張寶鑫：航天合作豈能也搞「零和博弈」
After Chang"e-4 lunar probe successfully landed on the far side of the Moon, there has been considerable discussion among the US scientific community as to whether the US should embark upon a new cooperation with China for space exploration. A few weeks ago, US space agency NASA said in a statement that it is collaborating with the China National Space Administration for a lunar mission, and it is expected to image the landing site of Chang"e-4, using its lunar orbiter on January 31. The development marks the first time in eight years that China and the US have achieved such cooperation in aerospace, science and technology.
在嫦娥四號月球探測器成功登陸月球背面之後，美國科學界關於「美國應該重啟與中國在航天探索領域合作」的議論再次變得引人注目。日前，美國航空航天局(NASA)發布公告表示，正就嫦娥四號任務與中方展開合作，預計於1月31日利用美國「月球勘測軌道器」對嫦娥四號著陸點進行成像。這可算是中美雙方在航天科技領域8年來首次取得合作。
NASA的科學家在1月30日拍攝的這張照片中發現了嫦娥四號的著陸器和月球車
Nevertheless, the NASA statement also stressed that NASA"s cooperation with China is transparent, reciprocal and mutually beneficial, has been approved by US administration and Congress and is in accordance with the relevant regulations. It can be seen that political factors in the US have had a lot of impact on this cooperation.
當然，NASA在這次發布的公告中強調，與中國即將展開的合作「透明、互惠、互利」，得到美國政府和國會的批准，符合相關規定。可見，美國方面政治因素對這次合作的影響還是很大的。
As quite a few US and Chinese science fiction films have shown in recent years, it is widely hoped that the US and China can work together in many high-tech fields, including aerospace, contributing to the peace and development of all human beings. Yet, in reality, such areas of cooperation are few and far between. One of the reasons why the two sides reached agreement this time was because the US side showed a more proactive attitude. According to NASA, considering its ambition to return to the Moon, it is essential to carry out continued cooperation with international partners. Moreover, the US side had asked the chief scientist of China"s lunar program whether they could extend the lifespan of its relay satellite, and whether an American beacon device could be allowed to be placed on Chang"e-4.
在近些年上映的中美科幻影片中，我們可以看到兩國民間其實都希望中美能夠在航空航天等諸多高科技領域攜手合作，為人類的和平和發展做出貢獻。但在現實中，中美在這一領域的合作屈指可數。這一次能夠形成合作，美方展示出的主動性更大。一方面，NASA表示美國計劃重回月球，與國際夥伴持續展開合作至關重要；另一方面，美方曾向中國探月工程技術負責人提出能不能延長中繼星的使用壽命，能不能在嫦娥四號上放美方信標機。
In fact, in the 1970s, China and the US already conducted extensive cooperation and exchanges in the aerospace field. However, with the rise of the "zero-sum thinking" in the US, cooperation between the two sides for aerospace and other high-tech fields was frozen. In particular, the Wolf Clause, which was included in the US 2011 spending bill, bans any joint scientific research activities between China and the US related to NASA or coordinated by the White House"s Science Policy Office. The clause also bans the hosting of official Chinese visitors at facilities belonging to, or utilized by, NASA. It directly closed the door to space cooperation between the Chinese and US governments.
其實，早在20世紀70年代，中美航天領域就開始了廣泛的合作與交流。但隨著「零和思維」在美國重新燃起，中美之間在航空航天等高科技領域的合作進入冰封期。尤其是在美國通過的《2011財年國防部及全年繼續撥款法》中提出了「沃爾夫條款」，「在與NASA有關的或由白宮科技政策辦公室協調的聯合科研活動中禁止與中國合作」，並禁止利用NASA的任何設施接待「中國官方訪問者」。這直接導致中美政府間的航天合作大門關閉。
Then, what has changed this time? There are mainly two reasons behind the restart of Sino-US space cooperation.
為什麼這次中美能在航天科技領域撬開一點合作的「門縫」主要有兩個方面的原因：
First, China"s space industry has achieved fruitful results in collaborating with the international community in recent years, seeing more than 100 cooperation agreements inked with more than 30 national space agencies and international organizations. China has cooperated with the space agencies of some other BRICS countries to jointly build the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation, and has supported members of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization to jointly construct a system of small multi-mission satellite constellations, which have all brought mutually beneficial results to the parties involved. By comparison, the two big space powers of China and the US have been facing great difficulties in cooperation due to the invisible obstacles.
首先，近年來中國航天國際合作成果豐碩，與30多個國家空間機構和國際組織簽署了100餘項合作協定。與金磚國家航天機構共同推動建設遙感衛星星座，支持亞太空間合作組織成員國共同構建多任務小衛星星座等，這些都為合作雙方帶來互惠互利的結果。相比之下，中美兩個航天大國因為無形中的障礙，在合作方面步履維艱。
Second, although there is still a certain gap between China and the US in the aerospace field, the US has also noticed the changing reality. China"s space technology has been developing fast, especially in terms of the space station and lunar exploration. Both countries have their own space plans, which share extensive foundations for cooperation. Doing more work with less spending is also in line with what the US scientific institutes have always wanted.
其次，雖然中美在航天領域依然存在一定差距，但美國方面也注意到變化中的現實。中國的航天技術發展非常快，尤其是在空間站和探月等方面，中國和美國都有自己的相關計劃，而這些計劃的合作基礎又非常廣闊，少花錢多辦事，也是美國科研機構一直想做的事情。
At present, the biggest difficulty in China-US cooperation is the US" vigilance against China. Since aerospace technology usually involves lots of military technology, the US has taken stringent measures to safeguard their secret information in the few cooperation projects with China. When it comes to the launch of a US satellite by the Chinese side, many key procedures were operated by the US scientists, and the Chinese personnel were not even allowed to stand by. Even so, some US politicians still stubbornly believe that China still has the opportunity to steal the relevant technology from the US.
當前中美之間最大的合作困難，在於美國對中國存有嚴重的戒備之心。由於航天技術不少涉及到軍工領域，在中國和美國為數不多的合作中，美國對中國的技術保密工作非常 「嚴苛」，中國發射美國衛星，很多關鍵環節都是美國自己人操作，中國人連旁觀的機會都沒有。但即使這樣，美國一些政客依然固執地認為中國還有機會得到美國的相關技術。
In recent years, China"s space industry has made some remarkable achievements. Adhering to the principle of "peacefully developing and using space resources for the benefit of all mankind," China has offered invitations to welcome US cooperation. With the rapid advancement of China"s space technology, the two countries now have complementary advantages in many civil aerospace fields and thus should carry out more extensive and in-depth cooperation for all mankind.
近些年來，中國航天事業取得舉世矚目的成就，中方一直秉持著「開發太空，造福全人類，和平利用空間」的方針，並主動發出邀請，歡迎美方開展合作。隨著中國航天科技的快速進步，當前中美兩國在許多民用航天領域可以形成優勢互補，開展更廣泛和深入的合作造福全人類。
China plans to launch a manned space station and make it fully operational by 2022. If the International Space Station retires in 2024 as planned, then China will be the only country that has its own space station, at that time. Other countries including the US may need the Chinese space station to provide reliable support, which is also an opportunity to continue pushing forward with space technology through cooperation.
按計劃，我國將在2022年前後建成載人空間站，如果國際空間站也按原定計劃在2024年退役，屆時中國將成為唯一擁有空間站的國家。包括美國在內的其他國家都有可能需要中國空間站提供可靠的支持，這也是通過合作讓人類航天科技繼續向前邁進的契機。
The author is planning director at China Aviation Industry Imaging Center.
作者是中國航空工業影像中心策劃總監張寶鑫
本文中文稿首發於1月23日
