2022年10月24日 VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：夏季旅行結(jié)束后，美國(guó)宇航局探索者抵達(dá)火星富含礦物質(zhì)的地區(qū)

 

The American space agency NASA says its Curiosity vehicle has reached its next exploration target on Mars.
美國(guó)航天局 NASA 表示，它的好奇號(hào)飛船已經(jīng)到達(dá)了火星的下一個(gè)探索目標(biāo)。
 
The explorer, or rover, reached an area that NASA scientists call Mount Sharp. The area sits within the planet's Gale Crater, which Curiosity has been exploring since landing on Mars in 2012. Mount Sharp contains a mix of rocky material and many large hills.
探險(xiǎn)者或漫游者到達(dá)了美國(guó)宇航局科學(xué)家稱之為夏普山的地區(qū)。該地區(qū)位于地球的蓋爾隕石坑內(nèi)，好奇號(hào)自 2012 年登陸火星以來(lái)一直在探索該隕石坑。夏普山包含巖石物質(zhì)和許多大山丘。
 
In the past, researchers have found evidence that, billions of years ago, Mount Sharp contained many water systems. At some point, scientists believe the Martian climate grew more extreme and caused the water systems to dry up.
過(guò)去，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)證據(jù)表明，數(shù)十億年前，夏普山包含許多水系統(tǒng)。在某些時(shí)候，科學(xué)家們認(rèn)為火星氣候變得更加極端，導(dǎo)致水系統(tǒng)干涸。
 
NASA says the minerals still existing around Mount Sharp might provide additional evidence of the severe climate changes.
美國(guó)宇航局表示，夏普山周圍仍然存在的礦物質(zhì)可能會(huì)為嚴(yán)重的氣候變化提供額外的證據(jù)。
 
Today, Mars is an extremely cold desert that cannot support any running water systems. Experiments carried out on the minerals could help researchers learn more about the kinds of life that may have existed on Mars when it had conditions more similar to Earth.
今天，火星是一個(gè)極度寒冷的沙漠，無(wú)法支持任何自來(lái)水系統(tǒng)。對(duì)這些礦物進(jìn)行的實(shí)驗(yàn)可以幫助研究人員更多地了解火星上可能存在的生命種類，當(dāng)時(shí)它的條件與地球更相似。
 
NASA currently operates two rovers on Mars. The other vehicle, Perseverance, landed in February 2021. It is exploring areas around the planet's Jezero Crater. The space agency estimated the landing site for Perseverance was about 3,700 kilometers away from where Curiosity touched down. NASA also operates the InSight lander on Mars.
美國(guó)宇航局目前在火星上運(yùn)行兩輛漫游車。另一輛車 Perseverance 于 2021 年 2 月降落。它正在探索地球的 Jezero 隕石坑周圍的區(qū)域。航天局估計(jì)毅力號(hào)的著陸點(diǎn)距離好奇號(hào)著陸點(diǎn)大約 3,700 公里。NASA 還在火星上運(yùn)行InSight 著陸器。
 
 
NASA said in a statement that the minerals around Mount Sharp were first discovered by the agency's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, years before Curiosity landed. Scientists have been waiting a long time to get a closer look.
美國(guó)宇航局在一份聲明中說(shuō)，夏普山周圍的礦物是由該機(jī)構(gòu)的火星勘測(cè)軌道飛行器首次發(fā)現(xiàn)的，比好奇號(hào)早幾年著陸。科學(xué)家們已經(jīng)等待了很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才能仔細(xì)觀察。
 
Shortly after arriving in the area, Curiosity's instruments discovered a wide range of different rock kinds and sizes. Among the findings were several different salt materials that suggest past signs of water in the area, NASA says.
到達(dá)該地區(qū)后不久，好奇號(hào)的儀器發(fā)現(xiàn)了各種不同種類和大小的巖石。美國(guó)宇航局表示，在這些發(fā)現(xiàn)中，有幾種不同的鹽材料表明該地區(qū)過(guò)去曾有過(guò)水的跡象。
 
To examine rocks, Curiosity uses a drill at the end of its robotic arm to dig into the Martian surface. The rover has already drilled many holes on Mars. The latest drilling happened on October 3.
為了檢查巖石，好奇號(hào)在其機(jī)械臂末端使用鉆頭挖掘火星表面。火星車已經(jīng)在火星上鉆了很多洞。最近一次鉆探發(fā)生在 10 月 3 日。
 
The Curiosity team chose a rock it named "Canaima" for the operation. The rover has recently experienced problems with a braking system that permits the robotic arm to mostly stay in place. NASA said this can cause difficulties during drilling. But it reported that Curiosity's 36th drill hole was a success.
好奇號(hào)團(tuán)隊(duì)選擇了一塊名為“Canaima”的巖石進(jìn)行操作。流動(dòng)站最近遇到了制動(dòng)系統(tǒng)問(wèn)題，該系統(tǒng)允許機(jī)械臂大部分停留在原位。美國(guó)宇航局表示，這可能會(huì)在鉆探過(guò)程中造成困難。但它報(bào)告說(shuō)，好奇號(hào)的第 36 個(gè)鉆孔是成功的。
 
The team of scientists are now looking forward to examining the latest Martian dust collection.
科學(xué)家團(tuán)隊(duì)現(xiàn)在期待著研究最新的火星塵埃收集。
 
The space agency noted that Curiosity's path to Mount Sharp included areas containing "treacherous," or risky, areas. In August, the rover safely made its way through a sandy area situated between high hills. Sand presents a major risk for Curiosity because of the chance of getting stuck.
航天局指出，好奇號(hào)前往夏普山的路徑包括包含“危險(xiǎn)”或危險(xiǎn)區(qū)域的區(qū)域。8 月，火星車安全地穿過(guò)位于高山之間的沙地。沙子給好奇號(hào)帶來(lái)了很大的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，因?yàn)樗锌赡鼙豢ㄗ　?br />  
Sharp rocks can also damage the rover's wheels. Ground-based rover drivers "need to carefully navigate these areas," NASA said. The agency noted that it took Curiosity more than a month to reach its target area.
鋒利的巖石也會(huì)損壞火星車的車輪。美國(guó)宇航局表示，陸基漫游車司機(jī)“需要仔細(xì)導(dǎo)航這些區(qū)域”。該機(jī)構(gòu)指出，好奇號(hào)花了一個(gè)多月的時(shí)間才到達(dá)目標(biāo)區(qū)域。
 
After reaching its goal, however, the team was treated with some of the best images ever taken by the rover. Curiosity's so-called Mastcam was able to capture extremely wide, or panoramic, views of the Martian surroundings.
然而，在達(dá)到目標(biāo)后，該團(tuán)隊(duì)獲得了火星車拍攝的一些最佳圖像。好奇號(hào)所謂的桅桿攝像機(jī)能夠捕捉到火星環(huán)境的極寬或全景。
 
"We would get new images every morning and just be in awe," said Elena Amador-French. She oversees work by Curiosity's science and engineering teams at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "The sand ridges were gorgeous," she added. "You see perfect little rover tracks on them. And the cliffs were beautiful – we really got close to the walls."
“我們每天早上都會(huì)收到新的圖像，我們會(huì)感到敬畏，”Elena Amador-French 說(shuō)。她在加州 NASA 噴氣推進(jìn)實(shí)驗(yàn)室監(jiān)督好奇號(hào)科學(xué)和工程團(tuán)隊(duì)的工作。“沙脊非常漂亮，”她補(bǔ)充道。“你會(huì)在上面看到完美的小火星車軌道。懸崖很漂亮——我們真的很接近墻壁。”
 
Last month, NASA celebrated Curiosity's 10th anniversary in service. During that time, it said the rover has driven nearly 29 kilometers and climbed about 625 meters while exploring Gale Crater.
上個(gè)月，NASA慶祝了好奇號(hào)服役 10 周年。在那段時(shí)間里，火星車在探索蓋爾隕石坑時(shí)已經(jīng)行駛了近 29 公里，爬升了約 625 米。