The vast Shackleton impact crater near the south pole of the moon is an inhospitable place – its exposed rim is permanently bombarded by sunlight while the interior is permanently in shadow.
Temperatures can soar above boiling point on the surface and well below freezing in the darkness.
But the 21km-wide (13-mile) and 4km-deep feature may also harbour frozen water that could help support life on a lunar base – a possibility that has sparked the interest of the American and Chinese space programmes.
Space missions in both countries are reportedly preparing to land probes near the crater – the US later this year and China in 2026.
For now, the programmes are operating independently of each other but China and the United States should keep communication lines open for potential teamwork, US policy researchers said.

月球南極附近巨大的沙克爾頓隕石坑是一個(gè)不適宜居住的地方——其裸露的邊緣永久受到陽(yáng)光的轟擊，而內(nèi)部則永久處于陰影之中。
地表溫度可能飆升至沸點(diǎn)以上，而黑暗中則遠(yuǎn)低于冰點(diǎn)。
但這個(gè)寬 21 公里（13 英里）、深 4 公里的地貌也可能蘊(yùn)藏著冰凍的水，有助于支持月球基地上的生命——這種可能性引起了美國(guó)和中國(guó)太空計(jì)劃的興趣。
據(jù)報(bào)道，兩國(guó)的太空任務(wù)正準(zhǔn)備在隕石坑附近著陸探測(cè)器——美國(guó)將于今年晚些時(shí)候，中國(guó)則于 2026 年 。
美國(guó)政策研究人員表示，目前，這些項(xiàng)目彼此獨(dú)立運(yùn)作，但中國(guó)和美國(guó)應(yīng)保持溝通渠道暢通，以便潛在的團(tuán)隊(duì)合作。

Both the Intuitive Machines 2 (IM-2), named after the US company that built it, and China’s Chang’e 7 probe will drill up to one metre (3.3 feet) below the surface near the Shackleton crater, and study extracted lunar samples. Each probe will also bring equipment called a “hopper” to scout permanently dark areas, including the crater floor, for traces of “water ice”.
The ice could be used to create oxygen and hydrogen, and then produce air, drinking water and fuel on the moon itself to sustain manned exploration, without the costly need to bring them all the way from Earth.
China’s moon missions, which began with the uncrewed lunar-orbiter Chang’e 1 in 2007, are aimed at building a basic lunar research station by 2028.

以建造它的美國(guó)公司命名的直觀機(jī)器2號(hào)（IM-2）和中國(guó)的嫦娥七號(hào)探測(cè)器都將鉆探沙克爾頓隕石坑附近地表以下一米（3.3英尺）的地方，并研究提取的月球樣本。每個(gè)探測(cè)器還將攜帶稱為“漏斗”的設(shè)備來(lái)搜尋永久黑暗的區(qū)域，包括火山口底部，以尋找“水冰”的痕跡。
這些冰可以用來(lái)制造氧氣和氫氣，然后在月球上生產(chǎn)空氣、飲用水和燃料，以維持載人探索，而無(wú)需花費(fèi)昂貴的費(fèi)用將它們從地球運(yùn)來(lái)。
中國(guó)的探月任務(wù)始于2007年的無(wú)人月球軌道飛行器嫦娥一號(hào)，目標(biāo)是到2028年建立一個(gè)基礎(chǔ)月球研究站。

While similar space missions normally offer a chance for countries to work together, the so-called Wolf Amendment – a law passed by the US Congress in 2011 – restricts Nasa from directly working with Chinese organisations over technology theft concerns.

雖然類似的太空任務(wù)通常為各國(guó)提供合作的機(jī)會(huì)，但所謂的沃爾夫修正案（美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)于 2011 年通過(guò)的一項(xiàng)法律）限制 NASA 因技術(shù)盜竊問(wèn)題而直接與中國(guó)組織合作。

During a 2024 financial year budget hearing before US lawmakers in April, Nasa chief Bill Nelson said the amendment should stay in force and underlined concerns about a “space race” with China.
“This is where we’re going and where China’s going [too] … My concern is if China were to get there first, they’d say ‘this is our territory; you stay out’,” Nelson said as he showed a picture of lunar landing sites to a US House appropriations subcommittee last month.

在 4 月份美國(guó)立法者舉行的 2024 財(cái)年預(yù)算聽(tīng)證會(huì)上，美國(guó)宇航局局長(zhǎng)比爾·尼爾森表示，該修正案應(yīng)繼續(xù)有效，并強(qiáng)調(diào)了對(duì)與中國(guó)展開(kāi)“太空競(jìng)賽”的擔(dān)憂。
“這就是我們要去的地方，也是中國(guó)要去的地方……我擔(dān)心的是，如果中國(guó)先到達(dá)那里，他們會(huì)說(shuō)‘這是我們的領(lǐng)土’?！鄙蟼€(gè)月，尼爾森向美國(guó)眾議院撥款小組委員會(huì)展示了一張登月地點(diǎn)的照片時(shí)說(shuō)道。

Roger Handberg, a political-science professor at the University of Central Florida, said some people viewed space “as the former US western frontier – you seize control because you can”. However, he was optimistic about future cooperation between China and the US.
“Nowadays everyone talks about the US and China as the leaders in lunar operations,” Handberg said. “The two will be major players in deciding the rules, which means the Wolf Amendment will go so that productive work can be done.”
“There is time to work out a solution that matches up to the original expectations in the Outer Space Treaty that space will not be a zone for conflict, but for cooperative activities generally,” Handberg said, referring to the 1967 treaty for the peaceful exploration and use of space, signed by more than 110 countries as of March.
While finding water ice on the moon would give an edge, he said it could be a decade before either China or the US developed the ability to retrieve and process it.
Daytime temperatures on the lunar surface can reach a boiling 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit), but remote sensing data has shown a significant amount of ice deposited in the permanently shadowed interior of some lunar craters.
One such well-studied crater is the bowl-shaped Shackleton, named after Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and sitting almost exactly at the lunar south pole. The south pole is defined by both the US and China as an area within 5 to 6 degrees latitude of the lunar south pole.

中佛羅里達(dá)大學(xué)政治學(xué)教授羅杰·漢德伯格表示，有些人將太空視為“前美國(guó)西部邊境——你可以?shī)Z取控制權(quán)，因?yàn)槟憧梢浴?。不過(guò)，他對(duì)中美未來(lái)的合作持樂(lè)觀態(tài)度。
“現(xiàn)在每個(gè)人都在談?wù)撁绹?guó)和中國(guó)是月球行動(dòng)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，”漢德伯格說(shuō)?！皟蓢?guó)將成為決定規(guī)則的主要參與者，這意味著沃爾夫修正案將會(huì)通過(guò)，以便能夠完成富有成效的工作?！?br /> 漢德伯格在談到 1967 年和平探索條約時(shí)表示，“現(xiàn)在有時(shí)間制定出符合《外層空間條約》最初期望的解決方案，即太空不會(huì)成為沖突地區(qū)，而是普遍開(kāi)展合作活動(dòng)的地區(qū)。”截至 3 月，已有 110 多個(gè)國(guó)家簽署了該協(xié)議。
他表示，雖然在月球上找到水冰會(huì)帶來(lái)優(yōu)勢(shì)，但中國(guó)或美國(guó)可能需要十年時(shí)間才能具備回收和處理水冰的能力。
月球表面白天的溫度可達(dá) 120 攝氏度（248 華氏度），但遙感數(shù)據(jù)顯示，在一些月球隕石坑的永久陰影內(nèi)部沉積了大量的冰。
碗形沙克爾頓隕石坑就是這樣一個(gè)經(jīng)過(guò)充分研究的隕石坑，它以南極探險(xiǎn)家歐內(nèi)斯特·沙克爾頓的名字命名，幾乎正好位于月球南極。美國(guó)和中國(guó)均將南極定義為月球南極緯度5至6度范圍內(nèi)的區(qū)域。

Few places on the moon come with the conditions needed for sustainable human exploration, such as continual sunlight to power vehicles and lunar bases. But while it is always dark at the bottom of the Shackleton crater, parts of its rim are permanently in sunlight.
In 2021, Nasa and IM announced that the Texas-based company would develop a commercial lunar lander to deliver an ice drill to an area known as the Shackleton connecting ridge, just west of the crater.
“This area receives sufficient sunlight to power a lander for a 10-day mission, while also providing a clear line of sight to Earth for constant communications,” Nasa said.
It was referring to the IM-2 mission, which is scheduled to lift off in November at the earliest.
China has yet to officially announce the landing site for its Chang’e 7 mission, but according to Wu Yanhua, chief designer of the country’s Deep Space Exploration programme, its top candidate is also the Shackleton crater region.
Chang’e 7 would aim for an area southeast of Shackleton, Wu told the First International Deep Space Exploration Conference, or Tiandu Forum, in the Chinese city of Hefei last month.
Papers published in Chinese-language journals have already shown China’s strong interest in going to the crater. Shackleton was ranked first in a 2020 analysis of suitable zones and spots for lunar south pole landing, as Chang’e 4 mission commander Zhang He and her colleagues reported in the Journal of Deep Space Exploration in June that year.

月球上很少有地方具備人類可持續(xù)探索所需的條件，例如為車輛和月球基地提供動(dòng)力的持續(xù)陽(yáng)光。盡管沙克爾頓隕石坑的底部總是黑暗的，但它的部分邊緣卻永遠(yuǎn)沐浴在陽(yáng)光下。
2021 年，美國(guó)宇航局和 IM 宣布，這家總部位于德克薩斯州的公司將開(kāi)發(fā)一款商業(yè)月球著陸器，將冰鉆運(yùn)送到隕石坑以西的沙克爾頓連接山脊區(qū)域。
美國(guó)宇航局表示：“該區(qū)域接收到的陽(yáng)光充足，可為著陸器提供執(zhí)行 10 天任務(wù)的動(dòng)力，同時(shí)還為地球提供清晰的視線，以實(shí)現(xiàn)持續(xù)通信。”
它指的是預(yù)計(jì)最早于 11 月發(fā)射的 IM-2 任務(wù)。
中國(guó)尚未正式宣布嫦娥七號(hào)任務(wù)的著陸地點(diǎn)，但據(jù)中國(guó)深空探測(cè)計(jì)劃總設(shè)計(jì)師吳艷華介紹，其首要候選地點(diǎn)也是沙克爾頓隕石坑地區(qū)。
吳艷華上個(gè)月在中國(guó)合肥市舉行的第一屆國(guó)際深空探測(cè)大會(huì)或天都論壇上表示，嫦娥七號(hào)的目標(biāo)將是沙克爾頓東南部的地區(qū)。
中文期刊上發(fā)表的論文已經(jīng)表明了中國(guó)對(duì)前往火山口的濃厚興趣。正如嫦娥四號(hào)任務(wù)指揮官?gòu)垷篮退耐庐?dāng)年 6 月在《深空探索雜志》上報(bào)道的那樣，沙克爾頓在 2020 年月球南極著陸適宜區(qū)域和地點(diǎn)分析中排名第一。

While the moon’s south pole is of high value to scientists and future human explorers alike because of water ice, its surface full of craters poses a major challenge for robotic and crewed landing. “It’s a dangerous place to land, and there are few precious parts where you can do it,” Nelson told House appropriators last month.
In August, Nasa announced the sextion of 13 potential landing zones for its Artemis III mission. Planned for after 2025, the mission will mark the first return of humans to the moon in half a century, and will be the first time astronauts explore the lunar south pole.
Researchers in China have also identified a number of preferred landing areas in the south pole, with a few such as the Shackleton and Haworth craters overlapping with Nasa’s choices. China also hopes to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.

雖然月球南極由于水冰而對(duì)科學(xué)家和未來(lái)的人類探險(xiǎn)家具有很高的價(jià)值，但其表面布滿隕石坑對(duì)機(jī)器人和載人著陸構(gòu)成了重大挑戰(zhàn)?！斑@是一個(gè)危險(xiǎn)的著陸地點(diǎn)，而且?guī)缀鯖](méi)有什么珍貴的地方可以著陸，”尼爾森上個(gè)月告訴眾議院撥款者。
8 月，美國(guó)宇航局宣布為其阿爾忒彌斯 III 任務(wù)選擇 13 個(gè)備選著陸區(qū)。該任務(wù)計(jì)劃于 2025 年之后進(jìn)行，將標(biāo)志著半個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)人類首次重返月球，也將是宇航員首次探索月球南極。
中國(guó)的研究人員還確定了南極的一些首選著陸區(qū)域，其中沙克爾頓和霍沃斯隕石坑等一些區(qū)域與美國(guó)宇航局的選擇重疊。中國(guó)還希望在2030年之前將宇航員送上月球。

However, even with overlapping landing locations, mission conflict is unlikely – since each location is over 100 sq km (38 square mils) in size and contains multiple landing spots.
The US and China are now assembling their own moon camps under the frxwork of the Artemis Accords and the International Lunar Research Station, respectively.
“While major space players will lead a particular settlement – one way to think of them is city states – they should interact in order to survive collectively as the lunar environment is harsh and unforgiving,” Handberg said.
“The process of space exploration is difficult, complicated and expensive. Even the two powers may find the burden heavy, and the need for cooperative activities will become more obvious that the Wolf Amendment goes away.”
Brian Weeden from the Secure World Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, also urged the US government to revise the amendment and resume bilateral exchanges with China, as he gave testimony before the US-China Economic Security Review Commission earlier this month.
“Congress should modify the Wolf Amendment to allow Nasa to engage in space activities with China that support US national interests,” Weeden said, citing priority engagement areas such as basic space science, robotic space exploration and increased data sharing on space weather and orbital debris.

然而，即使著陸地點(diǎn)重疊，任務(wù)沖突也不太可能發(fā)生——因?yàn)槊總€(gè)地點(diǎn)的面積都超過(guò) 100 平方公里（38 平方密耳），并且包含多個(gè)著陸點(diǎn)。
美國(guó)和中國(guó)目前正在分別在《阿耳忒彌斯協(xié)議》和國(guó)際月球研究站的框架下組建自己的月球營(yíng)地。
漢德伯格說(shuō)：“雖然主要的太空參與者將領(lǐng)導(dǎo)一個(gè)特定的定居點(diǎn)——可以將它們視為城邦國(guó)家——但它們應(yīng)該進(jìn)行互動(dòng)，以便集體生存，因?yàn)樵虑颦h(huán)境是嚴(yán)酷無(wú)情的?！?br /> “太空探索的過(guò)程是困難、復(fù)雜且昂貴的。即使是兩個(gè)大國(guó)也可能會(huì)感到負(fù)擔(dān)沉重，隨著《沃爾夫修正案》的消失，合作活動(dòng)的必要性將變得更加明顯?！?br /> 華盛頓智庫(kù)安全世界基金會(huì)的布萊恩·韋登本月早些時(shí)候在美中經(jīng)濟(jì)安全審查委員會(huì)作證時(shí)也敦促美國(guó)政府修改修正案并恢復(fù)與中國(guó)的雙邊交往。
威登表示：“國(guó)會(huì)應(yīng)修改《沃爾夫修正案》，允許美國(guó)宇航局與中國(guó)開(kāi)展支持美國(guó)國(guó)家利益的太空活動(dòng)。”他列舉了基礎(chǔ)太空科學(xué)、機(jī)器人太空探索以及增加太空天氣和軌道碎片數(shù)據(jù)共享等優(yōu)先參與領(lǐng)域。。

China was conducting or planning to conduct many of the same space activities as the US, so the two nations did have areas where their interests aligned, Weeden said. Meanwhile, China had been constructive in its interactions with the international community on space law and norms, he told the commission.
Handberg said there was already some nibbling away at the restrictions on a more informal level, which would increase over time. However, the amendment would not be overturned until there was a real need to do so, he said.
“Over time, the amendment is effectively nullified through exceptions, even though the title may remain.”

威登說(shuō)，中國(guó)正在或計(jì)劃進(jìn)行許多與美國(guó)相同的太空活動(dòng)，因此兩國(guó)確實(shí)存在利益一致的領(lǐng)域。與此同時(shí)，他告訴委員會(huì)，中國(guó)在與國(guó)際社會(huì)就太空法律和規(guī)范進(jìn)行互動(dòng)時(shí)一直保持建設(shè)性態(tài)度。
漢德伯格表示，已經(jīng)在非正式層面上逐步取消了一些限制，而且隨著時(shí)間的推移，這種限制還會(huì)增加。不過(guò)，他表示，除非確實(shí)有必要，否則不會(huì)推翻該修正案。
“隨著時(shí)間的推移，即使標(biāo)題可能保留，該修正案也會(huì)因例外而實(shí)際上無(wú)效?！?br />