【推荐1】On Friday January 14, 2022, blast was heard 2,000km away in New Zealand and 3,300km away in Australia. Boats crashed into a quiet harbor in Southern California, a remote island was battered in Japan by 4 foot waves and two women were swept to their deaths on a beach in Peru some 6,000 miles from an undersea volcanic eruption so powerful that the tsunami which it set off stirred ocean waters halfway across the globe.

But on Sunday, as reports of the volcano’s effect crowded in from far-flung countries, there was little word from Tonga, the island nation just 40 miles from the site of the extraordinary explosion. As concerns from all over the world grew, the nation of about 100,000 people remained largely cut off from the rest of the world, its undersea internet cables knocked out of commission by the volcano.

In Tonga on Sunday, many residents lost not only communication channels but electric power. Up to 80,000 people there could be affected, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told the BBC.

New Zealand and other nations in the region pledged to give Tonga aid to recover. But with heavy concentrations of airborne ash making flights impossible, just like the Iceland volcano eruption in 2021, it was difficult even to know what was needed. Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, said flights over Tonga were planned for Monday or Tuesday, depending on ash conditions.

Tonga has experienced a succession of natural disasters in recent years. In 2018, more than 170 homes were destroyed and two people killed by Cyclone Gita, a Category 5 tropical storm. In 2020, Cyclone Harold caused about $111 million in damage.

【推荐2】The United States space agency will send a spacecraft to explore the sun more closely than ever before on Saturday. NASA'S Parker Solar Probe（探测器）will fly through the hot solar atmosphere and come within just 6 million kilometers of the sun's surface.

The Parker Probe will get almost seven times closer to the sun than earlier spacecraft. To do this, it will fly past Venus（金星）seven times over seven years. Each pass will change the probe's orbit by providing a gravity push. It will move ever closer to the sun and straight into the corona（日冕）, the sun's outermost atmosphere.

By exploring the sun's corona, scientists hope to learn why it is hundreds of times hotter than the sun's surface. They will also study what drives the solar wind.

The project was proposed in 1958, the same year NASA was established. Now, "it's becoming a reality," said project manager Andy Driesman.

The Parker spacecraft has a 2.4 meter heat shield（护罩）that is 11 centimeters thick. It is made of two carbon sheets. The front has a white coating to reflect sunlight. It is expected to shine red when it experiences the extreme solar heat. Almost everything on the spacecraft will be behind this shield to keep its scientific instruments relatively cool.

Besides, the spacecraft will also be traveling at a high speed. The probe will reach 690,000 kilometers per hour in the corona. The spacecraft will make its first flight past Venus in early October. Its first pass by the sun is expected in November.

The Parker Solar Probe is the first NASA spacecraft to be named after someone who is still alive. Eugene Parker is a 91-year-old professor at the University of Chicago. He predicted the existence of solar wind 60 years ago. He plans to be at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the southern state of Florida to see the launch.

【推荐1】The world’s first luxury space hotel, Aurora Station, was announced Thursday at the Space 2. 0 Summit in San Jose, California. Developed by US-based space technology start-up Orion Span, the space station will host six people at a time, including two crew members, for 12-day trips of space travel. It plans to welcome its first guests in 2022.

“Our goal is to make space accessible to all,” Frank Bunger, CEO and founder of Orion Span, said in a statement. “Upon launch, Aurora Station goes into service immediately, bringing travelers into space quickly and at a lower price point than ever seen before.”

While a $10 million trip is outside the budget of most people’s two-week vacations, Orion Span claims to offer an authentic astronaut experience. “It has taken what was historically a 24-month training to prepare travelers to visit a space station and streamlined (精简) it to three months, at a fraction (小部分) of the cost,” says Bunger. During their 12-day adventure, the super-rich travelers will fly at a height of 200 miles above the Earth’s surface in Low Earth Orbit, where they will witness incredible views of the blue planet. The hotel will orbit Earth every 90 minutes, which means guests will see around 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.

Activities on board include taking part in research experiments such as growing food while in orbit, which guests can take home for a super-smug souvenir, and soaring over their hometown. Guests can have-live-video chats with their less-fortunate loved ones back home via high-speed wireless Internet access and, upon returning to Earth will be greeted with a specially arranged hero’s welcome. While enjoying the thrills of zero gravity, the travelers will be able to float freely through the hotel, taking in views of the northern and southern aurora from the station’s windows.

Deposits are already being accepted for future stays on the space hotel.

【推荐1】As we continue to explore farther out into our solar system and beyond, the question of humans living on other planets often comes up. Manned bases on the Moon or Mars for example, have long been a dream of many. There is a natural desire to explore as far as we can go, and also to extend humanity’s presence on a permanent (永久的) or at least semi-permanent basis. In order to do this, however, it is necessary to adapt to different extreme environments. On the Moon for example, a colony must be self-sustaining (自立的) and protect its inhabitants from the airless, harsh environment outside.

Mars, though, is different. While future bases could adapt to the Martian environment over time there is also the possibility of modifying (改变) the surrounding environment instead of just co-existing with it. This is the process of terraforming (地球化)—adjusting Mars’ atmosphere and environment to make it more Earth-like. But the bigger question is, should we?

One of the main issues is whether Mars has any native life or not and if it does, should it be preserved (保护) as much as possible? If the answer is yes, then large-scale human settlements on Mars should be completely off-limits. Small colonies might be fine, but living on Mars should not be at the expense of any native habitats, if they exist. If Mars is home to any indigenous life, then terraforming should be a non-issue; it simply should not be done.

What if Mars is lifeless? Even if no life exists there, that untouched and unique alien environment needs to be preserved as it is as much as possible. We’ve already done too much damage here on our own planet. By studying Mars and other planets and moons in their current natural state, we can learn so much about their history and also learn more about our own world. We should appreciate the differences of other worlds instead of just transforming them to suit our own ambitions.

【推荐2】Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked.

Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup (基因构成) as human beings. What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible.

Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. With knowledge, we can lessen its effects.

Exploration also allows minerals and other potential (潜在的) resources to be found. Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. Resources may be more than physical possessions. Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration. The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. We have already benefited from other unexpected benefits including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communication systems. Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products (副产品) of technological developments in the space industry!

While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. The danger exists, but knowledge can help human beings to survive. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.

While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets. It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future.

【推荐3】If you think you’d like to live on Mars, you may have that possibility by 2023. A Dutch company called Mars One will soon advertise for people interested in colonizing (开拓) Mars. If you have all the necessary skills, you could be one of the first colonists. Are you ready for the challenge?

You won’t have to pay for the mission to Mars. Mars One has already received money from some donors and is hoping to get more from TV viewers who will become interested in the show where all applicants have a debate for the rare chances.

The main responsibility of the first colonists is to create an artificial environment on Mars where there is no air to breathe and no land to farm. Scientists know it’s quite possible because something similar has already been done in Antarctica.

Another problem is that space travel to Mars takes nearly a year to get to Mars and the colonists will live the rest of their lives there. When a human lives in an environment without gravity or with low gravity for a long time, the systems in the body weaken. Luckily, spinning (旋转) the spaceship can create artificial gravity, and artificial gravity can ease these problems. It will also be difficult for Mars colonists to be far from home, living in small spaces, and seeing the same people over and over. Colonists with depression could put the mission in danger. Fortunately, a few years ago, a joint Russian and European project called the Mars 500 Mission studied people’s reactions in a Mars-like environment. It is viewed as a great success because scientists were able to see how people handle emotional and physical stresses.

Recent studies show that seven percent of people would want to go on such an adventure. Mars One will soon start accepting its first colonists. Are you interested?