Well, thank you all so much for being here today,
非常感谢各位今天能来到这里
because I am super excited to tell you
因为我要非常激动地告诉大家
that we are about to explore space in a big way.
我们即将进行大规模的太空探索
And the future of space exploration is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,
太空探索的未来是我们前所未见的
and the future is one we can hardly even imagine.
这个未来是我们几乎无法想象的
Well, why is that?
那么这是为什么呢？
We’ve been exploring space since the 1950s,
我们从20世纪50年代开始探索太空
so what’s different now?
那么 现在又什么不同呢？
Well, for the first time ever,
这是有史以来第一次
we are going to be using supersized spacecraft
我们将使用超大规模的宇宙飞船
for our journey into the solar system.
开启我们进入太阳系的旅程
This is the Starship vehicle
这就是SpaceX公司
that’s being developed by the company SpaceX.
正在开发的“星舰”
This vehicle will be able to launch more mass — or payload
这款运载火箭能够发射更多的质量 或有效载荷
— have more power
拥有更大的推力
and be able to launch over and over and over again,
并且能够一次又一次地重复发射
more than any spacecraft ever designed or built, ever.
次数比以往设计或建造的任何航天器都要多
So the Starship and its Super Heavy booster
所以星舰和它的超重型助推器
are a fully reusable transportation system.
是一个完全可重复使用的运输系统
So that means that you don’t have to build a new vehicle
这就意味着你不需要每次发射时
every time you want to fly.
都造一个新的运载火箭
And so what that does is that reduces the cost of each flight
这就减少了每次飞行的成本
and it lets you have more flights.
让你有更多的飞行机会
Now historically, rockets have been used once, and then that’s it.
一直以来 火箭只用过一次就结束了
But if you think about it,
但如果你想想
would you ever build an airplane,
你会造一架飞机
fly it once and then throw it away?
飞一次就扔了吗？
Like, no, that’s ridiculous,
不 这太荒谬了
because the cost of each flight would be way too high,
因为这样每次的飞行成本太高了
and you wouldn’t have very many flights, right?
你就不会飞行太多次 对吧？
So let’s put this in perspective a little bit.
让我们稍客观一点看这个问题
So think about the last rover that we just sent to Mars.
想想我们上次发射到火星的一个探测器
It is an amazing mission;
那是一项了不起的任务
it’s still on Mars collecting great data.
探测器还在火星上收集着大量数据
So the launch cost for that mission was 243 million dollars.
该任务的发射成本为2.43亿美元
So that works out to be about 100,000 dollars per pound
因此 这意味着向火星发射探测器的费用
to launch that rover to Mars.
约为每磅10万美元
And that’s where we are today.
这就是我们目前的状况
So SpaceX is aiming to have a launch cost for Starship
所以SpaceX的目标是将星舰的发射成本
on the order of a couple million dollars.
控制在两百万美元左右
And so that means that you could launch that same Mars rover
这意味着你可以以每磅900美元的价格
for about 900 dollars per pound.
发射同样的火星探测器
So that’s 100,000 dollars versus 900 dollars.
10万美元对900美元
That’s a huge difference.
这是一个巨大的差异
And actually, it’s probably cheaper than that
实际上 可能会比这更便宜
because you could fit like
因为你可以在一艘星舰里装上
100 of those Mars rovers inside one Starship
100台那种火星探测器
because it’s just that big.
因为星舰很大
It’s really incredible.
这真的很不可思议
And it’s not just SpaceX.
不仅仅是SpaceX公司
There are multiple commercial companies building new rockets now
现在有多家商业公司都在建造新的火箭
of all different sizes,
不同的尺寸
for all different purposes.
用于不同的目的
And this is great because this is really helping
这很棒 因为这有助于
to open up space to more people.
为更多人打开太空之路
So here’s an image of some of the current rockets
这里有一张图片是目前一些火箭
compared to NASA’s mighty Saturn V rocket.
与美国宇航局强大的土星五号火箭的比较
So the Saturn V is the rocket
土星五号是在60年代和70年代
that launched astronauts to the Moon in the ’60s and ’70s.
发送宇航员到月球的火箭
The last Saturn V launched in 1973.
最后一枚土星五号于1973年发射
And full disclosure,
透露一下
I was not even born yet,
我当时还没有出生
so I think this is incredibly unfair
我认为这很不公平
because there has never been a rocket more powerful since.
因为从那以后 就再也没有比它更强大的火箭了
So I just have to emphasize
我只是想要强调
that the changes we’re talking about today,
我们今天所谈论的变化
these are not incremental, small advances in rocketry and spacecraft.
不是火箭技术和航天器的渐进式小规模的进步
These are truly transformational technologies
这些都是真正的变革性的技术
that are giving us completely new capabilities
能够赋予我们全新的能力
and changing the paradigm for space exploration.
并改变空间探索的模式
And what’s really going to happen is
假以时日
we’re going to move from where we are today,
我们将改变现状
which is usually, you know, more specialized, one-off, boutique-style missions
从通常更专业的一次性的精品式任务
into more mass-produced, large-scale operations in space.
转变为基于规模化生产的大规模太空行动
And the reason is because we are being largely freed of
因为我们正在很大程度上摆脱
these traditional, very severe mass and cost restraints
这些传统的严格的质量和成本限制
that we’ve been working under in the aerospace industry for decades.
这些限制我们已经在航天工业中承受了几十年
Now there is one vehicle
而现在有一款运载火箭
that’s really forced us to change the conversation
能真正促使我们改变
regarding space exploration and space architectures,
关于太空探索和空间架构的对话
and that is the Starship.
这就是“星舰”
That entire system is designed
它整个系统的设计
to be even more powerful than the Saturn V.
甚至比土星五号还要强大
And the Starship vehicle itself
而星舰本身
will be able to launch over 100 metric tons of payload
将能够把超过100公吨的有效载荷
to Earth orbit, to the surface of the Moon,
发射到地球轨道 月球表面
to the surface of Mars and even beyond.
发射到火星表面 甚至更远
Like, 100 metric tons of payload. Like, that’s crazy.
100公吨的有效载荷 这很疯狂
That is a crazy number
这是一个疯狂的数字
that we would never have been discussing a while ago
我们之前根本不会讨论这样的数目
because in spaceflight,
在太空飞行中
we are always trying to reduce mass, right?
因为质量和成本的限制
Miniaturize your components,
我们一直在尝试减重：
have your instruments be as lightweight as possible
让组件微型化
because of the mass and cost constraints.
让仪器尽可能轻巧
And so now we actually have the opposite problem
而现在 我们其实面临着一个相反的问题
where we have to figure out,
即我们必须想清楚
how are we going to fill 100 metric tons of payload?
要如何装满这100公吨的有效载荷？
Like, seriously, like, what are we going to fly?
比如 说真的 我们打算发射什么？
So this is a great place to be,
这是一个很好的去处
and it’s a great problem to have.
也是一个很好的问题
How can you actually fly
我们怎么才能真正
such a ridiculous amount of payload into the solar system?
把这么多的有效载荷发射进入太阳系？
Well, Starship will conveniently refill its propellant tanks in space
星舰将方便地在太空向推进剂罐中
with methane and oxygen.
补充甲烷和氧气
So the way that this works is you launch your first Starship, right?
它是这样工作的 你发射了第一艘星舰
You’ve got your payload you want to send wherever into the solar system.
搭载了你想送入太阳系的不管什么载荷
You launch that into orbit.
把它发射到地球轨道后
Then you launch another Starship,
然后你发射另一艘星舰
and we’ll just call it a tanker
我们称之为油轮
because it’s basically just another Starship,
因为其实只是另一艘星舰
but it’s full of propellant.
但它装满了推进剂
And then those two vehicles meet
然后这两艘星舰相遇
and they dock in Earth orbit.
并在地球轨道上对接
And the tanker refills the propellant tanks of your starship.
油轮为星舰储罐补充推进剂
So essentially what you’re doing is you’re refilling your gas tanks
本质上讲 你所做的就是在出门远行之前
before you go out on a big, long trip.
给你的油箱加满油
And that’s how you can send so much payload capacity
这样你才能将如此大量的有效载荷
out into the solar system.
送入太阳系
Now this is so important
这一点非常重要
because Earth is such a large gravity well.
因为地球是一个巨大的引力井
It just takes so much energy, and hence, so much fuel,
我们需要燃烧大量的燃料 释放大量的能量
just to launch off the surface of the Earth.
才能把星舰从地球表面发射出去
So by refilling the tanks in space,
通过在太空中重新填充燃料
we’re essentially resetting the rocket equation in orbit,
我们实际是在重置轨道上的火箭方程
and then we can send these payloads out
这样我们就可以把这些有效载荷
to wherever they need to go.
送到任何该去的地方了
So this is fantastic.
这很神奇
Like, we have this new capability and this is how it works,
我们有了这种新的能力 这就是它的工作方式
but now I’d like to go to the really exciting part:
但现在我要讲真正让人激动的部分
What are we going to do with this capability?
我们要用这种能力做些什么？
So consider this,
想一下
Scientists, myself included,
科学家们包括我自己
have long been interested in the possibility of life on Europa.
一直以来对欧罗巴上是否存在生命感兴趣
Europa has a subsurface — salty, liquid-water ocean
欧罗巴地表下有一个含盐的液态水的海洋
and we wonder if life might be able to exist there.
我们想知道那里是否可能存在生命
So given our current exploration strategies —
鉴于我们目前的探索战略
there is a mission in development right now to study Europa,
目前有一个研究欧罗巴的任务正在进行中
it’ll actually orbit Jupiter
任务是探测器围绕木星运行
and it’ll do flybys of Europa
然后数次飞掠欧罗巴
and remotely measure the Moon and its ocean.
并远程测量这颗卫星及其海洋
But how about this?
换个思路如何？
So I envision a future where to study Europa’s ocean,
我设想的未来是 为了研究欧罗巴的海洋
we send submarines down into the ocean itself.
我们派潜水艇潜入海洋
And we study the ocean from within the ocean,
从海洋内部研究海洋
and we directly search for signs of life.
直接寻找生命的迹象
And while we’re at it,
既然说到这里
we should also send submersibles to Enceladus.
我们也应该把潜水艇送到恩克拉多斯
Enceladus is a moon of Saturn.
恩克拉多斯是土星的一颗卫星
It’s amazing.
它很神奇
It also has a subsurface — salty, liquid-water ocean —
它的地表下也有一个含盐的液态水的海洋
because we see
因为我们能看到
literally geysers of water ice coming out of its south polar region.
水冰泉从它的南极地区喷出
And it’s not just Europa and Enceladus.
而且不仅仅是欧罗巴和恩克拉多斯
The outer solar system is full of ocean worlds.
外太阳系富含海洋世界
And if we have learned one thing about studying life on Earth —
如果说 我们在研究地球上的生命时学到什么
which, by the way, also an ocean world —
顺便说一下 地球也是一个海洋世界
it’s that all life requires liquid water to survive.
就是所有生命的生存 都需要液态水
So we wonder:
因此我们想知道
Could there be life in these other oceans as well?
在其它的海洋中也会有生命吗？
There’s other possibilities, too.
还有其它的可能性
Let’s consider astronomy and astrophysics.
我们来考虑一下天文学和天体物理学
This is a beautiful image from the Hubble Space Telescope
这是哈勃太空望远镜为猎户座拍摄的
in the constellation of Orion.
一张美丽图片
It is a nebula: a star-forming region
这是一个星云：恒星形成区
where new stars are being born.
新的恒星正从这里诞生
And in order to understand these processes in the universe,
为了了解宇宙中的这些过程
we need large telescopes in space
我们需要太空中的大型望远镜
to send us back this type of data.
向我们传回这种类型的数据
Now you could fit a telescope three times
现在你可以把直径三倍于哈勃的
the diameter of Hubble in a Starship.
望远镜装到星舰上
You could actually fit several of
实际上你可以在一艘星舰上
those very large telescopes in a Starship.
装下好几个如此巨大的望远镜
And that’s important because telescopes —
这很重要 因为对于望远镜而言
size matters, right?
尺寸最关键 对吧？
The telescope is like a light-collecting bucket,
望远镜就像一个收集光线的桶
and you want to collect as many photons as you possibly can
而你想尽可能多地收集光子
to see objects that are faint
以便看清那些发光微弱的物体
and to see objects that are far away.
以及那些遥远的物体
Because the telescope — a telescope is a time machine.
因为望远镜就像一台时间机器
The further away an object is, the older it is,
一个物体离你越远 它就越老
because it takes a finite amount of time for that light
因为光从那个物体到达你的眼球
to travel from that object to your eyeball, right?
需要一段有限的时间
That’s why it’s called the speed of light.
这就是为什么它被称为光速
So with these larger telescopes,
有了这些更大的望远镜
we can address these science questions,
我们就可以解决这些科学问题
like searching for exoplanets,
比如寻找系外行星
planets around other stars
和围绕其它恒星运转的行星
and understanding the formation of stars and planetary systems …
了解恒星和行星系统的形成
and looking back to the cosmic dawn, the literal beginning of time
并回顾宇宙的黎明，回到时间伊始
and fundamentally understanding our own place in the universe.
从根本上了解地球在宇宙中的位置
But it’s not just the size of the telescopes.
但这不仅仅是望远镜的尺寸问题
We can also reduce the cost.
我们还可以降低成本
So the James Webb Space Telescope — JWST —
詹姆斯•韦伯太空望远镜——JWST
fantastic instrument, amazing.
一台梦幻般的仪器 令人惊叹
The telescope is relatively large,
这个望远镜的尺寸相对较大
so it didn’t fit on any existing launch vehicles.
现有的运载工具都装不下它
So it had to be folded up,
所以它必须像折纸一样
like a piece of origami, to fit on the rocket.
折叠起来才能装在火箭上
So if we have larger vehicles that can launch larger telescopes,
如果我们有更大的运载工具可以发射更大的望远镜
we can just launch them already fully assembled, right?
我们就可以直接发射已经完全组装好的望远镜
No deployment in space necessary.
没有必要在太空中部署
So the science that can be enabled is amazing,
因此可实行的科学是惊人的
but it’s about more than the science.
这不仅仅与科学有关
It’s also about the exploration.
也与太空探索有关
Because for the first time in the history of our entire planet —
因为在我们整个地球历史上这是第一次——
and that’s about a little over four and a half billion years
对任何跟踪地球历史的人来说
for anybody that’s keeping track —
这大约是45亿年多一点——
we are on the cusp of having both the scientific and technical capability
我们正同时处于科学和技术能力的尖端
to send humans to build a future off of our home planet.
可以将人类送往我们的家园之外建立未来
And here’s how we’re going to do it on Mars.
以下是我们要在火星上做的
So first we need to send uncrewed starships to Mars.
首先我们需要把无人飞船送到火星
I mean, we have to prove that we can safely land those vehicles
意思是 我们得证明飞船能安全着陆
before we can send humans on them.
然后我们才能送人上去
But we will use that amazing payload capacity of the Starships
但我们将利用星舰惊人的有效载荷能力
to send elements that we need
来发送我们需要的物品
in order to enable a sustained human presence on Mars.
以保证人类在火星上的可持续存在
And we’re going to start with what we call ISRU:
而我们将从一个称之为ISRU的东西开始：
In-Situ Resource Utilization.
即原地资源利用
That basically means living off the land.
这基本上意味着就地生存
Because if we want to have a self-sustaining presence on Mars,
因为如果我们想在火星上有一个自我维持的存在
we cannot be Earth-reliant, right?
我们就不能依赖于地球 对吧？
We cannot ferry everything we need
我们不可能一直把需要的所有东西
from Earth to Mars all the time.
从地球运到火星
You know, living off of local resources —
依靠当地资源生活
it’s been critical to human survival
——自从我们整个人类诞生以来
since the beginning of our entire species.
对于人类的生存一直至关重要
Our ancestors for millennia have been learning
我们的祖先几千年来一直在学习
how to use local resources to do things
如何利用当地资源做一些事情
like you know, build tools and grow food and generate energy.
比如制造工具 种植食物并产生能源
So, I mean, we’re lucky.
我们很幸运
We live on a pretty cushy planet right now.
我们目前生活在一个相当舒适的星球上
That’s why we’re all here today:
这就是为什么我们今天在这里
we have everything that we need.
我们拥有我们需要的一切
But Mars is different.
但火星不一样
And Mars is unforgiving.
火星是无情的
And if you run out of food or fuel or oxygen,
如果你的食物 燃料或氧气用完了
you’re done.
你就完了
So we have to be very smart about how we do ISRU on Mars.
所以我们在火星上实施ISRU的时候要非常机智
And the way we’re going to start is by using water ice as a resource.
而我们启动的方式是使用水冰作为资源
We know Mars has lots of water ice.
我们知道火星有大量的水冰
There’s ground ice,
有地面的冰
there’s rock-covered glaciers,
有岩石覆盖的冰川
there’s ice for us to use.
有冰可以供我们使用
Now, traditionally, when people talk about sending humans to Mars,
传统上 当人们谈论将人类送往火星时
we talk about sending like a few people
我们谈论的是送几个人
and maybe a little rover so they can drive around
也许还有一辆小小的火星车以便他们可以开车转转
and explore a little bit.
探索一下
But Starship is so transformational
但是星舰是如此具有变革性
that now we can talk about sending the heavy-duty construction machinery
以至于我们现在可以考虑运送重型建筑机械
to build the infrastructure that we need for a large-scale presence on Mars.
来建造我们在火星上大规模生存所需的基础设施
So I’m talking like dump trucks and backhoes and large drill rigs —
比如 翻斗车 反铲车 大型钻机
all the things we’re going to need for ISRU and beyond.
所有我们本地生存乃至更长远所需的设备
(Laughter)
（笑声）
And another thing that we need to do before the humans arrive
在人类到达前我们需要做的另一件事是
is serach for Indigenous Martian life.
是寻找火星原生生命
So this is a top-priority science question.
这是一个最先要考虑的科学问题：
Is there life on Mars?
火星上有生命吗？
But we also have to do due diligence
但我们也必须尽最大努力
to make sure that that landing site is safe
以确保着陆站点是安全的
for the humans to come and live and work.
以便人类来此生活和工作
So once we get all that robotic precursor work done,
一旦我们完成了所有的机器人先导工作
then the humans can arrive.
然后人类就可以到达
And this is when we start building up a base
即刻起 我们便开始建立基地
and moving towards a civilization on Mars.
朝着火星文明进发
Now just imagine that for a moment, right?
现在 请想象一下
At this point, there will actually be Martians,
就在这时 已经有了火星人
except they will be people like you and me.
而他们将是像你和我一样的人
And it’s about more than just Mars,
而这不仅仅是有关火星
because as we develop this capability to send humans into the solar system,
因为随着我们将人类送入太阳系能力的发展
we can truly begin to address questions such as:
我们可以真正开始回答一些问题例如：
Are we alone in the universe,
我们是否是宇宙中唯一的存在？
and can humans thrive off-planet?
人类能否在行星外繁衍生息？
So the opportunities that are afforded us by these supersized spacecraft
这些超大宇宙飞船为我们提供的机会
are truly unprecedented,
确实是前所未有的
and they’re like nothing that we’ve ever had before.
它们是我们以前从没有过的
And they’re completely changing the paradigm for space exploration.
而且它们彻底改变了空间探索的模式
It has taken the entire history of our planet
我们经历了我们行星的整个历史
to reach this point right now.
才走到了现在这个地步
So I think it’s an amazing time to be alive,
我认为我们活在一个神奇的时代
because what we do next
因为我们接下来所做的
will forever change the course of human history.
将永远改变人类历史的进程
So now is the time to seize the opportunity
所以现在是时候抓住机会
and expand humanity throughout the cosmos.
向宇宙拓展人类文明了
Thank you.
谢谢
(Applause)
（掌声）