In June, 2007, a group of students from eight high schools in Winnipeg, the capital of Canada’s Manitoba province, will begin test-launching (试发射) a satellite the size of a Rubik’s cube.

The one-kilogram Win-Cub satellite, named for its home city and its shape, will be put into low orbit. Once in space, it can perform for a few months or up to several years, communicating information that could help find the signs of earthquakes.

There are 80 similar satellite projects worldwide, but this is the first high-school based program of its kind in Canada. 30 Manitoba high school students are having a hand in designing and building the satellite, in cooperation with aerospace (航空航天的) experts and 10 students from the University of Manitoba, and with support from two other organizations.

The Win-Cube project is not something that goes on a piece of paper; it is real-world engineering, allowing high school students to have an opportunity to learn more about the exciting world of engineering through their participation in this challenging program. It is also taken as a wonderful example of the unique partnerships within Manitoba. Designing, building and launching a satellite with high-school participation will bring this world-class educational project into reality and Manitoba closer to space.

“These Manitoba high school students deserve congratulations for their enthusiasm, innovation (创新), and a strong love for discovery,” said Education, Citizenship and Youth Minister Peter Bjomson. “We want to make science more relevant (相关的), interesting and attractive to high school students by showing them how classroom studies can relate to practical experience in the workplace or, in this case, in space,” Bjomson added.

The Win-Cube program is mainly named at inspiring a strong desire for discovery on the part of the students. It also shows Manitoba’s devotion to research and innovation and the development of a skilled workforce—all important drivers of knowledge-based economic growth.

2007年6月，一群从温尼伯（加拿大马尼托巴省首府）的八所中学里选出的学生将开始试发射一颗魔方大小的卫星。

这颗一公斤重的卫星被以其家乡城市和形状命名为温-丘伯，并将被导入近地轨道。一旦进入太空，它可以逗留几个月甚至几年并执行任务——向地球传达有关地震迹象的信息。

全球计有80个类似的卫星项目，但这是加拿大第一个以高中学生为本的项目。30名马尼托巴高中生将在设计和建造卫星的过程中搭把手，并与航空航天领域的专家们及10名马尼托巴大学的学生合作，另有两个组织将提供支持。

温-丘伯的项目不是纸上谈兵，而是一个真实的工程项目。它使高中学生有机会通过参与这项具有挑战性的计划来更多地了解令人无比兴奋的工程学领域。它也是表现马尼托巴省各界独特伙伴关系的良好的例子。高中生参与设计、建造和发射卫星将使这个世界级的教育项目变为现实，并使马尼托巴更接近航空航天领域。

“这些马尼托巴高中生们的热情、创新精神和对探索和发明的热爱值得庆贺，”彼德·布爵森，教育、公民和青年部长如是说。“我们希望以这个项目来使科学变得更贴近高中生的生活、更有趣且更具吸引力——向他们展现课堂里所学的知识是如何与工作场所需要的实际经验息息相关的，在这个例子中‘工作场所’指的就是太空中了，”布爵森补充道。

温-丘伯计划的主要目的是启发学生对发明发现的强烈愿望。它也展现了马尼托巴省致力于研究和创新的精神以及培养具有相当能力的劳动力储备所作的努力——这些因素对于以知识为基础的经济增长是非常重要的。


今天状态不佳，先翻译成这样吧……