时讯：NASA：吃不起饭为什么还要探索宇宙(双语)

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in 1970，a Zambia-basednunnamedsistermaryjucundawrotetodr.ernststuhlinger，then-associatedirectorofscienceatnasa ' smarshallspa inresponsetohisongoingresearchintoapilotedmissiontomars.specificaly，sheaskedhowhecouldsuggestspendingbillionsofdollarsonsuchi

stuhlingersoonsentthefollowingletterofexplanationtosisterjucunda，along with a copy of"earthrise， " theiconicphotographofearthtakenin 1968 byastronautwilliamanders，from the moon ( alsoembeddedinthetranscript ).histhoughtfulreplyw

( source: roger launius，via gavin williams； photo above: the surface of mars，taken by curiosity today，august 6th，. via nasa。 ）

may 6，1970

dear sister mary jucunda :

yourletterwasoneofmanywhicharereachingmeeveryday， butithastouchedmemoredeeplythanalltheothersbecauseitcamesomuchfromthedepthsofasearchingmindandacompasionateheart.iwi LTR ytoanse

first，however，iwouldliketoexpressmygreatadmirationforyou，and for all your many brave sisters，becauseyouarededicatingyourlivestote

youaskedinyourletterhowicouldsuggesttheexpendituresofbillionsofdollarsforavoyagetomars， atatimewhenmanychildrenonthiseartharestarvingtodeath.iknowthatyoudonotexpectananswersuchas " oh，ididnotknowthatherearechildri butfromnowoniwilldesistfromanykindofspaceresearchuntilmankindhassolvedthartport in fact， ihaveknownoffaminedchildrenlongbeforeiknewthatavoyagetotheplanetmarsistechnicalyfeasible.however，i believe，like many of my friends thattravellingtothemoonandeventuallytomarsandtootherplanetsisaventurewhichweshouldundertakenow，and i even believe that this project willcontributemoretothesolutionofthesegraveproblemswearefacinghereonearththanmanyotherpotentialprojectsofhelpwhicharedebated ann year，andwhicharesoextremelyslowinyieldingtangibleresults。

beforetryingtodescribeinmoredetailhowourspaceprogramiscontributingtothesolutionofourearthlyproblems，iwouldliketorelatebrieflyy whichmayhelpsupporttheargument.about 400 years ago， therelivedacountinasmalltowningermany.hewasoneofthebenigncounts，andhegavealargepartofhisincometothepoorinhistown.thiswasmuce becausepovertywasabundantduringmedievaltimes andtherewereepidemicsoftheplaguewhichravagedthecountryfrequently.one day， thecountmetastrangeman.hehadaworkbenchandlittlelaboratoryinhishouse， andhelaboredhardduringthedaytimesothathecouldaffordafewhourseverytoworkinhislaboratory.hegroundsmallensesfrompecos he mounted t andheusedthesegadgetstolookatverysmallobjects.thecountwasparticularlyfascinatedbythetinycreaturesthecouldbeobservedwiththe。 trong magnification，andwhichehadneverseenbefore.heinvitedthemantomovewithislaboratorytothecastle，tobecomeamemberofthecount andtodevotehenceforthallhistimetothedevelopmentandperfectionofhisopticalgadgetsasapers

the townspeople，however，becameangrywhentheyrealizedthatthecountwaswastinghismoney，as they thought， onastuntwithoutpurpose." wearesufferingfromthisplague，" they said，" whileheispayingthatmanforauselesshobby！" butthecountremainedfirm." igiveyouasmuchasicanafford，" he said，" butiwillalsosupportthismanandhiswork，becauseIknowthast。

indeed，somethingverygoodcameoutofthiswork， andalsooutofsimilarworkdonebyothersatotherplaces:the microscope.itiswellknownthatthemicroscopehascontributedmorethananythehe I dicine，andthattheeliminationoftheplagueandmanyothercontagiousdiseasesfrommostpartsoftheworldislargelyaresultofstudieswhichthee

the count、byretaining someofhisspending money forresearchanddiscovery、contribute dfarmoretothereliefofhumansufferingthanhecouldha

thesituationwhichwearefacingtodayissimilarinmanyrespects.thepresidentoftheunitedstatesisspendingabout 200 billiondolarsishis yeas Health，education，welfare，urban renewal，highways，transportation，foreign aid， defense agricultureandmanyinstallationsinsideandoutsidethecountry.about 1.6 percentofthisnationalbudgetwasallocatedtospaceeexplory gramincludesprojectapollo，andmanyothersmallerprojectsinspacephysics，space astronomy，space biology，plane earth resources projects andspaceengineering.tomakethisexpenditureforthespaceprogrampossible， the average American tax payer with 10 00 dollarsincomeperyearispayingabout 30 taxdollarsforspace.therestofhisincome，9，970 dollars， remains for his subsistence his recreation，his savings，his other taxes，and all his other expenditures。

youwillprobablyasknow :“why don ' tyou take5or3or1dollaroutofthe 30 spacedollarswhichtheaverageamericantaxpayerispaying，andsend。 " to answer this question，ihavetoexplainbrieflyhowtheeconomyofthiscountryworks.thesituationisverysimilarinothercountries.thegove of departments (interior，justice，health，education and welfare，transportation，defense， andothers ) and the bureaus ( nt ation ) nationalaeronauticsandspaceadministration，and others ) . allofthempreparetheiryearlybudgetsaccordingtotheirassignedmisions andeachofthemmustdefenditsbudgetagainstextremelyseverescrens es，andagainstheavypressureforeconomyfromthebureauofthebudgetandthepresident.whenthefundsthebudgetofthenationalaeronauticsande naturally，cancontainonlyitemsdirectlyrelatedtoaeronauticsandspace.ifthisbudgetwerenotapprovedbycongreses thefundsproposedforis theywouldsimplynotbeleviedfromthetaxpayer， unlessoneoftheotherbudgetshadobtainedapprovalforaspecificincreasewhichwouldthenabsorbthefundsnotspentforspace.yourealiezfom the ortforHungryChildren，oratherasupportinadditiontowhattheunitedstatesisalreadycontributingtothisveryworthycauseintheformofforein canbeobtainedonlyiftheappropriatedepartmentsubmitsabudgetlineitemforthispurpose，andifthislineitemisthenapprovedbycongress。

youmayasknowwhetheripersonallywouldbeinfavorofsuchamovebyourgovernment.myanswerisanemphaticyes.indeed， iwouldnotmindatallifmyannualtaxeswereincreasedbyanumberofdollarsforthepurposeoffeedinghungrychildren，wherever they may live。

iknowthatallofmyfriendsfeelthesameway.however，wecouldnotbringsuchaprogramtolifemerelybydesistingfrommakingplansforvoyagestoms ievenbelievethatbyworkingforthespaceprogramicanmakesomeproblemsaspovert:ievenbelievethatbyworkingforthespaceprogramicanmakeson ndhungeronearth.basictothehungerproblemaretwofunctions:theproductionoffoodandthedistributionoffood.foodproductionbagration r oceanfishingandotherlarge-scaleoperationsisefficientinsomepartsoftheworld，butdrasticallydeficientinmanyothers.for example， largeareasoflandcouldbeutilizedfarbetterifefficientmethodsofwatershedcontrors fertilizer use，weather forecasting，fertility assess

thebesttoolfortheimprovementofallthesefunctions，undoubtedly， istheartificialearthsatelite.circlingtheglobeatahighaltidute itcanobserveandmeasurealargevarietyoffactorsindicatingthestatusann droughts，rainfall， snow cover anditcanradiothisinformationtogroundstationsforappropriateuse.ithasbeenestimatedthatevenamodestsystemofearthsatellite resources，sensors，workingwithinaprogramforworldwideagriculturalimprovements，willincreasetheyearlycropsbyaquivion

thedistributionofthefoodtotheneedyisacompletelydifferentproblem.thequestionisnotsomuchoneofshippingvolume， itisoneofinternationalcooperation.therulerofasmallnationmayfeelveryuneasyabouttheprospectofhavinglargequantitiesoffoodshipes I ge nation，simplybecausehefearsthatalongwiththefoodtheremayalsobeanimportofinfluenceandforeignpower.efficientrelieffromhunger。 willnotcomebeforetheboundariesbetweennationshavebecomelesspisivethantheyaretoday.idonotbelievethatspaceflightwillacomplision . however，thespaceprogramiscertainlyamongthemostpromisingandpowerfulagentsworkinginthisdirection。

letmeonlyremindyouoftherecentnear-tragedyofapollo 13.whenthetimeofthecrucialreentryoftheastronautsapproached， thesovietuniondiscontinuedallrussianradiotransmissionthefrequencybandsusedbytheapolloprojectinordertoavoidanyposibleintfreff psstationedthemselvesinthepacificandtheatlanticoceansincaseanemergencyrescuewouldbecomenecesary.hadtheastronulation Psuletouchi therussianswouldundoubtedlyhaveexpendedasmuchcareandeffortintheirrescueasifrussiancosmonautshadreturnedfromaspacetrip.if russii everbeinasimilaremergencysituation，americanswoulddothesamewithoutanydoubt。

higherfoodproductionthroughsurveyandassessmentfromorbit，andbetterfooddistributionthroughimprovedinternationalrelations， areonlytwoexamplesofhowprofoundlythespaceprogramwillimpactlifeonearth.iwouldliketoquotetwootherexamples:stimulationofthenches

therequirementsforhighprecisionandforextremereliabilitywhichmustbeimposeduponthecomponentsofamoon-travelingspacecraftantent yue fengineering.thedevelopmentofsystemswhichmeettheseverequirementshasprovidedusauniqueoporuntion find new material and methods， to invent better technical systems，to manufacturing procedures，tolengthenthelifetimesofinstruments，tolengthenthelifetimesofinstrum

allthisnewlyacquiredtechnicalknowledgeisalsoavailableforapplicationtoearth-bound technologies.every year， aboutathousandtechnicalinnovationsgeneratedinthespaceprogramfindtheirwaysintoourearthlytechnologywheretheyleadtobeterkichan plin t，better sewing machines and radios，better ships and airplanes，betterweatherforecastingandstormwarning， better communications、better medical instruments、betterutensilsandtoolsforeverydaylife.presumably、 youwillasknowwhywemustdevelopfirstalifesupportsystemforourmoon-traveling astronauts， beforewecanbuildaremote-readingsensorsystemforheartpatients.theanswerissimple:significantprogressinthesolutionsoftechincal m ectapproach、butbyfirstsettingagoalofhighchallengewhichoffersastrongmotivationforinovativework、 whichfirestheimaginationandspursmentoexpendtheirbestefforts，andwhichactsasacatalystbyincludingchainsofotherreactions。

spaceflightwithoutanydoubtisplayingexactlythisrole.thevoyagetomarswillcertainlynotbeadirectsourceoffoodforthehungry.however in logiesandcapabilitiesthatthespin-offsfromthisprojectalonewillbeworthmanytimesthecostofitsimplenement

besidestheneedfornewtechnologies， thereisacontinuinggreatneedfornewbasicknowledgeinthesciencesifwewishtoimprovetheconditionsofhumanlifeonearth.weneedmoreko wl edd try，in biology and physiology，andveryparticularlyinmedicinetocopewithalltheseproblemswhichthreatenman ' s life:hunger，disease，disease

weneedmoreyoungmenandwomenwhochoosescienceasacareerandweneedbettersupportforthosescientistswhohavethetalentandthedetermina tion ch work.challengingresearchobjectivesmustbeavailable，andsufficientsupportforresearchprojectsmustbeprovided.again， thespaceprogramwithitswonderfulopportunitiestoengageintrulymagnificentresearchstudiesofmoonsandplanets， of physics and astronomy ofbiologyandmedicineisanalmostidealcatalystwhichinducesthereactionbetweenthemotivationforscientificwork， opportunitiestoobserveexcitingphenomenaofnature，andmaterialsupportneedtocarryouttheresearcheffort。

amongalltheactivitieswhicharedirected，controlled，andfundedbytheamericangovernment， thespaceprogramiscertainlythemostvisibleandprobablythemostdebatedactivity，althoughitconsumesonly 1.6 percentofthetotalnationalby and3per mille ( less than one-third of1percent ) ofthegrossnationalproduct.asastimulantandcatalystforthedevelopmentofnewtechnologie andforresearchinthebasicsciences，itisunparalleledbyanyotheractivity.in this respect，wemayevensaythatthespaceprogramistakingove

howmuchumansufferingcanbeavoidedifnations，insteadofcompetingwitheirbomb-droppingfleetsofairplanesandrockets，competewith。 thiscompetitionisfullofpromiseforbrilliantvictories，butitleavesnoroomforthebitterfateofthevanquished，whichbredsnothingbut

althoughourspaceprogramseemstoleadusawayfromourearthandouttowardthemoon，the sun，the planets，and the stars， ibelievethatnoneofthesecelestialobjectswillfindasmuchattentionandstudybyspacescientistsasourearth.itwillbecomeabeterearth， notonlybecauseofallthenewtechnologicalandscientificknowledgewhichwewillapplytothebettermentoflife，butalsobecausewearedevelopie

thephotographwhichienclosewithislettershowsaviewofourearthasseenfromapollo8whenitorbitedthemoonatchristmas， 1968.ofallthemanywonderfulresultsofthespaceprogramsofar，thispicturemaybethemostimportantone.itopenedoureyestothefactthatoure andthatthereisnootherplaceforustolivebutthethinsurfacelayerofourplanet， borderedbythebleaknothingnessofspace.neverbeforedidsomanypeoplerecognizehowlimitedourearthrealyis， andhowperilousitwouldbetotamperwithitsecologicalbalance.eversincethispicturewasfirstpublished， voiceshavebecomelouderandlouderwarningofthegraveproblemsthatconfrontmaninourtimes:polution，hunger，poverty，urban living food PE over population.itiscertainlynotbyaccidentthatwebegintoseethetremendoustaskswaitingforusatatimewhentheyoungspaceagehasprovides

very fortunately though，thespaceagenotonlyholdsoutamirrorinwhichwecanseeourselves，italsoprovidesuswithethetechnologies，the chall andevenwiththeoptimismtoattackthesetaskswithconfidence.whatwelearninourspacepaceprogram， I believe isfullysupportingwhatalbertschweitzerhadinmindwhenhesaid:" iamlookingatthefuturewithconcern，but with good hope."

myverybestwisheswillalwaysbewithyou，and with your children。

very sincerely yours，

ernst stuhlinger

associate director for science

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