Name: 您身邊的太空工程師 | Janelle Wellons | TEDxTIU (Your Neighborhood Space Engineer | Janelle Wellons | TEDxTIU)
Uploaded: 2025-07-30T14:50:40.000Z
Duration: 16 min 24 s

I never imagined or planned on having a career exploring the Milky Way.

我從未想過或計劃過要以探索銀河為職業。

How many of you knew what you wanted to be when you were growing up?

有多少人在成長過程中知道自己想成為什麼樣的人？

Maybe some firefighters or a vet, maybe a doctor.

也許是消防員，也許是獸醫，也許是醫生。

Well, for me, it was either going to be a lawyer, an author, or a marine biologist.

對我來說，要麼是律師，要麼是作家，要麼是海洋生物學家。

I mean, don't get me wrong, that's cool, but it also sounds a little silly because, come on, how many people have ever actually had a chance to explore space?

我的意思是，別誤會我的意思，這很酷，但聽起來也有點傻，因為，拜託，有多少人真正有機會探索太空呢？

Of the billions and billions of people who have ever lived, only a little over 600 have left our planet.

在有史以來的數十億人中，只有 600 多人離開了我們的星球。

I was wondering, how many of us have let go of a big dream because we feared the risk of failure, of not being enough?

我在想，我們當中有多少人因為害怕失敗的風險，害怕自己不夠好，而放棄了一個偉大的夢想？

Yet, here I am, a real space engineer, and I have a story to share with you.

然而，我現在是一名真正的太空工程師，我有一個故事要與你們分享。

I spent five years exploring the solar system with NASA.

我在美國國家航空航天局（NASA）工作了五年，探索太陽系。

I flew to the moon, I matched the surface temperature, spotted signs of ice, and witnessed the start of a new lunar presence.

我飛往月球，與月球表面溫度相吻合，發現了冰的跡象，並見證了月球新生命的誕生。

I flew over our planet's blue seas, saw its depths, and witnessed the changes that our climate is going through over time.

我飛越了地球的藍色海洋，看到了它的深處，目睹了我們的氣候隨著時間的推移而發生的變化。

I even went to Saturn with the Cassini spacecraft, where I saw its dumpling-shaped moons and eternal storms reaching the size of three Earths.

我甚至隨 "卡西尼 "號宇宙飛船去了土星，在那裡我看到了土星的餃子形衛星和有三個地球那麼大的永恆風暴。

I even witnessed the end of that mission, what we dubbed the grand finale, where Cassini dove between Saturn and its rings for one last time, pointing down to us here on Earth before it burned up in the atmosphere, losing its signal forever.

我甚至目睹了那次任務的結束，我們稱之為壓軸戲，卡西尼號最後一次俯衝到土星和土星環之間，在它被大氣層燒燬、永遠失去信號之前，向下指向我們地球。

But right now, I'm looking forward to an upcoming mission.

但現在，我期待著即將到來的任務。

It's going to be doing a global health study, and I'm really excited about it because for the first time ever, I am going to see a rocket launch.

這將是一項全球健康研究，我對此感到非常興奮，因為這是我有史以來第一次看到火箭發射。

And for the first time, I'll be seeing this rocket launch because for the first time ever, I won't be working.

這是我第一次看到火箭發射，因為這是我第一次不用工作。

I won't be in the Mission Control Center monitoring the science instruments health and safety data on monitors around the room.

我不會在飛行任務控制中心監視房間裡監視器上的科學儀器健康和安全數據。

I won't be looking at plots of temperatures and sensor data and currents.

我不會看溫度、傳感器數據和電流的圖表。

I won't be on voice comms with my colleagues to announce the moment that our spacecraft separates from the launch vehicle.

我不會通過語音通訊與同事們一起宣佈我們的飛船與運載火箭分離的時刻。

I won't be there because after five years of exploring where our humanity has never gone before with NASA, I quit.

我不會去那裡，因為在與美國國家航空航天局（NASA）一起探索人類從未去過的地方五年之後，我辭職了。

When I attended an introduction to aerospace engineering class at my alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, I had no idea that my life would be changed forever.

當我在母校麻省理工學院（MIT）上航空航天工程入門課時，我完全沒有想到我的人生將從此改變。

My professor, he was at the front of the class explaining the syllabus for the semester, and he talked to us about what we'd be learning.

我的教授在教室前面向我們講解本學期的教學大綱，並向我們介紹了我們將要學習的內容。

We're going to learn a little bit about the equation.

We're going to learn about how planes fly.

我們將學習飛機是如何飛行的。

And we're even going to learn a little bit about the history of space flight.

我們還將瞭解一些太空飛行的歷史。

And he showed us this image of astronauts fixing the Hubble telescope.

他向我們展示了太空人修理哈勃望遠鏡的畫面。

And he turned to us and said, that astronaut is me.

他轉過身對我們說，那個太空人就是我。

Suddenly, I'm in the same room as somebody who has left our planet.

突然間，我和一個已經離開地球的人共處一室。

It was in that moment that I decided to dream big.

就在那一刻，我決定要有遠大的夢想。

And it was in that moment that I decided I wanted to be a space engineer.

就在那一刻，我決定要成為一名太空工程師。

And as a space engineer in training, I was learning a lot.

作為一名正在接受培訓的太空工程師，我學到了很多東西。

I learned about landing rovers on the Martian surface, just like NASA JPL.

我學到了如何像 NASA JPL 一樣在火星表面著陸漫遊車。

I learned about sending probes to Jupiter, like NASA JPL.

我瞭解到向木星發送探測器的情況，比如 NASA JPL。

This NASA JPL place kept coming up a lot.

美國宇航局 JPL 這個地方經常出現。

美國國家航空航天局噴氣推進實驗室。

A leading center on all things space robotic exploration.

太空機器人探索方面的領先中心。

Sorry, in all things space robotic exploration.

對不起，在所有太空機器人探索方面。

So naturally, this NASA JPL place was somewhere that I wanted to be.

所以很自然地，NASA JPL 這個地方就是我想去的地方。

So then that begs the question, why did I quit?

那麼問題來了，我為什麼要辭職？

Did you ever notice that the older that we get, the more risk adverse we become?

你有沒有注意到，我們年紀越大，對風險的防範意識就越強？

And by that, I mean that we avoid any negative outcome, potentially negative outcome that may come our way.

我的意思是說，我們要避免任何負面結果，避免可能出現的負面結果。

Now, I'm not basing this on any specific scientific research, but instead on our lived experiences.

現在，我並不是基於任何具體的科學研究，而是基於我們的生活經驗。

When you have things that you love that you don't want to lose, you'd be hesitant to risk them.

當你擁有不想失去的心愛之物時，你會猶豫是否要拿它們冒險。

It's healthy to have some risk aversion in our life.

在我們的生活中，有一些風險規避是健康的。

But I also think that sometimes we are risk adverse to a fault.

但我也認為，有時我們對風險的厭惡到了極點。

We will avoid taking any risk, even if there is no tangible thing to lose.

我們將避免承擔任何風險，即使沒有任何實際損失。

Why not go for that maybe the confidence in ourself.

我們仍然可以實現我們的目標。

It makes me think that we tend to focus on the question, what if it doesn't work out?

這讓我想到，我們往往把注意力集中在 "如果不成功怎麼辦？

But I challenge us to change our thinking to what if it works?

但是，我向我們提出挑戰，要改變我們的思維方式，如果它有效呢？

Now, some of you may be wondering why I ever signed up for that introduction class back at MIT.

現在，有些人可能會問，我為什麼要報名參加麻省理工學院的導論課。

Now, what if I told you it's because I was inspired by cartoons like Jimmy Neutron and Dexter's Lab.

如果我告訴你，這是因為我受到了《吉米-中子》和《德克斯特的實驗室》等卡通片的啟發呢？

And because I thought black holes are pretty cool.

You know, I wasn't like my classmates who were pilots already or who could name every Saturn rocket that's ever flown or the military jets.

你知道，我不像我的同學，他們已經是飛行員，或者能說出所有土星火箭或軍用噴氣式飛機的名字。

Instead, I just did it because I wanted to.

相反，我這麼做只是因為我想這麼做。

I asked myself, what if I could become a real that dared mighty things, pushing the frontier of where humanity has never gone before?

我問自己，如果我能夠成為一個敢於做偉大事情的真正的人，推動人類從未涉足的前沿領域呢？

And when I was staying up late at night, working on problem sets and studying for tests, trying to figure out how deep space communications worked, I kept coming back to that question, but what if I can succeed?

當我熬夜做題、複習備考，試圖弄清深空通信是如何工作的時候，我一直在回想這個問題，但如果我能成功呢？

So, after this, last year, I gave a lecture at the University of Tokyo to an introduction to science class.

是以，在這之後，去年我在東京大學的科學入門課上做了一次演講。

And as part of this lecture, I also talked about rejection.

作為講座的一部分，我還談到了拒絕。

I had been rejected not just once, but twice to NASA before they finally let me in.

我被美國國家航空航天局拒絕了不止一次，而是兩次，最後他們才讓我進去。

And after this talk was over, this young man, a student, he approached me and he had tears in his eyes.

講座結束後，這位年輕人，一位學生，走到我面前，眼裡噙著淚水。

And when I started talking to him, he explained to me that he was struggling in his classes and he was feeling really down on himself and like his future was just uncertain.

當我開始和他交談時，他向我解釋說，他在課堂上表現得很掙扎，他對自己感到非常沮喪，感覺前途渺茫。

Here in Japan, I feel like there's this expectation to maximize your successes while minimizing any risks.

在日本，我覺得大家都希望最大限度地取得成功，同時將風險降到最低。

This expectation to stay on the predetermined path and to color inside the lines, so to speak.

可以說，這種期望就是沿著既定的道路前進，在既定的範圍內著色。

You see, all my life, I felt like I had embraced risk taking.

你看，在我的一生中，我都覺得自己在接受冒險。

你知道，我申請了麻省理工學院。

I even flew across the country, leaving behind my friends and family to go work for NASA.

我甚至飛越整個國家，拋下朋友和家人，去為美國國家航空航天局工作。

But one day, when this company, located here in Japan, reached out to me, offering me the chance of a lifetime to be a flight director for their maiden mission to land on the moon, I froze.

但有一天，當這家位於日本的公司向我伸出橄欖枝，提供一個千載難逢的機會，讓我擔任他們首次登月任務的飛行指導時，我愣住了。

This was a chance to become the first non-government entity to have a landing on the moon while thousands and thousands of people watched from all over the globe, it and me, live in the mission control room as our spacecraft started its descent to the lunar surface.

這是一個成為第一個在月球上著陸的非政府實體的機會，同時，成千上萬的人從全球各地，包括我和它，在任務控制室現場觀看我們的飛船開始下降到月球表面。

This offer, this incredible offer, I turned it down.

這個提議，這個難以置信的提議，我拒絕了。

It was like there was something pressuring me.

Like there was a weight on my chest that was holding me back.

就像我的胸口壓著一塊重物，讓我退縮。

And I suddenly became one of these what if it goes wrong kind of people.

我突然就成了 "出了差錯怎麼辦 "的人。

I thought about all of the people and the inspiration I'd be leaving behind at NASA.

我想到了所有的人，想到了我將在美國國家航空航天局留下的靈感。

I thought about not fitting in in a Japanese workspace.

我想過不適應日本的工作環境。

I thought about having to prove myself as a competent engineer at a company trying to do something incredibly hard.

我想過要在一家公司證明自己是一名稱職的工程師，要做的事情無比艱難。

But after a year of stewing in these negative thoughts, I actually started to notice my thought pattern and consider the opposite.

但是，在這些消極想法糾纏了一年之後，我真的開始注意到自己的思維模式，並開始反思。

如果我獲得了全新的人生觀呢？

What if I go on a journey of self-discovery?