NASA is dusting off the lunar playbook and getting ready to send humans back to the moon for the first time in over 50 years! This article, taken from Chinese state media, gives some updates from earlier this month on the preparations for the historic rocket launch. If you want to read a similar article covering the same in English, ABC news reported on the development here.
This article includes a good example of one of the ways the Chinese language handles foreign proper names. In this case, the article mentions astronaut Reid Wiseman, which is translated as 里德·怀斯曼. As you can see, characters that generally sound similar to the foreign person’s name are chosen, with a dot (which sits higher than a standard period) separating the first name and last name. If you read them out loud quickly, sometimes you can figure out the person’s English name just from the Chinese translation (but not always).
Key vocab
宇航局 – yǔhángjú – space agency
模拟 – mónǐ – to simulate; simulation
倒计时 – dàojìshí – countdown
燃料 – ránliào – fuel
至关重要 – zhìguānzhòngyào – crucial; of utmost importance
绕月飞行 – ràoyuèfēixíng – lunar orbit flight
隔离 – gélí – isolation; quarantine
发射台 – fāshètái – launch pad
超低温 – chāodīwēn – ultra-low temperature; cryogenic
推迟 – tuīchí – to postpone; to delay
美国宇航局开始进行载人绕月飞行前的关键测试
当地时间1月31日，美国宇航局（NASA）开始为期两天的模拟倒计时，为新型登月火箭的燃料加注做准备。据悉，这是一项至关重要的测试，将决定四名宇航员何时搭乘火箭进行绕月飞行。
指挥官里德·怀斯曼及其机组人员目前正在隔离。他们将成为自1972年以来首批飞往月球的人类。他们将在休斯敦基地监测此次演练，待火箭获得发射许可后，他们将飞往肯尼迪航天中心。
这枚322英尺（98米）高的太空发射系统（SLS）火箭已于两周前运抵发射台。如果周一的燃料加注测试顺利，NASA有望在一周内尝试发射。工作人员将向火箭燃料箱注入超过70万加仑的超低温燃料，并在发动机点火前30秒停止加注。一场严寒天气导致燃料加注演示和发射推迟了两天。2月8日是火箭最早的发射日期。
News Center
On January 31st local time, NASA began a two-day simulated countdown to prepare for fueling its new lunar rocket. This is reportedly a crucial test that will determine when four astronauts will board the rocket for a flight around the moon.
Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew are currently in isolation. They will become the first humans to fly to the moon since 1972. They will monitor this rehearsal from the Houston base, and once the rocket receives launch clearance, they will fly to Kennedy Space Center.
The 322-foot (98-meter) tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket was transported to the launch pad two weeks ago. If Monday’s fueling test goes smoothly, NASA hopes to attempt a launch within a week. Workers will pump more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel into the rocket’s fuel tanks and stop fueling 30 seconds before engine ignition. A severe cold spell caused the fueling demonstration and launch to be postponed by two days. February 8th is the earliest launch date for the rocket.
Source: https://news.sina.com.cn/w/2026-02-01/doc-inhkhmvm5305664.shtml