外星生命可能藏在火星上的古代洞穴里

美国航天局认为外星生命可能藏在火星上的古代洞穴里

Scientists think if there is life on Mars it’s likely to be hidden in deep underground caves.

科学家们认为，如果火星上有生命的话，很可能是隐藏在深深的地下洞穴里。

This theory is supported by Nasa experts and the US space agency will be sending a new rover to the red planet this summer.

这一理论得到了美国宇航局专家的支持，美国宇航局将于今年夏天向这颗红色星球发射一艘新的探测器。

According to Space.com, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory research scientist Vlada Stamenković explained the Martian underground life theory at a recent space event.

据Space.com报道，美国宇航局喷气推进实验室研究科学家弗拉达·斯塔门科维奇，在最近的一次太空活动中解释了火星地下生命理论。

Speaking at the Mars Extant Life conference, Stamenković reportedly said: “The surface of Mars is a very oxidizing, radiation-heavy environment where liquid water is not really stable for an extended amount of time.

据报道，斯塔门科维奇在火星现存生命会议上说：“火星表面是一个氧化性很强、辐射重的环境，液态水在很长一段时间内并不真正稳定。”

“It’s the worst place to look for life-sites on Mars.

“这是在火星上寻找生命点最糟糕的地方。”

“Groundwater might be the only habitat for extant life on Mars, if it still exists today.”

“如果还存在的话，地下水可能是火星上现存生命的唯一栖息地。”

The surface of Mars is cold, dry and there is lots of radiation.

火星表面寒冷干燥，有大量的辐射。

Underground could be more habitable for life forms and may have some form of stable water supply.

地下可能更适合生命形式的生存，并且可能有某种形式的稳定的水供应。

Some scientists think that agile robots should be made that could try and explore the cave systems on Mars.

一些科学家认为，应该制造出能够尝试探索火星洞穴系统的敏捷机器人。

More than 1,000 potential cave entrances have been mapped on Mars by the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Astrogeology Science Center.

美国地质调查局(USGS)天体地质科学中心，在火星上绘制了1000多个可能的洞穴入口地图。

Building nimble robots to enter all these potential caves would be costly and intricate.

建造灵活的机器人进入所有这些潜在的洞穴将是昂贵和复杂的。

However, Stamenković has proposed that NASA could use a rover that could sense underground groundwater or chemicals associated with life from the surface.

不过，斯塔门科维奇提出，美国航天局可以使用探测地下地下水或与地表生命有关的化学物质的探测器。

This would make it easier to target specific areas that life is most likely to be found.

这将使我们更容易瞄准生命最有可能被发现的特定区域。

NASA intends to send its WED rover to Mars later this year.

美国国家航空航天局计划在今年晚些时候向火星发射探测器。

The plan is for the 2,260-pound space probe to gather new events of life that’s alive or extinct and send Martian samples back to Earth.

这个重达2260磅的太空探测器计划收集现存或灭绝生命的新事件，并将火星样本送回地球。