 Why Do Astronauts Use Space Pens Instead of Pencils? 宇航员为什么用太空笔而不是铅笔？ It's often said that NASA spent millions of dollars developing a pen that could write in zero gravity, while the Russians just used pencils. It was a warning about looking for a high-tech solution to a mundane problem, of American excess vs. Russian sensibility. 人们常说 ，NASA 花费了数百万美元开发了一种在太空失重情况下也可以使用的书写笔, 而苏联人就是用的普通铅笔。这个说法被用来警告用大炮打苍蝇这种寻求高科技方式解决基本问题的办法，同时这个说法也被用来证明美国人的奢侈和俄国人的理性。 It’s also entirely false. 然而这个说法也是毫无根据的。 To understand why NASA was so keen on a workable space pen, you have to understand that the pencil is not suited for space travel. The problem is that they have a habit of breaking, shattering, and leaving graphite dust behind. The wood, too, can make it a serious fire risk in the pressurized, oxygen-rich capsule. All of these common issues become life-threatening hazards in space. 为了理解 NASA 为什么如此热衷于拥有一支在太空可以用的笔, 你必须明白铅笔不适合太空旅行。它们的问题是很容易断，碎，而且会留下石墨碎末。铅笔的木材笔杆在加压高氧太空舱内是个严重的火灾隐患。所有这些平常事在太空都会成为致命的危险。 Still, there were attempts to bring pencils into space. In 1965, the agency famously ordered 34 specially designed mechanical pencils in hopes of finding the perfect writing tool for astronauts. But at $128 each, they weren't exactly cheap, and it only got worse when the public got wind of the price. Thankfully, an alternative was not too far behind. 尽管如此, 人们还是不断尝试寻找把铅笔带进太空的办法。1965年, 为了给宇航员找到那个完美的书写工具，NASA大张旗鼓地订购了34只量身定做的机械铅笔。每支笔的价格高达128美元, 这可一点儿不便宜，（在上世纪六十年代这可是一笔巨款）。而且当消息传到老百姓耳朵里时, 事情变得更糟糕了。但是谢天谢地,距离真正解决办法的出现已经为期不远了。 The Space Pen was invented by Paul Fisher, head of Fisher Pen Company. Unlike a typical pen, the Fisher Space Pen uses compressed nitrogen to force ink out of the nozzle, instead of using gravity to make it flow. This made it the ideal device for writing in space, while upside down, or submerged underwater. It wrote crisp and clean, without the safety concerns of a pencil. 太空笔是Fisher公司的领头人Paul Fisher发明的。与典型的钢笔不同, 与其使用重力，费舍尔太空笔使用压缩氮气来把墨水推出喷嘴。这使它成为在太空中，头脚颠倒和沉在水下的情况下的理想书写工具。Fisher笔写得清脆干净, 没有一般铅笔带来的安全问题。 Fisher contacted NASA to give his pens a try in 1965 and in 1967, after months of testing, they were impressed enough to bulk buy 400 of them for future missions. Contrary to those urban legends, NASA didn't commission the pen or contribute any funding to it. The Soviets soon ditched their grease pencils and were eventually buying the same Fisher pens as NASA, too. The price? After a 40 percent discount from Fisher, both space agencies were paying $2.39 a pen. 1965年，Fisher联系了NASA说服NASA试一试他的笔。 1967年, 经过好几个月的测试后, 他们对Fisher的笔非常满意，决定为NASA未来的航天计划一次性购买400只。和那些都市传奇恰恰相反, NASA 并没有特殊委托研制这个产品或者为这个项目提供任何资助。苏联人很快也丢弃了他们的油脂铅笔, 并最终和美国宇航局一样开始购买Fisher太空笔。这些笔的价格？Fisher给了40%折扣后, 两个太空机构所付的价钱都是2.39 美元一只。 The Fisher Space Pens made their debut in 1968 on the Apollo 7 mission and have been involved in all manned missions since. Fisher太空笔于1968年在阿波罗7号使命首次亮相, 自那以后一直伴随了所有的太空载人使命。 👇 |
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