”人类在外太空——多学科的冒险旅行”会议在维也纳召开，把人文背景的学者和科学家组织到一起对人类在外太空的生活进行前瞻性的讨论，这还是第一次。
“The 'Humans in Outer Space - Interdisciplinary Odysseys' conference recently held in Vienna was the first such forum where scholars from a humanities background together with scientists could discuss humankind's presence in space from non-traditional perspectives.

这类跨学科论坛的好处在于能够对人类将面类的问题进行前瞻的探讨，这类问题可以通过对历史事件的现代理解而得到更好阐述。
The benefits of creating such a cross-disciplinary forum is that it was able to give guiding insight into how humankind will face possible issues, issues that can be best addressed in the light of modern understanding of historical events.

与会代表对非常广泛的话题进行了讨论，包括与外星智慧生命进行接触的哲学和神学后果，空间探险的市场，以及各国致力于和平合作进行空间开发的法律框架。
Some of the wide-ranging issues that conference delegates explored include the philosophical and theological consequences of contacting alien intelligences, the marketing of space exploration, and the legal frameworks that will be needed if space-faring nations are to cooperate peacefully.

这次会议是由热那亚大学历史学家Luca Codignola教授任主席的ESF（欧洲科学基金会）指导委员会协助组织的。Codignola教授对历史能够对在太空探险者们与外星文明进行接触所遇到挑战有什么样的启迪发表了他的看法。
The event was organised in part by an ESF Steering Committee chaired by Professor Luca Codignola, a historian at the University of Genoa. At the conference he expressed his interest in what history can tell us about the challenges we may face if space explorers make contact with alien civilisations.

通过钻研历史，他对比了1492年发生的所谓“哥伦布交流”。“这件事改变了西方关于地球的观念，对神学形成了激烈的挑战。而微生物细菌的无阻碍的流行几乎扫灭了美洲土著。”
Delving into history for an example, he drew correlations with the so-called "Columbian Exchange" that took place around 1492. 'It changed the Western way of conceiving the globe; it forcefully challenged its theology; it allowed for a free flow of bacteria, germs and microbes that almost wiped out the American peoples,' he explained.

“科学群体似乎并没有认真地思考他们正在进行的某些课题，比如与未知病原体接触的后果，而这些是历史学家和人类学家们研究了很久的课题。”
The science community does not really seem to be aware of the fact that a number of issues and concerns that they are dealing with, such as the consequences of meeting with unknown pathogens, are known and have long been studied by historians and ethnologists,' Prof. Codignola offered.

”对于人文学者来说，宇宙航行的技术困难，特别是时间表，并不是很重要。我们感觉到居然很少跟科学家探讨星际文明接触的课题感到很奇怪。“
'As for the humanities scholars, technical difficulties relating to space-voyaging and especially its timeframe, usually escape them. We all felt it was rather strange that the two groups rarely, if ever, meet to discuss space-related issues,' he added.

这些会议的结论将以“关于人类在外太空的维也纳观点”存放在ESF档案中。ESF将把这篇文章发送给所有学术界感兴趣的stakeholder，空间局，政府间机构比如联合国，媒体和与太空或科研有关的政治家。
The conclusions from these sessions will be documented by the ESF in a position paper entitled 'Vienna Vision on Humans in Outer Space'. The ESF will distribute this paper to all interested stakeholders in the academic world, space agencies, intergovernmental bodies such as the United Nations, the media and politicians involved in space- and research-related initiatives.

人类在外空的将来需要全面的理解，特别是包括人类学和社会学的介入，以及......Prof. Kai-Uwe Schrogl, Secretary General of the ESPI and Chair of the conference, commented: 'Mankind's future in outer space will require a comprehensive view, including the input in particular by the humanities and social sciences, as well as the reflection of the manifold trans-utilitarian aspects that make space exploration a province of all mankind.'

这次会议由欧洲科学基金会、欧洲空间局和欧洲空间政策协会联合召开。The conference was jointly arranged by the European Science Foundation (ESF), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI).