The American Space agency, NASA, has announced that it is going to go back to the moon, land on the surface and start building!
No one has landed on the moon since 1972. NASA thinks that it is time we went back. It plans to work together with a lot of other countries to make it happen.
The plan aims to build new space shuttles to replace the old Apollo space shuttles. It hopes that the shuttles will be ready by 2016. By 2020 NASA hopes to send astronauts up for a week at a time to build the moon base.
It will probably build on the moon's South Pole. This is because the South Pole has sunlight for three quarters of the day. This means that it can power the base using solar power.
Some of the work can be done by robots before astronauts start to work. By 2024 NASA hopes to have astronauts from all over the world living in the base for up to six months at a time. (Staff writer, with agencies)
美國航太總署已宣布將重返月球，不但要降落在月球表面，還要開始興建土木！
自一九七二年起就無人登陸地球。美國航太總署認為人類重返月球的時刻到了。他們計畫與世界各國合作來圓夢。
這項計畫的目標是建造新太空梭來取代舊的阿波羅號。航太總署希望太空梭能在二○一六年前完工，也希望在二○二○年以前能將太空人送上太空一週，建造月球基地。
航太總署也可能在月球南極建造基地。這是因為月球南極一天有四分之三的時間可照到日光。這意味基地的電源可仰賴太陽能。
太空人展開工作之前，機器人可以分擔一部分工作。航太總署希望在二○二四年以前能讓世界各地的太空人一起進駐基地，最長達六個月。 （翻譯：賴美君）
1. space shuttle n.
太空梭 (tai4 kong1 shou1)
例: Astronauts have to train for a long time to go in a space shuttle.
(太空人必須長期受訓，才能登上太空梭。)
2. replace v.i. /v.t.
取代 (qu3 dai4)
例: I want to replace my old bike with a new one.
(我想把我舊的腳踏車換新。)
3. solar power n.
太陽能 (tai4 yang2 neng2)
例: Our new house uses solar power to heat our water.
(我們的新家是用太陽能來燒熱水。)
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