 million is just a fraction of the US$671 million that NASA used for its Maven spacecraft, which successfully began orbiting Mars on September 21.

More than half of all missions to the fourth planet from the sun have been a failure, including China’s in 2012 and Japan’s in 1999. By reaching Mars, India joins of the ranks of the US, Russia, and Europe.

當無人駕駛的「曼加里安」號探測器成功進入紅色星球的軌道後，印度成為亞洲第一個於9月24日成功抵達火星的國家。探測器歷經10個月，長達6.6億公里的飛行。

對於正和亞洲其他對手國競逐太空探索成就的印度而言，是國家的一大驕傲。印度總理莫迪在印度太空研究組織表示：「我們太空計畫的成功是一個耀眼的象徵，展現了我們作為一個國家的能力。」他更接著表示：「我們創造了歷史，我們勇於探索未知世界，達成了幾乎不可能的任務。」

印度火星探測任務的預算耗資7400萬美元，相較於之前美國太空總署耗資美金6.71億美元所發射的「火星大氣與揮發分演化」探測器只是麟毛一角，目前美國的探測器已於9月21日成功進入火星的軌道。

超過一半以上想抵達從太陽算起第四個行星的任務都以失敗告終，包含中國大陸在2012年與日本在1999年所執行的任務。印度透過抵達火星，因此成功躋身美國、俄羅斯和歐洲的行列，成為火星探測的國家。

Beginner word list

country (n)  國家

Russia is the largest country in the world.

俄羅斯是世界上最大的國家。

Asia (n) 亞洲

Taiwan is in Asia.

臺灣位於亞洲內。

enter (v) 進入

Tim entered the office without knocking.

提姆沒有敲門就進入辦公室。

kilometer (n) 公里

The supermarket is 20 kilometers away.

超級市場離此處有20公里遠。

success (n) 成功

The party was a big success.

這個派對辦得很成功。

national (adj) 國家的

The crowd cheered for their national team.

民眾為他們的國家隊加油。

space (n) 太空

The astronauts spent 10 days in space.

太空人在外太空裡度過了10天。

program (n) 計畫

Harry started on a weight-loss program.

哈利開始一個減重的計畫。

symbol (n) 象徵

The olive branch is a symbol of peace.

橄欖樹枝有和平的象徵。

Reference word list:

India (n) 印度i

Mars (n) 火星

unmanned (adj) 無人駕駛的

spacecraft (n) 太空船i

orbit (n) (v) 運行的軌道；環繞運行i

voyage (n) 太空旅行i

mission (n) 任務i

rival (n) 競爭者i

Prime Minister (n) 首相；總理

budget (n) 預算i

fraction (n) 一小部分

Challenge Yourself

(    ) 1. How far is it from the Earth to Mars?

(A) 74,000,000  kilometers.

(B) 660,000,000 kilometers.

(C) 71,000 kilometers.

(D) 660,000,000,000 kilometers.

(   ) 2. Which is another name for Mars?

(A) Mangalyaan.

(B) Narendra Modi.

(C) The Red Planet.

(D) ISRO.

(   ) 3. How long did it take Mangalyaan to reach Mars?

(A) A month.

(B) Twenty-one months.

(C) A year.

(D) Ten months.

(   ) 4. How much did it cost India to send the spacecraft to Mars?

(A) US$74 million.

(B) US$671 million.

(C) US$660 million.

(D) US$2012 million.

(   ) 5. Which countries have been to Mars?

(A) China, the USA, and India.

(B) Russia, Japan, and India.

(C) Russia, the USA, and India.

(D) Russia, the USA, and Japan.

        (Answers: B,C,D,A,C)

Writer: Kenneth Paul

Editor: Candy Tang

Proofreader: Grace Chang