Name: 未來50年，太空探索將把我們帶向何方？| BBC 創意 (Where will space exploration take us in the next 50 years? | BBC Ideas)
Uploaded: 2025-06-18T17:37:17.000Z
Duration: 5 min

And when it comes to imagining the future of space exploration, it's easy for things to get a little, well, sci-fi.

說到對未來太空探索的想象，很容易讓人覺得有點科幻。

Here are four things that could actually happen in our lifetimes.

以下是在我們有生之年可能發生的四件事。

For decades, science fiction writers have imagined a future where space elevators transport us almost effortlessly into orbit.

幾十年來，科幻小說家們一直在想象這樣一個未來：太空電梯幾乎可以毫不費力地將我們送入軌道。

Scientists now believe that this could, in theory, become reality using new materials like graphene, thought to be the strongest of all known materials.

科學家們現在相信，利用石墨烯等被認為是所有已知材料中強度最高的新材料，理論上這可以成為現實。

Picture this, a docking station somewhere on Earth with an ultra-strong and super lightweight tether cable, which would crawl up like a lift into orbit.

想象一下，在地球的某個地方建立一個對接站，用一根超強、超輕的繫留電纜，像升降機一樣爬上軌道。

Space elevators could also transport things between planets and moons.

太空電梯還可以在行星和衛星之間運輸東西。

That could be useful, for example, on Mars, which has a very thin atmosphere, making it really hard to land a spacecraft.

例如，這在火星上可能很有用，因為火星的大氣層非常稀薄，很難讓航天器著陸。

A quick space elevator trip between Mars's moon Phobos and the Martian surface could make things much easier.

火星衛星火衛一和火星表面之間的快速太空電梯旅行可以讓事情變得簡單得多。

Space tourism could become a very real thing.

You take a space elevator to the orbit and then take another mode of transport to your destination.

你乘坐太空電梯進入軌道，然後換乘另一種交通工具到達目的地。

The planets, moons and asteroids in our solar system are packed with rare materials such as nickel, iron and cobalt, which are used for batteries, electronics and many low-carbon technologies.

太陽系中的行星、衛星和小行星蘊藏著鎳、鐵和鈷等稀有材料，這些材料可用於電池、電子產品和許多低碳技術。

The most valuable asteroid in the solar system is 511 Davida, whose value is estimated at 27 quintillion dollars.

太陽系中最有價值的小行星是 511 號大衛達，其價值估計為 2750 億美元。

Meanwhile, other objects in the asteroid belt are full of diamonds.

與此同時，小行星帶中的其他天體也充滿了鑽石。

We could potentially reduce damage to the Earth's ecosystem by shifting the mining of many resources to space.

通過將許多資源的開採轉移到太空，我們有可能減少對地球生態系統的破壞。

Now, some companies and governments are already interested in exploring this, but is it theirs to exploit?

現在，一些公司和政府已經有興趣探索這一點，但這是否屬於他們的開發範圍？

In the near future, space mining is more likely to be used to make human populations in space self-sufficient, supplying fuels and materials to space stations and settlements on the moon and Mars, much easier than taking it with us from Earth.

在不久的將來，太空採礦更有可能被用來讓人類在太空中自給自足，為月球和火星上的空間站和定居點提供燃料和材料，這比從地球上帶走要容易得多。

In the next 50 years, it's very possible that the surface of the moon will be dominated by industrial-scale mining and giant structures that we've built from the materials we've mined.

未來 50 年，月球表面很有可能被工業規模的採礦和我們用開採的材料建造的巨型建築所佔據。

In 50 years time, there may well be permanent settlements on Mars, but life for those early explorers will be tough.

50 年後，火星上很可能會有永久定居點，但早期探險者的生活將十分艱難。

There's no breathable atmosphere, relentless dust storms and extreme temperatures.

這裡沒有可呼吸的大氣層、無情的沙塵暴和極端的溫度。

These pioneers will face lots of challenges to grow and sustain a human presence on Mars.

要在火星上發展和維持人類的存在，這些先驅者將面臨許多挑戰。

Martian soil is full of chemicals toxic to humans, meaning that any food grown there would be lethal.

火星土壤中充滿了對人類有毒的化學物質，這意味著在那裡種植的任何食物都是致命的。

Humans living on Mars may need all sorts of gadgets and gizmos to help them cope in that environment, such as robotic exoskeletons to counteract muscle wastage and loss in bone density.

生活在火星上的人類可能需要各種小玩意兒來幫助他們應對火星環境，比如機器人外骨骼，以抵消肌肉流失和骨密度下降。

Satellites orbiting the Earth tell us the weather, provide GPS navigation and climate modelling.

圍繞地球運行的衛星告訴我們天氣情況，提供全球定位系統導航和氣候建模。

And since 2019, the number of satellites orbiting Earth has increased from approximately 2,000 to more than 10,000.

而自 2019 年以來，環繞地球運行的衛星數量已從約 2000 顆增至 1 萬多顆。

Every time a satellite collides with a piece of space junk, it increases the chance of future collisions.

每次衛星與太空垃圾相撞，都會增加未來相撞的機率。

This could set off a chain reaction known as Kessler syndrome, where the Earth is surrounded by so much space junk that launching anything into space becomes risky.

這可能會引發一種被稱為 "凱斯勒綜合症 "的連鎖反應，即地球被大量太空垃圾包圍，向太空發射任何東西都會變得很危險。

Some chemical reactions happen differently in space. 3D printing in microgravity works really well, for example, much better than on Earth, making it possible to create replacement organs in space.

在太空中，某些化學反應的發生方式有所不同。例如，微重力狀態下的 3D 打印效果非常好，比在地球上好得多，這使得在太空中製造替代器官成為可能。

Global electricity demand has skyrocketed due to advances in AI.

由於人工智能的進步，全球電力需求激增。

Google's greenhouse gas emissions alone have risen 48% in five years.

僅谷歌的溫室氣體排放量在五年內就增加了 48%。

In the future, power-hungry data centres could be located in orbit, fed by the plentiful renewable energy from giant solar panels.

未來，耗電量巨大的數據中心可以設在軌道上，由巨型太陽能電池板提供的充足可再生能源供電。

And manufacturing in space could become a thing.

Who knows, maybe the label on your next prescription or a t-shirt might one day say made in space.

誰知道呢，也許有一天，你的處方藥或 T 恤衫上的標籤會寫上太空製造。