2017年12月英语四级听力VOA慢速英语原文（十九）
Hawking, Zuckerberg to Search for Life in the UniverseInvestor Yuri Milner holds a Starchip, a microelectronic component
spacecraft, during an announcement of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative with
physicist Stephen Hawking in New York, April 12, 2016.
It is one of the oldest questions ever asked: Are we alone or is there
other life out in the Universe?
Last week, an international team of scientists and businessmen launched a
project they hope can answer that question. They announced plans for a huge
space exploration program. Its goal is to find alien life in space.
The team includes British physicist Stephen Hawking, Russian-born
billionaire Yuri Milner and American Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Facbook.
Their project is called Breakthrough Spaceshot. It will develop and build
thousands of robotic vehicles that can speed through space.
Their first goal is to explore the near est star system, Alpha Centauri. It
is about 40 trillion kilometers — or 4.37 light years – away from Earth. Once
launched a spacecraft would have to travel 20 years to get there.
The way they will make it happen is like something from a science fiction
story. Crews on Earth would use powerful laser beams to power extremely small
vehicles through space.These spacecraft would travel much farther than any other
spacecraft built to date.
Estimates say the project will cost from $5- to 10-billion.
Yuri Milner is giving the project $100 million to get started.
Last week, Milner showed a model of the spacecraft to reporters in New
York.
“This is a starchip, a gram-scale wafer containing cameras, photon
thrusters, power supply and navigation and communication equipment.”
The starchip is a computer chip about the size of a large postage stamp.
Each one will cost no more than an iPhone. The chip will have a light sail —
very thin material that can open in space and move the spacecraft forward.
Together the chip and the sail are called “nanocraft.”
The team plans to launch a “mothership,” which then would be put in Earth’s
orbit. The mother ship would release thousands of the nanocraft.
Their light sails would open and crews on Earth would fire laser beams on
the light sails. That would push the nanocraft. They will travel at about 20
percent of light speed.
Today’s fastest spacecraft would take about 30,000 years to reach the Alpha
Centauri system. But once this new nanocraft technology is ready, supporters
say, it can shorten that time -- to just 20 years.
Stephen Hawking said the distance between Alpha Centauri and Earth can be
crossed within a generation. The British scientist speaks through a computerized
voice:
“I believe what makes us unique is transcending our limits. Gravity pins us
to the ground, but I just flew to America.”
Hawking added, “Today we commit to the next great leap in the cosmos,
because we are human and our nature is to fly.”
Other scientists have signed on for the project. Freeman Dyson is with the
Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. He thinks scientists might find
something interesting before the nanocraft reach Alpha Centauri.
"The space between here and Alpha Centauri is not empty, that it's not just
a huge void which you have to cross in order to reach something interesting on
the other side. On the contrary, there are thousands of objects in between.”
Dyson believes that life is more likely to be found on an asteroid, or
space rock, rather than a planet.
The project is just now taking shape. The first step is about 20 years for
research and development. There are still many details to work out about how
this project will work, technically.
Next would come the launch of the mothership, and the release of the
nanocrafts.That would be another 20 years to get to Alpha Centauri.
Then, people on Earth will have to be patient. It will take at least four
more years for any of the information collected to reach Earth.
Avi Loeb teaches astronomy at Harvard University. He explained the group
wants to interest young people in the project.
He said, “our goal is to get people all over the world involved, especially
young people that will be around when we get there.”
Future improvements in technology could change the timeline and help speed
up the project. But for now, a person born this year may be in his or her 50s
when those nanocraft reach their target.
Words in This Story
alien – n. a creature from somewhere other than Earth
ambitious – adj. something that will take a lot of time and effort and is
difficult to achieve
gram-scale wafer – n. a small object that weighs about a gram
photon thrusters – n. a device that helps move a spacecraft forward
transcend – v. going beyond or rising above normal limits
void – adj. empty
on the contrary – phrase. the opposite
beam -n. a line of light
postage stamp – n. a small square on a letter for payment to mail
commit – v. to say you will definitely do something
cosmos – n. the system that is the universe
timeline - n. a schedule of events
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