歐洲太空總署 (ESA) 行星防禦任務赫拉 (Hera) 已踏上為期兩年的旅程

隨著 10 月 7 日 Hera 太空船的發射，歐空局實現了其主要目標之一——組裝一艘貨車大小的太空船，然後快速發射。

The European Space Agency's (ESA) planetary defense mission, Hera, has embarked on its two-year journey. With the launch of the Hera spacecraft on Oct. 7, the ESA achieved one of its key objectives — putting together a spacecraft about the size of a van and then launching it with speed.

歐洲太空總署（ESA）的行星防禦任務「赫拉」已經開始了為期兩年的旅程。隨著 10 月 7 日 Hera 太空船的發射，歐空局實現了其主要目標之一——組裝一艘貨車大小的太空船，然後快速發射。

Another objective of the mission is to study the aftermath of NASA's 2022 DART mission, which successfully changed the trajectory of an asteroid through a direct impact.

任務的另一個目標是研究 NASA 2022 DART 任務的後果，該任務透過直接撞擊成功改變了小行星的軌道。

About 30,000 asteroids come relatively close to Earth, and one such space rock hits the planet every 10,000 years. Such an impact, according to Thales, would be equivalent to an explosion of around 50 megatons.

大約有 30,000 顆小行星距離地球相對較近，每 10,000 年就會有一顆這樣的太空岩石撞擊地球。根據泰勒斯的說法，這樣的撞擊相當於約 50 兆噸的爆炸。

“Hera is part of the international effort to answer the question: Could we do anything if we spotted one on a collision course?” wrote ESA on X (previously Twitter).

「赫拉是國際社會努力回答這個問題的一部分：如果我們在碰撞航線上發現了一架飛機，我們能做些什麼嗎？” ESA 在 X（以前是 Twitter）上寫道。

Asteroids of mid-sizes, as per Thales, are the ones we should worry about as their impact on a populated area would be devastating. So, a close examination of the effects of DART's impact will enable Hera to refine asteroid deflection strategies for future planetary defense initiatives.

根據泰勒斯的說法，中等大小的小行星是我們應該擔心的，因為它們對人口稠密地區的影響將是毀滅性的。因此，仔細研究 DART 的影響將使赫拉為未來的行星防禦計畫完善小行星偏轉策略。

According to ESA scientists, the investigation of the crash site will help solve the mysteries not only of Dimorphos, which is the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza with a diameter of 495 feet, but also of Didymos, the larger asteroid it orbits. Didymos is the size of a mountain, with a diameter of 2,559 feet.

據歐空局科學家稱，對墜機地點的調查不僅將有助於解開Dimorphos（其大小與吉薩大金字塔直徑495 英尺）之謎，還有助於解開Didymos（它所繞軌道運行的較大小行星）的謎團。 Didymos 有山那麼大，直徑 2,559 英尺。

Additionally, Hera will help us understand our solar system by uncovering more information about its formation. This cube-shaped spacecraft will be the first to carry CubeSats to deep space, further enhancing its scientific capabilities.

此外，赫拉將透過揭示更多有關太陽系形成的資訊來幫助我們了解太陽系。這艘立方體形狀的太空船將是第一個將立方體衛星運送到深空的太空船，進一步增強其科學能力。

“Hera will provide valuable data for future asteroid deflection missions and science to help humanity's understanding of asteroid geophysics as well as solar system formation and evolutionary processes,” wrote SpaceX on X.

SpaceX 在 X 上寫道：“赫拉將為未來的小行星偏轉任務和科學提供有價值的數據，以幫助人類了解小行星地球物理學以及太陽系的形成和演化過程。”

Before Hera reaches the double-asteroid system in late 2026, which will take it 121 million miles (nearly 195 million kilometers) away from Earth, the spacecraft will swing by Mars in mid-March next year. This will provide Hera with the extra momentum needed to reach the asteroids.

赫拉號將於 2026 年底抵達雙小行星系統，距離地球 1.21 億英里（近 1.95 億公里），在此之前，太空船將於明年 3 月中旬掠過火星。這將為赫拉提供到達小行星所需的額外動力。

During the journey, Hera will fly within 3,728 miles of the Martian surface and, as such, will observe one of the red planet's two moons, named Deimos. The spacecraft will get data for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe, which will be launched in the coming years to survey the moons and land a small rover on Phobos to collect samples for examination.

在旅途中，赫拉將在距離火星表面 3,728 英里的範圍內飛行，因此將觀測這顆紅色星球的兩顆衛星之一，名為火衛二 (Deimos)。該太空船將為火星衛星探索（MMX）探測器獲取數據，該探測器將在未來幾年發射，用於勘測衛星，並將小型漫遊車降落在火衛一上以收集樣本進行檢查。

Hera will then arrive in Didymos' orbit, where it will spend six weeks surveying both asteroids. Once it's done observing, the spacecraft will release two CubeSats with their own propulsion systems.

赫拉隨後將抵達迪迪莫斯的軌道，在那裡它將花費六週的時間對這兩顆小行星進行測量。一旦完成觀測，太空船將釋放兩個帶有自己的推進系統的立方體衛星。

One of the CubeSats is called Juventas, which is equipped with a radar instrument to peer deep beneath space rocks' surface. The other one is called Milani, a multispectral imager that maps dust and minerals on these asteroids. The CubeSats will use inter-satellite links to communicate with the spacecraft and then relay their findings back to Earth.

其中一顆立方體衛星被稱為 Juventas，它配備了雷達儀器，可以探測太空岩石表面深處的情況。另一個被稱為 Milani，這是一種多光譜成像儀，可以繪製這些小行星上的塵埃和礦物質的地圖。立方體衛星將使用衛星間鏈路與太空船進行通信，然後將其發現結果傳回地球。

Over a period of 10 weeks, Hera will conduct observations that will take it closer to the asteroid's surface, coming as close as 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) to it. In the end, Hera could land on Didymos, while the CubeSats could make similar attempts at landing on Dimorphos.

在 10 週的時間內，Hera 將進行觀測，使其更接近小行星表面，最接近 0.6 英里（1 公里）。最終，赫拉可以降落在迪迪莫斯上，而立方體衛星可以做出類似的嘗試降落在迪莫弗斯上。

With all the experience that ESA has and will acquire on Hera, it plans to use it for its next mission, Ramses. This way, if we ever detect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, such reconnaissance missions can be launched quickly to precisely determine their trajectory and rule out a false alarm.

憑藉歐空局已經並將在赫拉上獲得的所有經驗，它計劃將其用於下一個任務「拉美西斯」。這樣，如果我們偵測到一顆小行星與地球相撞，就可以快速啟動此類偵察任務，以精確確定其軌跡並排除誤報。

As part of Europe's planetary defense program, the Hera, with its two shoebox-size satellites, was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket.

作為歐洲行星防禦計畫的一部分，赫拉號及其兩顆鞋盒大小的衛星由獵鷹 9 號火箭從 NASA 位於佛羅裡達州的甘迺迪太空中心發射升空。

This rocket from Elon Musk's SpaceX is a reusable, two-stage, medium-lift launch vehicle that provides safe and reliable transport for people and payloads into Earth orbit. Defined by SpaceX as “the world's first orbital class reusable rocket,” this reusability allows the company to bring down the cost of accessing space.

馬斯克 (Elon Musk) 的 SpaceX 的這枚火箭是一種可重複使用的兩級中型運載火箭，可為人員和有效載荷進入地球軌道提供安全可靠的運輸。 SpaceX 將其定義為“世界上第一個軌道級可重複使用火箭”，這種可重複使用性使該公司能夠降低進入太空的成本。

As per the official website, Falcon 9 has had 377 total launches, 333 total landings, and a total of 308 reflights so far.

根據官方網站，獵鷹 9 號迄今已累計發射 377 次，累計著陸 333 次，累計復飛 308 次。

For Europe's first planetary defense mission, Beyond Gravity also provided the essential components, including a central structural tube, solar wings, and electronic products, which are critical to the mission's success.

對於歐洲的首次行星防禦任務，超越重力也提供了必要的組件，包括中央結構管、太陽翼和電子產品，這些對任務的成功至關重要。

“Changing an asteroid's trajectory is an important planetary defense technique for humanity if a large asteroid

「改變小行星的軌道對人類來說是一項重要的行星防禦技術，如果一顆大的小行星