VOA專訪：臺灣出生的NASA宇航員林琪兒的“美國夢”

節目專訪一名出生於臺灣、後來成為NASA宇航員的林琪兒，談及2026年美國建國250週年期間參加Freedom 250專案訪問臺灣的經歷，以及臺灣與美國之間的聯絡。訪談還回顧了美國從水星計劃、雙子座計劃到阿波羅計劃、空間站和阿耳忒彌斯計劃的發展，並討論教育、科研、國際合作和美國夢對太空探索的作用。

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The United States is marking its 250th anniversary this year, and you recently visited Taiwan as part of the Freedom 250 program. What stood out to you during that trip, and what kinds of connections did you see between people in Taiwan and the United States through these celebrations?

Yeah, what a remarkable trip and what an amazing opportunity to return to the place where I was born and some places where I grew up, and to really refresh my personal connection with Taiwan, but to also see the strong partnership between Taiwan and the United States.

I was born in Taipei, in a U.S. Navy hospital, while my father was actually stationed in Taiwan during the Vietnam War. Reflecting on that partnership, which stretches back decades, and being able to see the very vibrant family and community that exists in Taiwan today was very heartening for me.

It had probably been 20 years since I had last visited Taiwan, so to return there and see the vibrant industry and strong democracy were amazing. I arrived feeling a little bit like a visitor, maybe returning home, and returned to the U.S. feeling like I was leaving a place that was also home.

很多人都在看法，是一名美國的名字。從你的看法，你如何是空間的空間？

I think space exploration is a natural extension of our kind of curiosity, industry and innovation, and a desire to understand and to explore. I think space exploration is a natural extension of that.

I think Gor Kennedy really summed it up: flying in space, putting humans into space, is not easy. It is hard, but that is the reason that we do it, because it challenges us today to figure out where we can go and what we can do.

適der kita，實際上，mo relies到 före交替到�을主項，我們將対象充分成的宣泛。我們將稱為宣泛無人的宣泛、將來annon惡寒來 сер方標的現在勘風尼大利於揢尚掃興的這麼小舟運動，我們將會比較地輕を跟 obra滿境腦。因 näm個挑戰的階 tha獲するき And commvid再來 forms and to create things, invent new things that not only enable exploration, but make life better back here on Earth.

When you look back over American history, what developments do you think most enabled the United States to become a spacefaring nation? Was this scientific education, immigration, entrepreneurship, government investment or something else?

Yeah, that's a great question. I think it's really a combination of all of those things.

I think our initial forays into space with the Mercury program were really to identify whether humans could survive in that harsh environment. That led to the Gemini program, to test out all of the operations and technologies that we were going to need to successfully pursue the Apollo program's goals of landing on the Moon and returning our astronauts safely to Earth.

I think it would be naive to think that the political environment did not contribute to that at the time. We were essentially in a space race with the Russians, leveraging new missile technology, and the environment at that time really provided the laboratory and the crucible that supported, politically and financially, a very ambitious program of landing on the Moon.

But that would not have been possible without the amazing education system that we had at the time, the ability to do basic research that related to the rockets that we had and the systems that we needed to be able to survive in space and land on the Moon.

Being able to leverage the very best scientists, researchers and engineers across the country, and across our partnership of allies and democracies around the world, to bring in the very best minds to help support our engineering and operations also made it possible to pull that off.

I think all of those things ultimately contributed to the success that we had in the 1960s of landing on the Moon, and the continued success that we've had as a part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Skylab, the Space Shuttle and the space station, where we've flown and had people living and working in space for over 25 years.

Now we have our ambitious plan of returning to the Moon through the Artemis program, again leveraging the very best minds that our country and our partners have to offer, and leveraging an international partnership so that when we return to the Moon, we will do that not just as America, but as humanity.

The United States is now pursuing lunar missions again and talking seriously about sending humans to Mars. Looking ahead to the next 25 years, what do you think will be the most important milestone in human space exploration?

I think there are going to be a number of milestones. We are developing new technologies and new architectures even today as we return to the Moon.

We've got a very successful Artemis II mission, sending our four crew members around the backside of the Moon and returning them safely to Earth, testing out the Orion vehicle and making sure that it was ready to undertake the rest of this very ambitious Artemis program.

We have the Artemis III crew that will again be testing out the Orion, rendezvousing and docking with our partners and commercial partners, Blue Origin and SpaceX, and testing out their HLS, or human landing system, lunar landers, in preparation for Artemis IV and V, where we will return to the surface.

Those will be critical milestones as we demonstrate the capability of these new technologies and the way that we are partnering with industry and our international partners to return to the lunar surface, and this time to stay, creating a sustainable architecture where we'll have astronauts living and working on the lunar surface and preparing for Mars.

Each one of these steps will represent a milestone for a future capability that will ultimately lead to Mars.

You were born in Taiwan, your mother emigrated from Taiwan, and you went on to become a NASA astronaut. What does your own story say about the opportunities this country can offer? How did your family's background shape your ambitions?

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity and the path to pursue that ultimately led to the privilege of serving as a NASA astronaut. I think it speaks to the incredible opportunity that is present in the United States.

I wasn't limited because of where I was from, my last name or my socioeconomic status. I had the amazing support of a family and parents who told me that if I made a goal and worked hard enough, I could make that dream come true.

I'm so grateful for that foundation, and that through hard work I was able to navigate a path that ultimately led to this experience and opportunity. I think that really speaks to the American dream, stretching back 250 years.

We have people in this country who had a dream of what democracy should look like, created that democracy, and created a document in the Constitution that has provided a framework and recipe for democracy here in the U.S., and an example of democracy and freedom around the world.

I would not have had this opportunity had I not grown up in this country, and I am so grateful for the environment and that there was a path to making this dream come true.

Thank you very much, Mr. Lindgren.

Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate the opportunity.

Thank you.