Koko News | Science | 31 Jan 2026

Countdown to NASA's Artemis II Moon Mission

ThecountdowntolaunchisinchingevercloserforNasa'sArtemisIIMoonmission!

美國太空總署阿爾忒彌斯二號登月任務的發射倒數越來越近了！

Fourastronautswilltakepartina10-daymissiontoflyaroundtheMoonandbackagain.

四名太空人將參加為期 10 天的繞月飛行任務，並返回地球。

It'sbeen50 yearssinceanycountrylastsentastronautstotheMoon, andthemissionispartofNasa'slong-termplantoeventuallyhaveastronautsliveontheMoon.

距離上一次任何國家派遣太空人到月球已經過了 50 年，而這項任務是美國太空總署長期計劃的一部分，該計畫最終旨在讓太空人在月球上生活。

TheUSSpaceAgencyisnowaimingtocarryouta'wet'rehearsaloftheSLS (Space Launch System) rocketrocketlaunchonMonday 2 February, withtheaimtocarryoutthereallaunchfromassoonas8 Februaryonwards, iftheweatherconditionsareright.

美國航太局目前計劃於 2 月 2 日星期一進行 SLS（太空發射系統）火箭發射的「濕式」彩排，目標是在天氣條件允許的情況下，最早於 2 月 8 日起進行真正的發射。

Butwhatisa'wet'rehearsalandwhydorocketsneedtohavethem? Findoutbelow!

但什麼是「濕式」彩排？為什麼火箭需要進行這種彩排？請看下文！

Inaschoolplay, adressrehearsalisafullpractice-runofsomethingbeforeithappens.

在學校戲劇中，彩排是指在正式演出前進行的完整練習。

Fortherocketlaunch, thismeansthattheNasateamswillrunthroughnearlyeverysinglestepofthecountdownsequencethatwouldhappenonthedayoftherealthingtocheckthateverythingisworkingproperly.

對於火箭發射而言，這意味著美國太空總署團隊將模擬真實發射當天倒數序列的幾乎每個步驟，以檢查一切是否正常運作。

Twoimportantthingswillbemissingfromtherehearsalcomparedtotheactuallaunchare:theastronautsandtheactualblastoff.

與實際發射相比，彩排將缺少兩個重要的東西：太空人和實際的發射過程。

Thereasonitiscalleda'wet'dressrehearsalisbecausetherocket'stanksarefilledwithliquidpropellants, suchasliquidoxygenandliquidhydrogen, asopposedtoa'dry'rehearsalwhichdoesn'thaveanypropellants.

之所以稱之為「濕式」彩排，是因為火箭的燃料箱裡裝滿了液態推進劑，例如液態氧和液態氫，而「乾式」彩排則沒有任何推進劑。

The'wet'rehearsalwillstopatthepointwherelift-offwouldhappen. TherearelotsofimportantfactorsthattheNasaengineerswillhavetoconsiderbeforecommittingtoalaunchdate, themostimportantofthesebeingweather.

「濕式」彩排將在預定發射點停止。 NASA工程師在確定發射日期前需要考慮許多重要因素，其中最重要的是天氣。

Howwindy, rainyorhotorcolditis, couldhaveabigimpactonthelaunch.

風力、雨量、氣溫（冷熱）等天氣狀況都可能對發射產生重大影響。

JustlikeGoldilocks'sporridgetheconditionshavetobe'just-right'forlift-offtohappen.

就像金髮女孩的粥一樣，起飛的條件必須「恰到好處」。

Currentlyengineershaveworkedoutthreepossiblelaunchwindowswhentheconditionsmightbejustrightforblast-off.

目前，工程師已經計算出三個可能的發射窗口，在這些窗口期內，發射條件可能正確。

Theastronautsarecurrentlyinquarantineaheadofthelaunch.

太空人目前正在進行發射前的隔離。

Thismeansthattheyhavetolimittheirexposuretootherstomakesuretheydon'tgetsickaheadofthemission.

這意味著他們必須限制與他人接觸，以確保在執行任務之前不會生病。

It'scalledtheHealthStabilizationProgramandusuallystartsaround14 daysbeforelaunch.

它被稱為健康穩定計劃，通常在發射前約 14 天開始。

Theastronautswillstillcontinuetheirtrainingduringthisperiodaswellasmissionsimulationsandmedicalchecksbeingcarriedout.

在此期間，太空人仍將繼續進行訓練，同時也將進行任務模擬和體檢。

TheywillflytoNasa'sKennedySpaceCentreinFloridaaroundsixdaysbeforethelaunch.

他們將在發射前大約六天飛往佛羅裡達州的美國太空總署肯尼迪航天中心。

The countdown to launch is inching ever closer for Nasa's Artemis II Moon mission!

Four astronauts will take part in a 10-day mission to fly around the Moon and back again.

It's been 50 years since any country last sent astronauts to the Moon, and the mission is part of Nasa's long-term plan to eventually have astronauts live on the Moon.

The US Space Agency is now aiming to carry out a 'wet' rehearsal of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket rocket launch on Monday 2 February, with the aim to carry out the real launch from as soon as 8 February onwards, if the weather conditions are right.

But what is a 'wet' rehearsal and why do rockets need to have them? Find out below!

In a school play, a dress rehearsal is a full practice-run of something before it happens.

For the rocket launch, this means that the Nasa teams will run through nearly every single step of the countdown sequence that would happen on the day of the real thing to check that everything is working properly.

Two important things will be missing from the rehearsal compared to the actual launch are: the astronauts and the actual blast off.

The reason it is called a 'wet' dress rehearsal is because the rocket's tanks are filled with liquid propellants, such as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, as opposed to a 'dry' rehearsal which doesn't have any propellants.

The 'wet' rehearsal will stop at the point where lift-off would happen. There are lots of important factors that the Nasa engineers will have to consider before committing to a launch date, the most important of these being weather.

How windy, rainy or hot or cold it is, could have a big impact on the launch.

Just like Goldilocks's porridge the conditions have to be 'just-right' for lift-off to happen.

Currently engineers have worked out three possible launch windows when the conditions might be just right for blast-off.

The astronauts are currently in quarantine ahead of the launch.

This means that they have to limit their exposure to others to make sure they don't get sick ahead of the mission.

It's called the Health Stabilization Program and usually starts around 14 days before launch.

The astronauts will still continue their training during this period as well as mission simulations and medical checks being carried out.

They will fly to Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida around six days before the launch.