The past decades have seen China make progress with its space program, especially in lunar exploration and manned spaceflights. And now Mars is in sight.
过去的几十年见证了中国航天事业的进步，尤其是在探月和载人航天领域。如今，下一个目标是火星。

Manned expeditions
载人远征

On Oct 15, 2003, the nation carried out its first manned space mission, sending Yang Liwei on a 21-hour journey around Earth in the Shenzhou V spacecraft.
2003年10月15日，我国完成了首次载人航天任务，杨利伟乘坐着神舟五号飞船，围绕地球进行了21个小时的太空之旅。

Since then, China has conducted six manned spaceflights, totaling 68 days and orbiting Earth 1,089 times, while the nation’s astronauts have traveled more than 46 million km in space and conducted more than 100 experiments.
从那以后，中国连夺6次载人飞行任务全面胜利，共计巡游太空68日，绕地飞行1089圈，行程4600余万千米，进行了超过100项科学实验。

According to government plans, the nation will start putting together its first manned space station around 2020.
根据规划，我国将于2020年左右开始建设首个载人空间站。

The station, named Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, is expected to be fully operational around 2022, with a planned operational lifetime of about 15 years, according to the China Academy of Space Technology.
中国空间技术研究院表示，计划于2022年建成的中国空间站“天宫”，建造完成后使用寿命约为15年。

Lunar aspirations
探月之志

China has launched four lunar probes since 2007, with the third being the first Chinese spacecraft to land on the moon’s surface.
从2007年开始，中国已经发射了四个月球探测器，其中，第三个是中国首个实现月球软着陆的登月探测器。

The latest and most remarkable, the ongoing Chang’e 4 mission, is the first endeavor by any nation to conduct surface observation of the moon’s far side, which never faces Earth, reaching a goal scientists have sought for decades. The Chang’e 4 robotic probe was lifted atop a Long March 3B rocket in early December and made a soft landing on the moon’s far side on Jan 3.
最令人瞩目的是最近正在进行中的嫦娥四号任务，这是国际上首次实现月球背面软着陆与巡视探测，由于月球背面从不正对地球，这也实现了科学家们数十年来追寻的目标。去年12月初，嫦娥四号由长征-3B型运载火箭发射升空，并于今年1月3日在月球背面实现软着陆。

The next step in China’s lunar exploration agenda, the Chang’e 5 mission, will take place in the coming months. A rover will collect samples of lunar soil and return with them to Earth. If the mission succeeds, it will make China the third nation to bring back lunar samples, after the United States and Russia.
我国探月计划的下一步是将于未来几个月内进行的嫦娥五号任务。一辆月球车将会采集月球土壤样本，并将其带回地球。如果任务成功，中国将成为继美国和俄罗斯之后，第三个从月球采样返回的国家。

Mars exploration
火星探测

Now, China aims to explore deep space. Mars will be the key focus of China’s future deep-space plans.
如今，中国正计划探索太空深处。火星将成为中国未来深空探索计划的重点。

Researchers are preparing for the country’s first exploratory mission to the red planet, scheduled for 2020.
研究人员正在准备我国对这颗红色星球的首个探测任务，计划2020年进行探测。

According to the China National Space Administration, China’s first Martian probe will conduct scientific investigations of the Martian soil, geological structure, environment, atmosphere and water.
中国国家航天局表示，我国首个火星探测器将对火星土壤、地质构造、环境特征、表面气候及水冰分布进行科学研究。

In the second phase of China’s Mars exploration program, a larger probe will set off for Mars around 2030 to collect samples and then return to Earth, said Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the space administration.
中国国家航天局副局长吴艳华表示，在我国火星探测项目的第二阶段，一个更大的探测器将在2030年前后前往火星，并实现取样返回。

(Translator & Editor: Wang Xingwei AND Luo Sitian)
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