Making space for females

On Nov 8, Wang Yaping, a female taikonaut of Shenzhou XIII mission, became China’s first and the world’s 16th female spacewalker. The expected six-month journey in space has left many curious about the differences between male and female astronauts, especially in terms of performing extravehicular activities (EVAs). Despite physical challenges, female astronauts have unique advantages.
11月8日，神舟十三号女航天员王亚平成为中国首位、也是世界第16位实现太空行走的女性航天员。预计为期6个月的太空之旅让许多人对男女航天员的差异感到好奇，尤其是在进行舱外活动方面。女性航天员尽管面临身体上的挑战，却仍然有着独特优势。

Mutual understanding between astronauts is very important for carrying out EVAs, which is based on excellent communication skills. Women are superior in communication and language expression, and this helps female astronauts conduct extravehicular activities, according to Yang Yuguang, vice chair of Space Transportation Committee of the International Astronautical Federation.
开展舱外活动时，航天员之间能够相互理解非常重要，而理解建立在良好的沟通技巧之上。国际宇航联空间运输委员会副主席杨宇光表示，女性在沟通和语言表达方面更占优势，这有助于女性航天员进行舱外活动。

Female astronauts’ strong communication skills and energy also help the crew maintain high morale throughout their stay, according to Pang Zhihao, a spaceflight researcher in Beijing.
北京的航天研究人员庞之浩表示，女航天员拥有强大的沟通能力和充沛的活力，这些也会帮助航天员于在轨驻留期间保持高昂的士气。

Men and women are different in body size, which also gives women unique advantages for spacewalks. Their generally smaller size is an advantage, as women will be able to control their weight better and thus perform a wider variety of tasks,Pang told China Daily.
男性和女性的体型不同，因此女性在太空行走中拥有独特优势。庞之浩在接受《中国日报》采访时表示，女性通常身材小巧，这是一个优势，因为女性能够更好地控制身体的移动，从而完成更多任务。

Women in general weigh less, eat less food, consume less oxygen, and therefore required less fuel to get into space. A taikonaut must weigh between 55 kilograms and 70 kilograms to fit in the cabin of spacecraft and consume less fuel, according to CGTN.
一般来说，女性体重更轻，进食更少，氧气消耗更少，因此女性进入太空所需的燃料也更少。据中国国际电视台（CGTN）报道，航天员须将体重控制在55至70公斤之间，才能进入宇宙飞船舱内，并且消耗更少燃料。

A different body shape requires a different spacesuit. A tailor-made spacesuit was prepared for Wang’s extravehicular activities, which was lighter than the male version. Designers optimized the pattern of this spacesuit in the lower limb area to make it more suitable for astronauts with slimmer figures.
不同体型的航天员需要不同尺寸的航天服。为王亚平舱外活动量身定制的航天服比男版航天服更轻。设计师优化了该航天服下肢区域的样式，令其更适合身材苗条的航天员。

According to Pang, many studies have found that female astronauts are well adapted to executing space missions, and have advantages over male astronauts in qualities such as attention to detail and thinking comprehensively.
据庞之浩介绍，许多研究发现，女性航天员在执行太空任务时适应能力更强，而且心思更细腻，考虑问题更全面，在很多特质上都优于男性航天员。

Men tend to excel in shorter-term, goal-oriented situations, while women are better in longer-term, habitation-type circumstances, according to National Geographic.
据《国家地理》报道，男性在处理短期的、以目标为导向的情况时表现更出色，而女性则更擅长应对长期居住环境下的境况。

Women’s participation in EVAs is an integral part of space missions, and we are witnessing history thanks to Wang’s bravery, according to Yang.
杨宇光表示，没有女航天员参与的载人航天活动是不完整的，正因王亚平的勇敢，我们见证了历史。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一850期