歐洲欲建太空"防護盾" 防範小行星撞地球

Scientists are trying to find a way to protect Earth from the giant rocks which travel around the Milky Way.

科學家正試圖找到能保護地球免遭銀河系巨石撞擊的方法。

Run out of Berlin with funds from the EU, the NEOShield project, which will look for a way to protect earth from the space rocks, is expected to take three years to complete.

歐盟出資贊助的這一“小行星防護盾”項目從柏林起步，目標是尋找一種能保護地球免遭太空巨石撞擊的方法，該項目預期將耗時三年完成。

Some of the ideas being tossed around at the moment include repelling asteroids with projectiles or explosives or using gravity to change its course.

當前考慮的一些思路包括用導彈、炸藥來擊退小行星或運用地心引力來改變小行星的運行軌道。

The project though is a little late as a chunk of rock 400 times the City of London is set to hurtle closer than a rock of its size has in a very long time.

不過，這一項目開始得有點晚，因爲一塊相當於400個倫敦城的巨石正向地球逼近，而且是很長時間以來這麼大的巨石和地球最近距離的接觸。

The asteroid labelled "(433) Eros" measures 19 by 8 by 8 miles and is set to pass by next week.

這一號稱(433) Eros的小行星大小爲19*8*8英里，將於下週和地球擦肩而過。

Despite its massive size, the cosmic rock shouldn't be too cause too much of a threat as it is on a circular path far outside the moon's orbit.

儘管這一太空巨石體積很大，但應該不會對地球造成太大威脅，因爲該巨石沿着月球軌道之外距離較遠的一個圓形軌道運行。

Nevertheless, with NASA estimating that there are almost one thousand asteroids over one kilometre in length and 19,500 over 100-metres, scientists at the Institute of Planetary Research are trying to find a way to protect Earth.

然而，美國宇航局估計現在銀河系約有1000顆長度超過1千米的小行星和19500顆長度超過100米的小行星，因此行星研究所的科學家們正努力探尋保護地球的辦法。

With an investment of some €4 million by the European Commission and an extra €1.8 million coming from scientific institutions and partners, the German Aerospace Center aims to have a plan for a test mission drafted within three years.

對此歐盟委員會已投入400萬歐元，此外科學機構及合作伙伴也投入了180萬歐元。德國宇航中心致力於在三年內用這些資金指定出一個測試任務的計劃。

After that, if they can find the extra cash, the mission may be launched by 2020. The scientists will be looking at a host of ideas, many of which have already been proposed.

在那之後，如果還有更多資金來源，他們可能會在2020年前執行這一任務。科學家將考慮許多構想，包括之前提出過的衆多建議。

"Of course, a lot of things have already been proposed,' Alan Harris, the study's leader, told Spiegel Online. ‘But, so far, most of them have come from a single institution, perhaps even from a single person. So it has been hard to pursue them."

該研究的領頭人阿蘭•哈里斯告訴Spiegel Online說：“當然，人們已經提出了許多構想。但是，到目前爲止，大多數構想都是來自單個機構，甚至也許是單個人提出來的。所以想實行這些構想很困難。”

Investigating each idea "will take place on paper and in lab experiments, since we don't have the money to do more than that," said Wolfram Lork, who works with a subsidiary on the project.

該項目輔助機構研究員沃爾夫拉姆•洛克說，對每個構想進行調查研究“將會在論文和實驗室層面上進行，因爲我們沒有經費去做更多的事”。

One other, coarser idea would be "blast deflection" which would involve deterring the asteroid with directed explosive charges. Harris says this would be the "final, desperate approach."

另外一個粗略構想是“爆炸偏移”，也就是通過導彈爆炸偏移小行星的運行方向。哈里斯說，這將會是“鋌而走險的最後一招”。