As 2023 comes to a close , we are taking a look back at some of the biggest space stories of the year .
2023年即將結束，我們來回顧一下今年最重大的幾則太空新聞。
A container carrying asteroid material captured in space three years ago arrived safely on Earth in September .
一個裝有三年前在太空中採集的小行星物質的容器，於9月安全抵達地球。
The container , or capsule , was released by the American space agency NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft .
這個容器，也就是返回艙，是由美國太空總署的「歐西里斯王號」探測器釋放的。
It floated to Earth and landed in a desert area in the western state of Utah .
它飄落回地球，降落在美國西部猶他州的一片沙漠地區。
The spacecraft captured the asteroid material , or sample , from the asteroid Bennu in 2020 .
該探測器在2020年從小行星貝努上採集了這些物質，也就是樣本。
NASA announced in October the first examinations of the sample showed evidence of high-carbon material and water .
美國太空總署10月宣布，對樣本的初步檢測顯示其中有高碳物質和水的跡象。
These two substances suggest the possibility that “the building blocks of life on Earth may be found in the rock .”
這兩種物質顯示，「地球生命的基本組成成分可能存在於這塊岩石中」。
NASA's Psyche spacecraft launched on a mission to observe an asteroid made mostly of metal .
美國太空總署的「靈神星」探測器已經發射，任務是觀測一顆主要由金屬構成的小行星。
It is expected to travel 3.6 billion kilometers over six years to reach the asteroid , also called Psyche .
預計它將用六年時間飛行36億公里，抵達同樣名為「靈神星」的這顆小行星。
NASA believes the asteroid could have separated during violent crashes that happened during our solar system's early creation .
美國太空總署認為，這顆小行星可能是在太陽系形成初期的劇烈碰撞中分離出來的。
Scientists think data collected on the asteroid could provide new details about how rocky planets , including Earth , formed .
科學家認為，收集到的有關這顆小行星的數據可能會為包括地球在內的岩石行星如何形成提供新的細節。
The Psyche spacecraft is also being used to test a laser-based communication method .
「靈神星」探測器還被用來測試一種以雷射為基礎的通訊方式。
The system aims to greatly improve data links between Earth and spacecraft exploring deep space .
該系統旨在大幅改善地球與深空探測器之間的資料傳輸。
A few weeks ago , NASA demonstrated the technology with a short video sent by the laser technology over 30 million kilometers to Earth .
幾週前，美國太空總署用雷射技術把一段短片從3000多萬公里外傳回地球，展示了這項技術。
The space agency said it took less than two minutes for the video to reach an observatory in California .
美國太空總署說，影片不到兩分鐘就傳到了加州的一座天文台。
The video showed a cat repeatedly chasing a red laser light .
影片中，一隻貓一次又一次地追逐紅色雷射光點。
Scientists announced last month they had discovered the oldest black hole ever found .
上個月，科學家宣布發現了迄今為止最古老的黑洞。
The huge object is believed to have formed about 470 million years after the Big Bang .
據信，這個巨大的天體形成於宇宙大爆炸後約4.7億年。
The researchers said the findings confirm their theory that supermassive black holes existed in the very early universe .
研究人員說，這些發現證實了他們的理論，即超大質量黑洞在極早期的宇宙中就已存在。
Last month , the European Space Agency (ESA ) released the first images from its new Euclid space telescope .
上個月，歐洲太空總署（ESA）發布了其新的歐幾里得太空望遠鏡拍攝的首批影像。
ESA designed Euclid to study dark matter and dark energy .
歐洲太空總署設計歐幾里得望遠鏡是為了研究暗物質和暗能量。
Scientists think those hidden forms of matter and energy make up 95 percent of the universe .
科學家認為，這些隱藏形式的物質和能量占宇宙的百分之九十五。
ESA said the newly-released images covered 1,000 galaxies about 240 million light years away from Earth .
歐洲太空總署說，新發布的影像涵蓋了距離地球約2.4億光年的1000個星系。
Data collected by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope helped astronomers identify the most distant , active supermassive black hole ever discovered .
美國太空總署韋伯太空望遠鏡收集的數據，幫助天文學家確認了迄今發現的最遙遠的活躍超大質量黑洞。
Researchers said the black hole sits at the center of a galaxy called CEERS 1019 .
研究人員說，這個黑洞位於一個名為CEERS 1019的星系中心。
The galaxy is estimated to have existed about 570 million years after the Big Bang .
據估計，該星系存在於宇宙大爆炸後約5.7億年。
Earlier this month , NASA said its Ingenuity helicopter continues to perform well in tests carried out on Mars .
本月稍早，美國太空總署表示，其「機智號」直升機在火星上的測試中表現依然良好。
So far , Ingenuity has completed at least 66 flights over the past two-and-a-half years .
到目前為止，「機智號」在過去兩年半裡已完成至少66次飛行。
NASA said it is also testing equipment on Earth that it plans to include in future helicopters built for space exploration .
美國太空總署說，他們還在地球上測試計畫用於未來太空探索直升機的設備。
The latest tests on Earth involved new rotor blades the space agency said reached speeds near the speed of sound in experiments .
在地球上進行的最新測試涉及新型旋翼葉片，據美國太空總署說，這些葉片在實驗中達到了接近音速的速度。
In August , India became the fourth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon .
8月，印度成為第四個成功讓太空船登陸月球的國家。
The moon lander , called Chandrayaan-3 , also became the first spacecraft to land near the moon's south pole .
這台名為「月船3號」的著陸器還成為首個在月球南極附近著陸的太空船。
The south pole is thought to be an important area , with scientists saying it may contain large amounts of frozen water and minerals .
南極被認為是一個重要區域，科學家稱那裡可能蘊藏大量冰凍的水和礦物。
Chinese scientists announced in March they had discovered water in materials collected during the country's Chang'e 5 mission .
3月，中國科學家宣布，他們在嫦娥五號任務採集的物質中發現了水。
Researchers from Nanjing University reported the water was in the form of extremely small beads found in dirt collected in 2020 .
南京大學的研究人員報告說，這些水以極其微小的珠子形式存在於2020年採集的土壤中。
The scientists noted that billions , if not trillions , of these beads could exist on the moon , possibly providing a huge water source .
科學家指出，月球上可能有數十億甚至數兆顆這樣的珠子，或許能提供巨大的水源。
But the team said mining the water would be difficult .
但研究團隊說，開採這些水將會很困難。