中国将4月24日设立为第一个“中国航天日”，1970年的这一天我国第一颗人造地球卫星“东方红一号”发射成功。
A range of events was held across China, after the State Council announced in late March that, starting this year, the country would celebrate this occasion. And one of the highlights was a press conference on April 22, during which Xu Dazhe, head of the China National Space Administration, said the central government approved a Mars mission. As part of this newly unveiled plan, an unmanned probe will be sent to orbit and land on the Red Planet in 2020.
今年三月下旬国务院宣布设立航天日后，全国开展了一系列活动，其中最受瞩目的当属中国政府批准火星探测工程。在4月22日的新闻发布会上，国家航天局局长许达哲宣布了这一消息。在新公布的计划中，我国将争取在2020年发射探测和着陆巡视的火星探测器。
It’s a challenging task. Since the 1960s, different countries have sent more than 40 probes to Mars, and only 19 accomplished their missions. If China’s probe succeeds in landing on Mars, it will conduct scientific research on the Martian soil, environment, atmosphere and water, opening a new chapter in the country’s deep-space exploration program.
这是一项极具挑战性的任务。自20世纪六十年代以来，世界各国陆续发射过40多个火星探测器，但只有19个完成任务。如果探测器成功着陆火星，那么我国将开展对火星土壤、环境、大气和水的科学研究，这将会开启深空探测项目的新篇章。
Apart from the Mars mission, Xu also revealed a series of other space exploration plans. China will launch
除了火星计划，许达哲还透露了一系列其他的探测计划。在未来五年里，长征系列运载火箭将实现150次飞行。2011年至2015年的5年间，长征系列运载火箭承担了86次运载任务，2006年至2010年这一数字仅为48。
Chen Xuechuan, assistant president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told Xinhua News Agency that China is quickly catching up with other countries after being a relative latecomer in human space endeavors.
中国航天科技集团总经理助理陈学钏告诉新华社，作为载人航天事业的新成员，中国正在快速追赶其他国家。
The launch of the SJ-10 retrievable scientific research satellite earlier this month marked the 226th mission of the Long March rocket family, and the pace of the launches is accelerating.
本月早些时候，实践十号返回式科学实验卫星顺利发射是长征系列运载火箭执行的第226次运载任务，其发射速度也正在提升。
“Our first 100 Long March missions took us 37 years. But it only took us seven years to complete the latest 100,” Chen said.
陈学钏说：“前100次发射用时37年，而后100次仅用了7年的时间。”
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