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原文:
Where is NASA’s rover Curiosity going on Mars? Its geographical goals are on the slopes of Mount Sharp, whose peak is seen in the background on the right. A key scientific goal, however, remains to better assess when and where conditions on Mars were once suitable for life, in particular microbial life. To further this goal, Curiosity was directed to cross the rugged terrain of Nautkluft Plateau, visible in the featured image on the foreground left. Curiosity is crossing toward smoother uphill sites with rocks containing hematite and sulfates, sites that could give the rolling rover new clues on how long this part of Mars was wet — and hence more favorable for life — before drying out. Of recent concern, however, is Curiosity’s aluminum wheels, which are showing increasing signs of wear. Although already fulfilling the goals of its two year study, Curiosity’s mission has been extended as it continues to uncover valuable information about the extraordinary past of Mars, the next planet out from the Sun from Earth.
中文翻譯:
NASA的探測器Curiosity正朝向火星的Mount Sharp山坡進發，該山的峰頂在右側背景可見。其主要科學目標之一是更好地評估火星何時及何地的環境曾適合生命，尤其是微生物生命。為了達成這一目標，Curiosity被指導經過Nautkluft Plateau的崎嶇地形，該區域在所呈現的圖片中位於前景左側。Curiosity正在向含有赤鐵礦和硫酸鹽的較平滑的上坡地點移動，這些地點可能會為這個滾動的探測器提供有關這部分火星在乾燥之前有多長時間是濕潤的線索，這也使得這裡更適合生命的存在。然而，最近的擔憂是Curiosity的鋁輪子，顯示出越來越明顯的磨損跡象。儘管已經完成了兩年的研究目標，Curiosity的任務仍然得到延長，因為它持續揭示有關火星非凡過去的寶貴信息，火星是離地球最近的行星之一。
#CuriosityRover #MarsExploration #MountSharp #MarsLife #NautkluftPlateau #Astrobiology #NASA #SpaceScience #探索火星 #火星任務 #科學發現
來源:NASA每日圖片
