It’s hard enough trying to keep Earth tidy.
想让地球保持整洁都已经足够难了。
But thanks to British innovation, the endless expanses of deep space are a step closer to being clutter-free.
而多亏了英国的创新科技，在对深空的无尽探索中，我们离远离垃圾又近了一步。
A satellite manufactured in the UK has become the first to use a net to capture a piece of debris spinning through space.
一枚在英国制造的卫星成为了首枚可以利用网兜来捕捞在太空中运行的垃圾碎片的卫星。
The test mission, nearly 200 miles above the Earth, was carried out by a team from the University of Surrey.
这次试验任务是在地球上空200英里处，由萨里大学的一支研究团队进行的。
The US Space Surveillance Network estimates that there are now more than 7,600 tonnes of space junk in and around Earth’s orbit.
英国太空建管网络估计，如今大约有重达7600吨的太空垃圾正在绕着地球轨道运行。
Some travel at close to 30,000mph and are a growing threat to satellites and space stations.
有的碎片以接近30000米每小时的速度运行，对卫星和空间站的威胁也越来越大。
The test was carried out by a satellite that was carried on board a Space X rocket, which took off from Cape Canaveral during the summer before being ferried to the International Space Station.
执行这次测试的卫星是由空间十号火箭装载的，这枚火箭在夏季由卡纳维拉尔角升空，后来抵达了国际空间站。
The 100kg satellite, which was aptly named Remove Debris, was then released into space.
这枚100公斤的卫星，被故意命名为碎片清理者，后来被发送到了太空中。
In the early hours of Monday it conducted its first trial run, releasing a target about the size and shape of a shoe box.
在周一早间，它进行了第一次试运行，释放了一个形状和大小跟鞋盒子差不多的靶标。
The satellite fired a 5m-wide net at this simulated piece of space junk from a distance of about 7m and achieved a direct hit.
这枚卫星在七米远处朝这个模拟太空垃圾碎片发射了一个五米宽的网兜，完成了直接命中。
“We are absolutely delighted,” Guglielmo Aglietti, director of the Surrey Space Centre., said .
“我们简直太高兴啦，”古格列莫.阿列提说道，他是萨里太空中心的主任。
“The target was spinning, which we had not expected. This was a demonstration of capturing an uncompetitive target.”
“靶标还在旋转，这是我们没有预料到的。这次实验是对非竞争型靶标的一次展示。”
If the net was being used for real the satellite would then tow the junk to a lower orbit, where it would burn up as it entered the Earth’s atmosphere.
假如这个网兜真的投入使用，那么卫星就会把这块垃圾拖入更低的轨道，在那里，它就会进入地球大气层而烧毁。
Professor Aglietti envisages nets being used to capture large pieces of debris, such as defunct satellites.
阿列提教授设想这种网兜可以用来捕获大型的碎片比如丧失功能了的卫星。
One of the greatest risks posed by space junk is the possibility of two large objects colliding, he said.
由太空垃圾带来的最大的风险之一就是两个大型的物体可能会对撞，他说道。
This could produce a cloud of fast-moving debris and trigger a chain of further collisions, destroying satellites required for communications, military surveillance and other functions.
这就会产生高速运动的碎片云并引发一系列的进一步碰撞，会摧毁用来通信，军事监控和其他功能的卫星。
There are thought to be half a million objects larger than a tennis ball orbiting Earth at speeds high enough to destroy satellites.
据说有五十多万个比网球更大的碎片正在告诉绕地旋转，快到可以摧毁卫星。
The International Space Station occasionally has to move to avoid them.
国际空间站也时不时得移动位置来避免撞倒它们。
The Remove Debris satellite is scheduled to carry out three more trials.
按计划，碎片清理者还会进行另外三项试验。
In about a month it will test a vision-based navigation system that uses cameras and lasers to observe pieces of junk.
在约一个月后，它会测试一个基于视觉的导航系统，它利用摄像头和激光来观测太空碎片。
Next year it will try out a harpoon, which could be used to skewer space junk.
明年它会试验一个鱼叉，它可以被用来把太空垃圾串在一起。
Finally, it will use a polymer drag-sail that will bring it into the Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up.
最后，它会用一个聚合体的帆来把它带到地球的大气层里，在那里焚毁。
The €15 million test mission was the culmination of five years of research and was funded by the European Union.
这次价值一千五百万欧元的任务是五年研究的成果，得到了欧盟的支持。
The satellite was designed and built by a consortium led by the Surrey Space Centre, part of the university.
这枚卫星是由萨里太空中心带领的一个财团设计制造的，该中心是萨里大学的一部分。
The European Space Agency estimates that there are about 170 million pieces of space debris.
欧洲宇航局估计总共约有一亿七千万颗太空碎片。
“Any of these objects can cause harm to an operational spacecraft,” its website says.
“这位物品中的任何一个都可能会给执行任务中的飞船带来损害，”其网站称。
“For example, a collision with a four-inch object would entail a catastrophic fragmentation of a typical satellite.”
“例如，一颗4英寸的碎片的碰撞就会带来一枚普通卫星灾难性的解体。”
There were 200 incidents of space junk re-entering Earth’s atmosphere last year.
去年有200个太空垃圾重新进入大气层。
A woman who was hit by a piece in Oklahoma in 1997 is believed to be the only person to hold that distinction.
而一位奥克拉荷马州的女士于1997年被太空碎片击中，被认为是全球唯一有这样经历的人。
对于这枚碎片清理卫星朋友们有什么看法呢？欢迎给amber留言哦！
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