India followed in China's footsteps this October by launching her first unmanned space vehicle.The launch， a month after China's successful Shenzhen VII spacewalk in September， was acclaimed throughout India as a sign of national prestige. The Chandrayaan-1 (\"Mooncraft-1\" in Hindi) blasted off from north of Chennai， while millions of Indians watched on TV to the accompanying soundtrack of the Star Wars movies. The spacecraft will reach lunar orbit in November， where she will spend two years examining the moon's surface for evidence of water and precious metals. A successor probe， the Chandrayaan-2， is planned for 2010.

印度緊跟中國腳步，在十月首次發(fā)射無人繞月探測器。這次月球探測器的發(fā)射是在九月中國神舟七號成功進行了太空行走的一個月后進行，印度全國上下為這一象征國威的壯舉歡呼雀躍。當“月船一號”（北印度語稱“登月飛船一號”）在印度欽奈北部轟然起飛時，成千上萬印度民眾在電影《星球大戰(zhàn)》的配樂下通過電視轉播觀看發(fā)射過程。飛船將在十一月進入繞月軌道，并將繞行月球兩年，對月球表面進行水分及貴重金屬的探測。后繼項目“月球飛船二號”計劃在2010年實施。

The launch has an ostensible scientific purpose， but is also a signifier of India's national ambitions， and has been criticised by some Indian politicians and commentators as a waste of scarce resources. Only three countries， the US， the USSR， and recently China， have major space programs， and India intends to join this exclusive club， marking her new status in the world. Indian scientist G Madhavan Nair， head of the Indian Space Research Orgnisation， stated that \"What we have started is a remarkable journey\" and that India intended to launch a manned flight by 2015. India received congratulations from several other nations， including America， Russia， and China， for her achivement.

飛船的發(fā)射表面上具有科研目的，但同時也折射出印度的野心，印度有些政治家和評論家批評此舉是浪費稀缺資源?，F(xiàn)在只有美國、俄羅斯和剛加入這一隊伍的中國擁有重大太空項目，印度意欲加入這個特別的俱樂部從而重新確立其國際地位。印度空間研究組織主席馬達瓦#8226;納伊爾稱：“我們開始了一段精彩的路程”，并表示說印度打算在2015年發(fā)射載人航天飛船。許多國家包括美國、俄羅斯和中國紛紛對印度在此領域所取得的成果表示祝賀。

China and India have long been local rivals， even fighting a brief war in 1962 over border regions in Xinjiang and Tibet. India's remarkable recent growth has been overshadowed by the even greater Chinese economic success. The Beijing Olympics saw India's first individual gold medals ever， but her medal haul was pitiful compared to the victorious hosts. Many young Indians see China as both a model and a competitor. Bhaskar Narayan， another director at the ISRO， stated \"China has gone earlier， but today we are trying to catch them， catch that gap， bridge the gap.\"

中國和印度長期以來都是近敵，1962年兩國在邊界地區(qū)新疆和西藏還爆發(fā)短時間戰(zhàn)爭。印度近年來顯著的發(fā)展與中國更卓越的經濟成就相比，黯然失色。北京奧運見證了印度首枚個人奧運金牌，但與東道主相比，印度奪得的金牌數顯得微不足道。許多印度年輕人既將中國視為榜樣，又將之視為對手。印度空間研究組織主任納拉揚稱：“中國先走了一步，但現(xiàn)在我們正試著要趕上他們，我們正視差距，奮力追趕?！?/p>