China's defunct space lab, Tiangong-1, should fall to Earth over the weekend.
中国已报废的空间站天宫一号将于周末坠入地球。
At over 10m in length and weighing more than 8 tonnes, it is larger than most of the man-made objects that routinely re-enter Earth's atmosphere.
长达10米重量超过8吨的它比大多数重新进入地球大气的人造物都要大型。
China has lost all communication with the module and so the descent will be uncontrolled.
中国已经与它的模块失去了所有的联系，所以其下降是不受控制的。
However, experts say there is very low risk that any parts of Tiangong that do not burn up will hit a populated area.
不过，专家称也存在一定的小概率天宫的某些未完全燃烧的部件可能会击中某些有人居住的区域。
"Given Tiangong-1 has a larger mass and is more robust, as it is pressurised, than many other space objects that return uncontrolled to Earth from space, it is the subject of a number of radar tracking campaigns," explained Richard Crowther, the UK Space Agency's chief engineer.
“考虑到天宫一号比不受控从空间返回地球的其他空间物体体积更大也更坚固，因为它是加压过的，所以很多雷达监测小组都会观测它”理查德.克劳瑟解释道，他是英国空间局的首席工程师。
"The majority of the module can be expected to burn up during re-entry heating, with the greatest probability being that any surviving fragments will fall into the sea," he said.
“其模块的大部分预计将会在进入大气层的高温中烧毁，而剩下的部分很有可能会坠入海洋，”他说。
Launched in 2011 and visited by six Chinese astronauts, Tiangong was supposed to have been de-orbited in a planned manner.
发射于2011年并曾被6名中国宇航员拜访过的天宫原本也应该按计划脱离轨道。
The intention was to use its thrusters to drive the vehicle towards a remote zone over the Southern Ocean.
原计划是用它的推进器使其朝南海的遥远海域进发。
But all command links were abruptly lost in 2016, and now nothing can be done to direct the fall.
不过2016年所有的指令系统都突然中断了，所以现在它的坠落将不受指控了。
Thirteen space agencies, under the leadership of the European Space Agency, are now following Tiangong's path around the globe, modelling its behaviour as it descends deeper into atmosphere.
有十三家宇航局在欧洲宇航局的领导下目前正在追踪天宫绕地飞行的轨迹，并对它下降进入大气的运动进行建模。
The collective, known as the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), are trying to forecast the most likely time and place for the laboratory's re-entry.
一个叫做跨机构空间碎片协调委员会的组织正试图预报空间站重返地球最可能的时间和地点。
The many uncertainties involved mean definitive statements can only be made close to the end of Tiangong's flight.
相关的许多不确定因素意味着最终结论只能在天宫的行程即将结束时才能得出。
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