美国国家航空和宇宙航行局的全女性太空行走回来了

美国国家航空和宇宙航行局的全女性太空行走回来了

Now that they have spacesuits that fit, two female astronauts will make history by going on an all-female spacewalk. NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir are scheduled to take a walk outside the International Space Station on Oct. 21, NASA announced.

现在他们有了合适的宇航服，两名女宇航员将进行一次全女性太空行走，创造历史。美国宇航局宣布，宇航员克里斯蒂娜·科赫和杰西卡·梅尔将于10月21日在国际空间站外散步。

NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left) and Jessica Meir are scheduled to conduct the first all-female spacewalk on Oct. 21. (Photo: NASA)

Koch was originally scheduled to conduct a spacewalk with her then-crewmate, Anne McClain, on March 29, following another spacewalk featuring McClain and NASA astronaut Nick Hague on March 22. However, mission managers decided to change assignments, NASA explained, "due in part to spacesuit availability on the station."

科赫原定于3月29日与她当时的同事安妮·麦克莱恩进行太空行走，3月22日与麦克莱恩和美国宇航局宇航员尼克·黑格进行了另一次太空行走。然而，任务经理决定改变任务，NASA解释说，“部分原因是太空站上有太空服。”

McClain realized her best fit was a medium-sized hard upper torso — "essentially the shirt of the spacesuit," according to NASA. But there was only one available in time for the spacewalk, so Koch wore it and Hague filled in for McClain.

麦克莱恩意识到她最适合的是一个中等大小的坚硬的上半身——“基本上是宇航服的衬衫，”NASA说。但是在太空行走的时候只有一件衣服，所以科赫穿了这件衣服，黑格代替了麦克莱恩。

"It is more efficient to swap spacewalkers than to reconfigure the elements of the spacesuit," NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz told NBC News, noting the fit of a spacesuit can affect an astronaut's ability to maneuver and perform tasks.

美国国家航空航天局女发言人斯蒂芬妮·斯切尔霍兹在接受美国全国广播公司采访时说:“更换太空行走人员比重新设计宇航服要有效率得多。”她指出，宇航服的合适程度会影响宇航员的行动能力和执行任务的能力。

But now the suits and the astronauts are ready. Another medium size suit was launched to the ISS earlier this year, according to Kirk Shireman, NASA’s program manager for the ISS, the Verge reports.

但是现在宇航服和宇航员都准备好了。据美国科技网站the Verge报道，美国宇航局国际空间站项目经理Kirk Shireman称，今年早些时候，美国又向国际空间站发射了一套中号太空服。

“We don’t do it for a specific crew member,” Shireman said during a press conference in early October. “Actually, what we do is we look over the next two years, and look at all the crew members who are [spacewalk] certified, and say, ‘OK, what’s the sweet spot?’” Shireman pointed out that over the next couple of years, a lot of “medium suit people” will be heading to the ISS.

“我们不会为特定的船员做这件事，”Shireman在10月初的一次新闻发布会上说。“实际上，我们要做的是在接下来的两年里，观察所有获得太空行走认证的宇航员，然后说，‘好的，最佳点是什么?’”Shireman指出，在未来的几年里，许多“中等身材的人”将前往国际空间站。

Koch talked about how their accomplishments are viewed in terms of being female astronauts.

科赫谈到了她们作为女性宇航员所取得的成就。

In July 1984, cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space. Thirty-five years after that historic occasion, two women will conduct the first all-female spacewalk.

1984年7月，宇航员斯维特拉娜·萨维茨卡娅成为第一位在太空行走的女性。在那次历史性事件35年后，两名女性将进行首次全女性太空行走。

Spacewalks are conducted for a range of reasons, from performing experiments outside of the International Space Station to testing and repairing equipment.

太空行走的原因有很多，从在国际空间站外做实验到测试和修理设备。