With the US election just weeks away, NASA has explained how astronauts vote in space.

距离美国大选仅有几周，美国宇航局近日揭秘宇航员如何在太空中投票。

The space agency has a motto of "Vote while you float" for astronauts.

美国宇航局送给宇航员的格言是“漂着投票”。

"Like other forms of absentee voting, voting from space starts with a Federal Postcard Application, or FPCA," NASA says on its website. "It's the same form military members and their families fill out while serving outside of the US. By completing it ahead of their launch, space station crew members signal their intent to participate in an election from space."美国宇航局在其网站上写道：“和其他缺席投票的形式一样，从太空中投票先要填写联邦明信片申请表。这张表和在美国境外服役的军人及其家庭要填写的是相同的。空间站工作人员在飞往太空前填写好申请表，表示愿意从太空参加大选投票。”

NASA notes that because astronauts move to Houston for their training, most opt¹ to vote as Texas residents. "Of course, NASA's astronauts come from all over, so those wishing to vote as residents of their home states can work with their counties to make special arrangements to vote from space," it adds.

美国宇航局指出，因为宇航员会到休斯顿培训，大多数人会选择作为德克萨斯州居民投票。宇航局补充道：“当然，美国宇航局的宇航员来自美国各地，所以那些希望作为家乡居民投票的宇航员可以和自己家乡所在的县协商出太空投票的特殊方案。”

Once the FCPA is approved, the county clerk who manages elections in the astronaut's home county sends a test ballot² to a team at NASA's Johnson Space Center, according to NASA. A space station test computer is then used to test whether it can be filled out and sent back to the county clerk.

美国宇航局称，一旦联邦明信片申请被批准，宇航员家乡所在县负责大选管理事务的书记官将发送一张测试选票到美国宇航局的约翰逊航天中心。美国宇航局会用空间站测试计算机来检测选票能否被填写并发回给县书记官。

"After a successful test, a secure electronic ballot generated by the Clerk's office of Harris County and surrounding counties in Texas, is uplinked by Johnson's Mission Control Center to the voting crew member," NASA says. "An e-mail with crew member-specific credentials³ is sent from the County Clerk to the astronaut. These credentials allow the crew member to access the secure ballot."美国宇航局称：“测试成功后，德州哈里斯县和周边县的书记官办公室会生成一张密封的电子选票，通过约翰逊航天中心的任务控制中心上传给要投票的宇航员。县书记官将给这名宇航员发送一封带有宇航员专属认证信息的电子邮件。这些认证信息让该宇航员可以打开密封选票。”

"The astronaut will then cast their vote, and the secure, completed ballot is downlinked and delivered back to the County Clerk's Office by e-mail to be officially recorded," NASA adds. "The clerk has their own password to ensure they are the only one who can open the ballot. It's a quick process, and the astronaut must be sure to submit it by 7 pm local time on Election Day if voting as a Texas resident."美国宇航局补充道：“然后这名宇航员就可以投票，填写完的密封选票将被下传并通过电子邮件发回给县书记官办公室并保留在官方记录中。书记官有专属密码来确保自己是唯一可以打开选票的人。这个流程很快就可以完成，如果作为德州居民投票，宇航员必须确保在大选日的当地时间晚7点前提交。”

In 2016, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who at the time was the only American off the planet, voted in the presidential election from the International Space Station.

2016年，美国宇航局的宇航员谢恩·金布罗作为地球外的唯一一个美国人，在国际空间站给美国总统选举投了票。

NASA explained that the system was first employed in 1997 for former astronaut David Wolf when he was flying a long-duration mission on the old Russian space station Mir. Because Wolf's mission spanned Election Day the process was set up to enable him to vote in space.

美国宇航局解释道，这套制度于1997年首次实行，当时前宇航员大卫·沃尔夫正在俄罗斯老空间站米尔号执行一次长时间的飞行任务。因为沃尔夫执行任务期间会举行美国大选，于是就建立了这一流程，让他能够在太空中投票。

In 2020, more NASA astronauts will cast their votes in space. Kate Rubins, for example, is scheduled to launch to the orbiting space lab on Oct 14 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft⁴ from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and will vote in space for the second time. Rubins also voted in space four years ago during a 115-day stint⁵ on the International Space Station. She voted prior⁶ to her return to Earth on Oct 30, 2016.

2020年将会有更多的美国宇航员在太空中投票。比如，凯特·鲁宾斯，她将于10月14日从哈萨克斯坦的拜科努尔航天发射基地搭乘俄罗斯联盟号太空飞船前往轨道空间实验室，并将第二次在太空中投票。四年前鲁宾斯曾在国际空间站执行任务的115天期间进行过太空投票。她在2016年10月30日返回地球前投了票。