2018年深空探测热点回眸

Review of 2018 global deep space activities

深空探测指人类航天器离开近地轨道、进入太阳系空间和宇宙空间,对地球以外天体(月球及以远天体)或空间环境开展的科学探测。2018年,国际深空探测叠彩纷呈:中国"嫦娥四号"成功实现国际首次月球背面软着陆并将开展巡视勘察;美国"洞察号"探测器登陆火星;向太阳系空间进发,朝向日心方向,欧洲空间局和日本合作研制的BeipiColombo探测器正飞向水星、美国"帕克号"探测器开启"史诗级"旅行去"触摸太阳",远离日心方向,"新视野号"成功飞掠柯伊伯带的小行星"天涯海角"、"旅行者2号"突破日球层顶;美国"奥西里斯-REx"和日本"隼鸟2号"顺利抵达各自目标小行星执行采样任务。2018年,月球表面存在水冰、火星发现有机分子、太阳系边际再抵近等发现或突破对于探寻生命起源、太阳系起源和演化,拓展人类知识体系具有重要意义。

Deep space exploration,or solar system missions,with spacecraft as the tool probing the distant regions of outer space,aims to investigate the celestial body except Earth,i.e.the moon and beyond,along with the space environment.The year of 2018 marked the global flourishing deep space activities.China CE-4 probe achieved the historic touchdown on the far side of the moon,and will patrol on lunar surface.NASA InSight mission successfully landed on Mars to study in-depth the 'inner space' of the red planet.The joint ESA-JAXA Bepi-Colombo mission is on the way to Mercury.And NASA Parker solar probe will be the first-ever mission to 'touch' the Sun.In the opposite direction,New Horizons mission made the asteroid Ultima Thule flyby located in Kuiper belt.Voyager 2 reached the heliopause,breaking out of the solar system.And the asteroid missions,both OSIRIS-Rex and Hayabusa-2 respectively from NASA and JAXA,arrivedat their own target objects.The discoveries,like water ice found on moon,organic molecules found in Mars,and the information about the boundary where the solar system essentially ends,are of great importance to the exploration of origin of life,origin and evolution of solar system,and to the advancing of human′s knowledge.