VOA慢速英语2021--美国宇航局从火星空气中提取氧气

The American space agency NASA has collected oxygen from the atmosphere of another planet for the first time.

A device on NASA's Mars explorer Perseverance¹ was able to extract oxygen from carbon dioxide on the Red Planet.

It was the second major event during the Perseverance mission to Mars. NASA announced the experiment on Wednesday.

The experimental device is called MOXIE, short for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization² Experiment. It produced about five grams of oxygen. That amount would permit an astronaut to breathe for about 10 minutes, NASA said.

Although the amount of oxygen was small, it marked the first experimental extraction of a natural resource from the environment of another planet.

Trudy Kortes is director of technology demonstrations³ within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. In a statement, she called MOXIE the first technology of its kind to help future missions "live off the land" of another planet.

The instrument works through electrolysis: a process which uses extreme heat to separate oxygen atoms from molecules⁴ of carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide makes up about 95 percent of the Martian atmosphere. The rest is mainly molecular⁵ nitrogen and argon.

Oxygen exists on Mars in very small amounts. But a large supply of it is important for human exploration there. It is necessary for astronauts to breathe and for rocket fuel.

MOXIE lead investigator⁶ Michael Hecht said in NASA's news release that transporting a one-ton oxygen-conversion machine to Mars is easier than trying to take tons of oxygen from Earth. Large amounts of oxygen are needed to launch rockets into space from Mars.

Astronauts living and working on Mars would require possibly one metric ton of oxygen to last one year, Hecht added.

MOXIE is designed to produce up to 10 grams of oxygen in an hour. Scientists plan to run the machine at least nine other times over the next two years under different conditions.

The first oxygen extraction came one day after NASA carried out the first controlled, powered flight of an aircraft on another planet. The very small robot helicopter was able to launch from and land on the surface of Mars.

Like MOXIE, the helicopter, named Ingenuity⁷, rode to Mars with Perseverance. The spacecraft has six wheels so it can move across the planet's surface.

Perseverance's main mission is to search for signs of ancient microbes that may have lived on Mars billions of years ago.

Words in This Story

mission – n. a flight by an aircraft or spacecraft to perform a specific task

extract – v. to get something by pulling it out, forcing it out, etc. : the act of extracting something

microbe – n. an extremely small living thing that can only be seen with a microscope; micro-organisms

1 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

2 utilization   

n.利用，效用

参考例句：

• Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields.电子计算机已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。
• Modern forms of agricultural utilization,have completely refuted this assumption.现代农业利用形式，完全驳倒了这种想象。

3 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

4 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

5 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

6 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

7 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。