April 26
[ 2007-04-26 08:00 ]
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| Ranger IV took off on 23
April from Cape Canaveral |
| 1962: First US rocket lands on
moon |
England have
The American moon rocket Ranger IV has landed on the far side of the
moon but has failed to send back pictures due to a technical fault.
It is the first time an American spacecraft has successfully reached
the moon - the Russians achieved the first ever lunar impact in 1959.
However, the main aim of the mission - to take television pictures of
the lunar surface - was not achieved after all internal power on board the
spacecraft failed two hours after launch.
The Ranger IV Atlas-Agena rocket, which took off from Cape Canaveral on
23 April, is one of the most sophisticated space machines ever developed.
Crash-land
It was specifically designed to crash-land on the moon after capturing
a series of images of the lunar surface on its approach.
The television pictures on board were designed to begin operating when
the rocket came within 2,500 miles (4,023km) of the lunar surface - 40
minutes before impact - and then send an image of the moon back to Earth
every 13 seconds.
After the loss of internal power the spacecraft could only be tracked
using the tiny radio transmitter in the lunar capsule. This is how
scientists confirmed it had actually reached the moon.
The latest mission was identical to that of Ranger III, which launched
on 26 January this year.
But the expected pictures from that mission were not produced because
the rocket missed the moon by 22,862 miles (36,793km).
Nasa scientists will be hugely disappointed by this latest failure as a
successful mission would have given them the first ever close-up images of
the mysterious lunar surface.
Ranger IV was also equipped with a seismometer and radio transmitter,
designed to be released in a small capsule from the rocket before impact
and land on the moon in sufficiently good condition to measure the
frequency of natural earthquakes in the body of the moon.
Images from this would have been sent back to Earth for up to 30 days
for vital research.
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| Chancellor Norman
Lamont: "reward" for government policies |
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1993: Recession over - it's
official | Artificially 1969:
The government has reacted with relief to news that Britain's economy
grew by 0.2% in the first three months of this year, and declared the
longest recession since the 1930s officially over.
The figures, from the Central Statistical Office, show a 0.2% rise in
gross domestic product (GDP), and a 0.6% increase in activity in the
onshore economy, excluding oil and gas production.
It's the first sign of growth in the economy for over two years. The
recession has been longer, but less severe, than the last one in the
1980s. Output has fallen by 3.9%, compared with a 5.5% fall last time.
The economy is recovering across a broad front
Chancellor
Norman Lamont
Prime Minister John Major called on industry to make
the most of the "unparalleled opportunities" offered by the combination of
low inflation and interest rates, and a competitive exchange rate.
The Chancellor, Norman Lamont, was also upbeat, saying the figures were
"the best evidence so far that the economy is recovering across a broad
front."
In a BBC interview, Mr Lamont said Britain was starting to see the
reward of policies that the government had been pursuing during the past
few years.
The Institute of Directors, though, disagreed with the Chancellor on
the reasons for the upturn. Their latest survey said improved performance
was due to Britain's departure from the European exchange-rate mechanism
(ERM), a policy decision forced on the government.
Black Wednesday
The pound was driven out of the ERM last September by frantic currency
speculation, on what became known as Black Wednesday.
In a catastrophic day for the government's policy on Europe and the
economy, Mr Lamont was forced to spend billions in an attempt to prop up
the pound, which failed as it dropped below its minimum level in the ERM.
He had no choice but to devalue and pull out of the ERM.
The Shadow Chancellor, Gordon Brown, greeted the figures cautiously,
saying he hoped the recession was over, but warning that skills shortages
and an investment gap with the UK's competitors could stymie future
growth.
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| Vocabulary:
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seismometer: 地震檢波器
upturn: an
upward movement or trend in business activity（上升，好轉(zhuǎn)）
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