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

 

The American space agency NASA says its Curiosity vehicle has reached its next exploration target on Mars.
美國航天局 NASA 表示，它的好奇號飛船已經到達了火星的下一個探索目標。
 
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.
探險者或漫游者到達了美國宇航局科學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，好奇號自 2012 年登陸火星以來一直在探索該隕石坑。夏普山包含巖石物質和許多大山丘。
 
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.
過去，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)證據表明，數十億年前，夏普山包含許多水系統(tǒng)。在某些時候，科學家們認為火星氣候變得更加極端，導致水系統(tǒng)干涸。
 
NASA says the minerals still existing around Mount Sharp might provide additional evidence of the severe climate changes.
美國宇航局表示，夏普山周圍仍然存在的礦物質可能會為嚴重的氣候變化提供額外的證據。
 
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，火星是一個極度寒冷的沙漠，無法支持任何自來水系統(tǒng)。對這些礦物進行的實驗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，當時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.
美國宇航局目前在火星上運行兩輛漫游車。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。航天局估計毅力號的著陸點距離好奇號著陸點大約 3,700 公里。NASA 還在火星上運行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.
美國宇航局在一份聲明中說，夏普山周圍的礦物是由該機構的火星勘測軌道飛行器首次發(fā)現(xiàn)的，比好奇號早幾年著陸。科學家們已經等待了很長時間才能仔細觀察。
 
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.
到達該地區(qū)后不久，好奇號的儀器發(fā)現(xiàn)了各種不同種類和大小的巖石。美國宇航局表示，在這些發(fā)現(xiàn)中，有幾種不同的鹽材料表明該地區(qū)過去曾有過水的跡象。
 
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，好奇號在其機械臂末端使用鉆頭挖掘火星表面。火星車已經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.
好奇號團隊選擇了一塊名為“Canaima”的巖石進行操作。流動站最近遇到了制動系統(tǒng)問題，該系統(tǒng)允許機械臂大部分停留在原位。美國宇航局表示，這可能會在鉆探過程中造成困難。但它報告說，好奇號的第 36 個鉆孔是成功的。
 
The team of scientists are now looking forward to examining the latest Martian dust collection.
科學家團隊現(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，好奇號前往夏普山的路徑包括包含“危險”或危險區(qū)域的區(qū)域。8 月，火星車安全地穿過位于高山之間的沙地。沙子給好奇號帶來了很大的風險，因為它有可能被卡住。
 
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.
鋒利的巖石也會損壞火星車的車輪。美國宇航局表示，陸基漫游車司機“需要仔細導航這些區(qū)域”。該機構指出，好奇號花了一個多月的時間才到達目標區(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，在達到目標后，該團隊獲得了火星車拍攝的一些最佳圖像。好奇號所謂的桅桿攝像機能夠捕捉到火星環(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."
“我們每天早上都會收到新的圖像，我們會感到敬畏，”Elena Amador-French 說。她在加州 NASA 噴氣推進實驗室監(jiān)督好奇號科學和工程團隊的工作。“沙脊非常漂亮，”她補充道。“你會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.
上個月，NASA慶祝了好奇號服役 10 周年。在那段時間里，火星車在探索蓋爾隕石坑時已經行駛了近 29 公里，爬升了約 625 米。