Aging Mars rover makes new water discoveries 老舊的火星探測車發現水的新證據
◎陳維真
Scientists on Friday called NASA’s Opportunity rover gimpy and arthritic, but hailed its new discoveries about early water on Mars made almost 10 years after it was launched toward the Red Planet.
科學家週五表示，美國國家航太總署的火星探測車「機會號」雖然已經跛腳又有關節炎，但它來到紅色星球10年後還有新貢獻，找到火星早期有水的新證據。
The unmanned solar-powered vehicle has just analyzed what may be its oldest rock ever, known as Esperance 6. It contains evidence that potentially life-supporting water once flowed in abundance, leaving clay minerals behind.
這架無人太陽能探測車剛分析過可能是它分析過最古老的火星岩石Esperance 6。這顆石頭含有可證明火星曾有大量、可供生命持續的水資源的證據，消失之後留下黏土礦物。
"This is powerful evidence that water interacted with this rock and changed its chemistry, changed its mineralogy in a dramatic way," said principal investigator Steve Squyres of Cornell University.
主要研究者康乃爾大學的史桂爾斯說：「這個有力證據證明這顆岩石曾與水相互作用，並改變岩石的化學和礦物組成。」
He described the research as "some of the most important" of the decade-long mission because it showcases a very different chemistry than most of the previous discoveries about water on Mars, which is now quite dry.
他形容這是機會號執行任務10年當中，「最重要的數個研究之一」，因為它展現的化學組成與此前大部分有關水的發現極為不同，現在火星相當乾燥。
Scientists believe that a lot of water once flowed through these rocks through some sort of fracture, leaving an unusually high concentration of clay.
科學家認為，曾有大量的水透過某種裂痕流經這些岩石，留下濃度高得不尋常的黏土。
The analysis reveals traces of a likely drinkable type of water that dates to the first billion years of Martian history, when clay rocks were forming under a more neutral pH, before conditions became more harsh and water more acidic, Squyres said. （AFP）
史桂爾斯表示，分析顯示這可能是可飲用水的痕跡。這種水質的存在年代可回溯到火星形成的第一個10億年，當時黏土岩石在酸鹼值比較中性的環境下形成，之後火星環境變得比較嚴峻，水也變酸。（法新社）
新聞辭典
gimpy：形容詞，跛腳。例句：Our dog has a gimpy leg, but it does not appear to be bothered by it. （我們的小狗有隻腳跛了，但牠看來一點也不覺得困擾。）
hail：動詞，為……歡呼、喝采。例句：The crowd hailed the winner. （群眾為勝者歡呼。）
showcase：動詞，展現、表現。例句：The books showcase his vast knowledge and interest in history. （這些書展現他對歷史的廣泛知識與興趣。）
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