NASA本周宣布，作为新一代太空望远镜的首个项目，PRIMA有望在2030年代初进入发射台。
The first in a new class of space telescopes is on track to reach the launch pad in the early 2030s, NASA announced this week.
PRIMA任务将是NASA“探测器探索者”（Probe Explorers）系列的首个项目，该系列旨在以更低的成本实现更多的科学研究。
The PRIMA mission will be the first of NASA's Probe Explorers, a new line of observatories intended to do more science for less money. The agency's space telescopes typically fall into lower-cost "Explorer-class" missions, with cost caps in the range of a few hundred million dollars, or flagship observatories like the recently launched Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which came with a price tag of some $4.3 billion.
NASA的太空望远镜通常分为成本在数亿美元左右的低成本“探索者级”任务，或是像最近发射的南希·格雷斯·罗曼太空望远镜那样耗资约43亿美元的旗舰级天文台。
The PRIMA mission will be the first of NASA's Probe Explorers, a new line of observatories intended to do more science for less money. The agency's space telescopes typically fall into lower-cost "Explorer-class" missions, with cost caps in the range of a few hundred million dollars, or flagship observatories like the recently launched Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which came with a price tag of some $4.3 billion.
通过“探测器探索者”项目，NASA官员试图在小型探索者任务和数十亿美元的旗舰任务之间找到更好的平衡。
With the Probe Explorers, NASA officials seek to find a better balance between the smaller Explorer missions and multibillion-dollar flagships. NASA has studied potential Probe Explorer mission concepts for several years after an independent panel of scientists recommended the new mission category. But it wasn't clear until recently whether NASA's science budget, which is under pressure from the Trump administration, would be sufficient to actually start developing one.
在一个独立科学家小组建议设立这一新任务类别后，NASA对潜在的探测器探索者任务概念进行了数年的研究。
With the Probe Explorers, NASA officials seek to find a better balance between the smaller Explorer missions and multibillion-dollar flagships. NASA has studied potential Probe Explorer mission concepts for several years after an independent panel of scientists recommended the new mission category. But it wasn't clear until recently whether NASA's science budget, which is under pressure from the Trump administration, would be sufficient to actually start developing one.
但直到最近，NASA的科学预算（目前正面临特朗普政府的压力）是否足以真正启动该项目的开发尚不明确。
With the Probe Explorers, NASA officials seek to find a better balance between the smaller Explorer missions and multibillion-dollar flagships. NASA has studied potential Probe Explorer mission concepts for several years after an independent panel of scientists recommended the new mission category. But it wasn't clear until recently whether NASA's science budget, which is under pressure from the Trump administration, would be sufficient to actually start developing one.