双语新闻：火星探测器抵达新区域寻找水和生命的证据
The American space agency's Mars explorer, Curiosity, has reached a new area of the planet Mars as it searches for evidence of water and possible life.
美国航天局的火星探测器“好奇号”已经到达火星的一个新区域，它正在寻找水和可能存在生命的证据。
The explorer, or rover, recently arrived at an area called the Gediz Vallis Channel. Researchers said the area was chosen because evidence suggested that it once held large amounts of liquid water. The term "channel" describes a natural bed that carries water.
这艘探测器最近到达了一个名为盖迪斯山谷海峡的地区。研究人员表示，之所以选择这个地区，是因为有证据表明它曾经有大量的液态水。“水道”一词描述的是一种天然的输水河床。
Curiosity arrived on Mars in 2012 and began exploring areas around the planet's huge Gale Crater. Mars is a cold, dry desert today. But the Gale Crater area is believed to have contained a lake at one time and has shown other evidence of flowing water in the past.
“好奇号”于2012年抵达火星，开始探索巨大的盖尔环形山周围地区。今天的火星是一片寒冷干燥的沙漠。但是盖尔环形山地区被认为曾经有过一个湖泊，并且有证据表明过去有流动的水。
A large meteor strike about 3.7 billion years ago is believed to have formed the crater. At the time, scientists believe groundwater filled Gale Crater while additional water flowed in from rivers fed by rain or melting snow. This is thought to have formed Gale Crater's large lake.
据信，大约37亿年前的一次大型流星撞击形成了这个陨石坑。当时，科学家们认为盖尔陨石坑充满了地下水，而雨水或融雪形成的河流则注入了额外的水。这被认为形成了盖尔陨石坑的大湖。
Since 2014, Curiosity has been exploring an area called Mount Sharp, which sits about five kilometers above the floor of Gale Crater. NASA said the new area contains formations created "over millions of years amid a changing Martian climate."
自2014年以来，好奇号一直在探索一个名为夏普山的地区，该地区位于盖尔陨石坑地面上方约5公里处。美国宇航局表示，这个新区域包含了“数百万年来火星气候变化”中形成的地层。
Curiosity will be searching for evidence of ancient water in areas around Gediz Vallis Channel, with studies centered on how the channel formed. NASA scientists said they do not think wind formed it because the sides of it are too high. From space, the channel looks like an ancient riverbed, the agency said. Later, the channel filled with large rocks and other forms of debris.
好奇号将在Gediz Vallis海峡周围地区寻找古代水的证据，并研究该海峡是如何形成的。美国宇航局的科学家说，他们不认为风形成了它，因为它的侧面太高了。该机构表示，从太空看，这条水道看起来像一条古老的河床。后来，河道里充满了大块的岩石和其他形式的碎片。
Last month, Curiosity documented the Gediz Vallis Channel with a 360-degree black-and-white picture captured by one of the rover's cameras.
上个月，好奇号用其中一台相机拍摄的360度黑白照片记录了格迪斯瓦利斯频道。
The rover's new exploring activities can provide scientists with "a new way to study how the presence of both water and the chemical ingredients required for life changed over time," NASA said. The first formations to be examined contain sulfates, which are salty minerals often created when liquid water evaporates.
美国宇航局表示，火星探测器的新探索活动可以为科学家提供“一种研究生命所需的水和化学成分的存在如何随时间变化的新方法”。第一个要检查的地层含有硫酸盐，这是一种咸味矿物，通常在液态水蒸发时产生。
NASA said Curiosity also uncovered evidence of clay minerals in the Mount Sharp area. This suggests past interactions between large amounts of water and rock.
美国宇航局表示，好奇号还在夏普山地区发现了粘土矿物的证据。这表明过去大量的水和岩石之间存在相互作用。
Movements of water and minerals can also produce a material called sediment, particles that settle on the bottom of bodies of water over time. Examinations of these sediments can provide additional evidence of past water and possible life.
水和矿物质的运动也会产生一种叫做沉积物的物质，随着时间的推移，这些颗粒会沉淀在水体的底部。对这些沉积物的检查可以提供过去存在水和可能存在生命的额外证据。
Ashwin Vasavada is a Curiosity project scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. He said in a statement, "If the channel or the debris pile were formed by liquid water, that's very interesting."
阿什温·瓦萨瓦达是美国宇航局加利福尼亚州喷气推进实验室的好奇号项目科学家。他在一份声明中说，“如果通道或碎片堆是由液态水形成的，那就非常有趣了。”
Vasavada added, "It would mean that fairly late in the story of Mount Sharp – after a long dry period – water came back, and in a big way."
瓦萨瓦达补充说:“这意味着在夏普山的故事中，经过一段漫长的干旱期后，水又回来了，而且是大规模的。”
NASA currently operates two rovers on Mars. The other one, Perseverance, has been exploring the planet's Jezero Crater since September 2021. It has collected rock, soil and atmospheric materials during that time. Jezero Crater is also believed to have contained large water bodies in the distant past.
美国国家航空航天局目前在火星上运行着两个探测器。另一艘名为毅力号的探测器自2021年9月以来一直在探索火星的耶泽罗陨石坑。在此期间，它收集了岩石、土壤和大气物质。据信，在遥远的过去，耶泽罗陨石坑也含有大量的水体。
Materials collected by the rovers are expected to be returned to Earth in the future. That effort, a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), is planned for 2028.
探测车收集的材料预计将在未来返回地球。这是美国宇航局和欧洲航天局(ESA)的联合任务，计划于2028年完成。
美国航天局的火星探测器“好奇号”已经到达火星的一个新区域，它正在寻找水和可能存在生命的证据。
The explorer, or rover, recently arrived at an area called the Gediz Vallis Channel. Researchers said the area was chosen because evidence suggested that it once held large amounts of liquid water. The term "channel" describes a natural bed that carries water.
这艘探测器最近到达了一个名为盖迪斯山谷海峡的地区。研究人员表示，之所以选择这个地区，是因为有证据表明它曾经有大量的液态水。“水道”一词描述的是一种天然的输水河床。
Curiosity arrived on Mars in 2012 and began exploring areas around the planet's huge Gale Crater. Mars is a cold, dry desert today. But the Gale Crater area is believed to have contained a lake at one time and has shown other evidence of flowing water in the past.
“好奇号”于2012年抵达火星，开始探索巨大的盖尔环形山周围地区。今天的火星是一片寒冷干燥的沙漠。但是盖尔环形山地区被认为曾经有过一个湖泊，并且有证据表明过去有流动的水。
A large meteor strike about 3.7 billion years ago is believed to have formed the crater. At the time, scientists believe groundwater filled Gale Crater while additional water flowed in from rivers fed by rain or melting snow. This is thought to have formed Gale Crater's large lake.
据信，大约37亿年前的一次大型流星撞击形成了这个陨石坑。当时，科学家们认为盖尔陨石坑充满了地下水，而雨水或融雪形成的河流则注入了额外的水。这被认为形成了盖尔陨石坑的大湖。
Since 2014, Curiosity has been exploring an area called Mount Sharp, which sits about five kilometers above the floor of Gale Crater. NASA said the new area contains formations created "over millions of years amid a changing Martian climate."
自2014年以来，好奇号一直在探索一个名为夏普山的地区，该地区位于盖尔陨石坑地面上方约5公里处。美国宇航局表示，这个新区域包含了“数百万年来火星气候变化”中形成的地层。
Curiosity will be searching for evidence of ancient water in areas around Gediz Vallis Channel, with studies centered on how the channel formed. NASA scientists said they do not think wind formed it because the sides of it are too high. From space, the channel looks like an ancient riverbed, the agency said. Later, the channel filled with large rocks and other forms of debris.
好奇号将在Gediz Vallis海峡周围地区寻找古代水的证据，并研究该海峡是如何形成的。美国宇航局的科学家说，他们不认为风形成了它，因为它的侧面太高了。该机构表示，从太空看，这条水道看起来像一条古老的河床。后来，河道里充满了大块的岩石和其他形式的碎片。
Last month, Curiosity documented the Gediz Vallis Channel with a 360-degree black-and-white picture captured by one of the rover's cameras.
上个月，好奇号用其中一台相机拍摄的360度黑白照片记录了格迪斯瓦利斯频道。
The rover's new exploring activities can provide scientists with "a new way to study how the presence of both water and the chemical ingredients required for life changed over time," NASA said. The first formations to be examined contain sulfates, which are salty minerals often created when liquid water evaporates.
美国宇航局表示，火星探测器的新探索活动可以为科学家提供“一种研究生命所需的水和化学成分的存在如何随时间变化的新方法”。第一个要检查的地层含有硫酸盐，这是一种咸味矿物，通常在液态水蒸发时产生。
NASA said Curiosity also uncovered evidence of clay minerals in the Mount Sharp area. This suggests past interactions between large amounts of water and rock.
美国宇航局表示，好奇号还在夏普山地区发现了粘土矿物的证据。这表明过去大量的水和岩石之间存在相互作用。
Movements of water and minerals can also produce a material called sediment, particles that settle on the bottom of bodies of water over time. Examinations of these sediments can provide additional evidence of past water and possible life.
水和矿物质的运动也会产生一种叫做沉积物的物质，随着时间的推移，这些颗粒会沉淀在水体的底部。对这些沉积物的检查可以提供过去存在水和可能存在生命的额外证据。
Ashwin Vasavada is a Curiosity project scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. He said in a statement, "If the channel or the debris pile were formed by liquid water, that's very interesting."
阿什温·瓦萨瓦达是美国宇航局加利福尼亚州喷气推进实验室的好奇号项目科学家。他在一份声明中说，“如果通道或碎片堆是由液态水形成的，那就非常有趣了。”
Vasavada added, "It would mean that fairly late in the story of Mount Sharp – after a long dry period – water came back, and in a big way."
瓦萨瓦达补充说:“这意味着在夏普山的故事中，经过一段漫长的干旱期后，水又回来了，而且是大规模的。”
NASA currently operates two rovers on Mars. The other one, Perseverance, has been exploring the planet's Jezero Crater since September 2021. It has collected rock, soil and atmospheric materials during that time. Jezero Crater is also believed to have contained large water bodies in the distant past.
美国国家航空航天局目前在火星上运行着两个探测器。另一艘名为毅力号的探测器自2021年9月以来一直在探索火星的耶泽罗陨石坑。在此期间，它收集了岩石、土壤和大气物质。据信，在遥远的过去，耶泽罗陨石坑也含有大量的水体。
Materials collected by the rovers are expected to be returned to Earth in the future. That effort, a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), is planned for 2028.
探测车收集的材料预计将在未来返回地球。这是美国宇航局和欧洲航天局(ESA)的联合任务，计划于2028年完成。
