As 2023 comes to a close , we are taking a look back at some of the biggest space stories of the year .
2023年即将结束，我们来回顾一下今年最重大的几条太空新闻。
A container carrying asteroid material captured in space three years ago arrived safely on Earth in September .
一个装有三年前在太空中采集的小行星物质的容器，于9月安全抵达地球。
The container , or capsule , was released by the American space agency NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft .
这个容器，也就是返回舱，是由美国宇航局的“奥西里斯-雷克斯”探测器释放的。
It floated to Earth and landed in a desert area in the western state of Utah .
它飘落回地球，降落在美国西部犹他州的一片沙漠地区。
The spacecraft captured the asteroid material , or sample , from the asteroid Bennu in 2020 .
该探测器在2020年从小行星贝努上采集了这些物质，也就是样本。
NASA announced in October the first examinations of the sample showed evidence of high-carbon material and water .
美国宇航局10月宣布，对样本的初步检测显示其中有高碳物质和水的迹象。
These two substances suggest the possibility that “the building blocks of life on Earth may be found in the rock .”
这两种物质表明，“地球生命的基本组成成分可能存在于这块岩石中”。
NASA's Psyche spacecraft launched on a mission to observe an asteroid made mostly of metal .
美国宇航局的“灵神星”探测器已经发射，任务是观测一颗主要由金属构成的小行星。
It is expected to travel 3.6 billion kilometers over six years to reach the asteroid , also called Psyche .
预计它将用六年时间飞行36亿公里，抵达同样名为“灵神星”的这颗小行星。
NASA believes the asteroid could have separated during violent crashes that happened during our solar system's early creation .
美国宇航局认为，这颗小行星可能是在太阳系形成初期的剧烈碰撞中分离出来的。
Scientists think data collected on the asteroid could provide new details about how rocky planets , including Earth , formed .
科学家认为，收集到的有关这颗小行星的数据可能会为包括地球在内的岩石行星如何形成提供新的细节。
The Psyche spacecraft is also being used to test a laser-based communication method .
“灵神星”探测器还被用来测试一种基于激光的通信方式。
The system aims to greatly improve data links between Earth and spacecraft exploring deep space .
该系统旨在大幅改善地球与深空探测器之间的数据传输。
A few weeks ago , NASA demonstrated the technology with a short video sent by the laser technology over 30 million kilometers to Earth .
几周前，美国宇航局用激光技术把一段短视频从3000多万公里外传回地球，展示了这项技术。
The space agency said it took less than two minutes for the video to reach an observatory in California .
美国宇航局说，视频不到两分钟就传到了加州的一座天文台。
The video showed a cat repeatedly chasing a red laser light .
视频中，一只猫一次又一次地追逐红色激光点。
Scientists announced last month they had discovered the oldest black hole ever found .
上个月，科学家宣布发现了迄今为止最古老的黑洞。
The huge object is believed to have formed about 470 million years after the Big Bang .
据信，这个巨大的天体形成于宇宙大爆炸后约4.7亿年。
The researchers said the findings confirm their theory that supermassive black holes existed in the very early universe .
研究人员说，这些发现证实了他们的理论，即超大质量黑洞在极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 .
上个月，欧洲航天局（ESA）发布了其新的欧几里得太空望远镜拍摄的首批图像。
ESA designed Euclid to study dark matter and dark energy .
欧洲航天局设计欧几里得望远镜是为了研究暗物质和暗能量。
Scientists think those hidden forms of matter and energy make up 95 percent of the universe .
科学家认为，这些隐藏形式的物质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 .
欧洲航天局说，新发布的图像涵盖了距离地球约2.4亿光年的1000个星系。
Data collected by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope helped astronomers identify the most distant , active supermassive black hole ever discovered .
美国宇航局詹姆斯·韦布太空望远镜收集的数据，帮助天文学家确认了迄今发现的最遥远的活跃超大质量黑洞。
Researchers said the black hole sits at the center of a galaxy called CEERS 1019 .
研究人员说，这个黑洞位于一个名为CEERS 1019的星系中心。
The galaxy is estimated to have existed about 570 million years after the Big Bang .
据估计，该星系存在于宇宙大爆炸后约5.7亿年。
Earlier this month , NASA said its Ingenuity helicopter continues to perform well in tests carried out on Mars .
本月早些时候，美国宇航局表示，其“机智号”直升机在火星上的测试中表现依然良好。
So far , Ingenuity has completed at least 66 flights over the past two-and-a-half years .
到目前为止，“机智号”在过去两年半里已完成至少66次飞行。
NASA said it is also testing equipment on Earth that it plans to include in future helicopters built for space exploration .
美国宇航局说，他们还在地球上测试计划用于未来太空探索直升机的设备。
The latest tests on Earth involved new rotor blades the space agency said reached speeds near the speed of sound in experiments .
在地球上进行的最新测试涉及新型旋翼叶片，据美国宇航局说，这些叶片在实验中达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，印度成为第四个成功让航天器登陆月球的国家。
The moon lander , called Chandrayaan-3 , also became the first spacecraft to land near the moon's south pole .
这台名为“月船3号”的着陆器还成为首个在月球南极附近着陆的航天器。
The south pole is thought to be an important area , with scientists saying it may contain large amounts of frozen water and minerals .
南极被认为是一个重要区域，科学家称那里可能蕴藏大量冰冻的水和矿物。
Chinese scientists announced in March they had discovered water in materials collected during the country's Chang'e 5 mission .
3月，中国科学家宣布，他们在嫦娥五号任务采集的物质中发现了水。
Researchers from Nanjing University reported the water was in the form of extremely small beads found in dirt collected in 2020 .
南京大学的研究人员报告说，这些水以极其微小的珠子形式存在于2020年采集的土壤中。
The scientists noted that billions , if not trillions , of these beads could exist on the moon , possibly providing a huge water source .
科学家指出，月球上可能有数十亿甚至数万亿颗这样的珠子，或许能提供巨大的水源。
But the team said mining the water would be difficult .
但研究团队说，开采这些水将会很困难。