研究：中国火星车发现火星上存在古代海洋的证据
📖 逐句对照翻译
Scientists say newly examined data from a Chinese explorer on Mars adds to existing evidence that the planet once had a very large ocean.
科学家表示，对中国火星探测器新分析的数据进一步证实了火星上曾经存在巨大海洋的现有证据。
The exploring vehicle, or rover, is called Zhurong.
这辆探测车，或称漫游车，名为“祝融号”。
It landed on the Martian surface in 2021.
它于2021年降落在火星表面。
The rover has been operating in an area known as Utopia Planitia.
火星车一直在名为“乌托邦平原”的区域运行。
This area is a large plain in Mars’ northern hemisphere, the American space agency NASA explains.
美国航天局NASA解释说，这个区域是火星北半球的一大片平原。
The researchers combined data from Zhurong’s instruments with observations from satellites and spacecraft orbiting Mars.
研究人员将祝融号仪器的数据与环绕火星的卫星和航天器的观测数据结合起来。
The team said the examinations appeared to show that Utopia Planitia had geological elements suggesting an ancient ocean coastline.
该团队表示，这些探测似乎表明乌托邦平原存在地质元素，暗示着那里曾是古代海洋的海岸线。
The scientists said multiple elements, or features, pointed to evidence that a large ocean existed on Mars billions of years ago.
科学家们表示，多种元素或特征都指向了证据，证明数十亿年前火星上曾存在一片广阔的海洋。
The discovered surface features included troughs and channels that may have been formed by flowing water on Mars.
发现的表面特征包括可能由火星上流动的水形成的槽沟和河道。
Earlier research that examined data of similar surface features suggested they might have been created by mud volcanoes, which likely formed in areas where there had been water or ice.
此前考察类似地表特征数据的研究表明，它们可能是由泥火山造成的，而泥火山很可能形成于曾经有水或冰的区域。
The researchers said the evidence suggests the area likely contained deep ocean environments as well as shallow ones.
研究人员表示，证据表明该地区可能既有深海环境，也有浅海环境。
The research findings were recently reported in a study in the publication Scientific Reports.
这项研究结果最近发表在《科学报告》上的一项研究中。
Bo Wu was the lead writer of the study.
吴波是该研究的主要作者。
He is a planetary scientist at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
他是香港理工大学的一名行星科学家。
Wu told Reuters news agency, "We estimate the flooding of the Utopia Planitia on Mars was approximately 3.68 billion years ago. The ocean surface was likely frozen in a geologically short period."
吴告诉路透社：“我们估计火星乌托邦平原的洪水大约发生在36.8亿年前。海洋表面可能在地质学上很短的时期内就冻结了。”
The search for water on Mars is closely linked to the search for signs of possible life.
在火星上寻找水与寻找可能存在生命的迹象密切相关。
Evidence of a past ocean raises the possibility that the planet may have once supported microbial life.
过去存在海洋的证据增加了这颗行星可能曾经支持过微生物生命的可能性。
There have been past studies suggesting Mars once had a large northern ocean.
过去曾有研究提出，火星上曾经存在一片广阔的北部海洋。
One such study was released in 2022.
其中一项此类研究于2022年发布。
That research was based on satellite images of the Martian surface.
那项研究基于火星表面的卫星图像。
The images were combined to produce detailed maps of the planet’s northern hemisphere.
这些图像经过合成，制作出了该行星北半球的详细地图。
Examination of the maps led to evidence of coastlines that once sat at the edge of a large ocean.
对这些地图的仔细研究发现了曾经位于一片广阔海洋边缘的海岸线证据。
Another study, released in August, presented evidence suggesting Mars may contain a large ocean deep beneath its surface.
8月发布的另一项研究提出的证据表明，火星表面深处可能蕴藏着一片巨大的海洋。
That evidence was based on NASA’s InSight Lander.
该证据基于美国宇航局的洞察号着陆器。
China’s Zhurong rover began its data collection mission in May 2021.
中国的祝融号火星车于2021年5月开始了其数据收集任务。
It stopped operating about one year later, with mission planners saying the power system was likely affected by sand and dust.
大约一年后，它停止了运行，任务规划人员表示，其电力系统很可能受到了沙尘的影响。
But the rover still outlasted its planned mission of three months.
但这辆火星车还是超出了其原定的三个月任务期限。
The researchers said the data shows that the ocean seems to have disappeared by about 3.42 billion years ago.
研究人员表示，数据表明，海洋似乎在大约34.2亿年前就已经消失了。
The study suggests the water that likely filled the Martian ocean was “heavily silted,” study co-writer Sergey Krasilnikov said.
该研究的合著者谢尔盖·克拉西尔尼科夫表示，这项研究表明，可能曾注满火星海洋的水“含有大量泥沙”。
He is a planetary scientist at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
他是香港理工大学的行星科学家。
Silt is a mix of sand and clay that has been carried by water, but later settles on land.
粉砂是沙和黏土的混合物，由水流携带，但随后会在陆地上沉积下来。
Krasilnikov added that during the period when the Martian ocean would have been active, the planet “…probably had a thick, warm atmosphere.”
克拉斯尼科夫补充说，在火星海洋活跃的时期，这颗行星“……可能拥有一个浓厚而温暖的大气层”。
At that time, “microbial life was much more likely," he said.
他说，当时“存在微生物生命的可能性要大得多”。
Hong Kong Polytechnic’s Wu said the new findings do “provide further evidence to support the theory of a Martian ocean.”
香港理工大学的吴说，这些新发现“为支持火星海洋理论提供了进一步的证据”。
However, he told the French news agency AFP the study does "not claim that our findings definitively prove” there was an ocean on Mars.
然而，他告诉法新社，这项研究“并未声称我们的发现确凿证明了”火星上存在海洋。
Such proof, he said, would likely require a future mission to bring Mars materials back to Earth for closer study.
他说，这样的证据很可能需要未来的任务将火星材料带回地球进行更深入的研究。
I’m Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Scientific Reports.
布莱恩·林恩为VOA学习英语撰写了这篇报道，内容基于路透社、法新社、香港理工大学和《科学报告》的报道。
