(HL-과학/기술/교육) Hawking, Zuckerberg to Search for Life in the Universe

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It is one of the oldest questions ever asked: Are we alone or is there other life out in the Universe? Last week, an international team of scientists and businessmen launched a project they hope can answer that question. They announced plans for a huge space exploration program. Its goal is to find alien life in space. The team includes British physicist Stephen Hawking, Russian-born billionaire Yuri Milner and American Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook. Their project is called Breakthrough Starshot. It will develop and build thousands of robotic vehicles that can speed through space. Their first goal is to explore the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. It is about 40 trillion kilometers — or 4.37 light years – away from Earth. Once launched a spacecraft would have to travel 20 years to get there.
* life (out) in the universe = 우주 (밖) 생명체/ launch = (특히 조직적인 일을[에]) 시작[개시/착수]하다/ space exploration = 우주 탐험/ alien life = 외계 생명체/ physicist = 물리학자/ speed = 빨리 가다[이동하다]/ light year = (천문) 광년(빛이 1년간 나아가는 거리. 9.4607 x 1012 킬로미터)/ spacecraft = 우주선         

The way they will make it happen is like something from a science fiction story. Crews on Earth would use powerful laser beams to power extremely small vehicles through space.These spacecraft would travel much farther than any other spacecraft built to date. Estimates say the project will cost from $5 to 10 billion. Yuri Milner is giving the project $100 million to get started. Last week, Milner showed a model of the spacecraft to reporters in New York. “This is a starchip, a gram-scale wafer containing cameras, photon thrusters, power supply and navigation and communication equipment.” The starchip is a computer chip about the size of a large postage stamp. Each one will cost no more than an iPhone. The chip will have a light sail — very thin material that can open in space and move the spacecraft forward. Together the chip and the sail are called “nanocraft.”
* science fiction = 공상 과학의/ crew = (특정한 기술을 가지고 함께 일을 하는) 팀, 반, 조; 승무원/ laser beam = 레이저 광선/ power = 동력을 공급하다, 작동시키다/ vehicle = 차량, 탈것, 운송 수단/ to date = 지금까지/ wafer = 웨이퍼(반도체 집적 회로(IC)의 원재료로 사용되는 실리콘의 단결정으로 된 원판 모양의 기판)/ photon = 광자(光子)/ thruster = (특히 항공기의) 반동 추진 엔진/ power supply = 전력[동력] 공급, 전원 장치/ light sail(= solar sail) = 우주선의 자세 안정이나 추진용으로 태양광의 압력을 이용하기 위한 돛/ nano = 10억분의 1

Hawking, Zuckerberg to Search for Life in the Universe - WTS.mp3