Mars Rover Digs Trench to Search for Evidence of Water

Mars Rover Digs Trench¹ to Search for Evidence of Water

 

David McAlary

One of the U.S. Mars rovers has spun² a wheel to dig a shallow trench in the sand in the continuing search for evidence that water once flowed on the red planet. The second rover is in the midst a long trek³ to a nearby crater⁴ that will take several days.

The Opportunity rover hugged the slope of the crater it landed in three weeks ago, as mission controllers in California commanded it to rotate its right front wheel back and forth⁵. The result is a 50 centimeter long trench about nine centimeters deep.

"We took a patient, gentle approach to digging," US space agency engineer Jeffrey Biesiadecki. "No single maneuver⁶ we did actually moves all that much material. Rather, it's a gradual process that digs deeper and deeper the longer we let it run."

The rover is digging in an area rich in the mineral hematite, which can form in water. Mission scientists want to see how deep the hematite goes and are analyzing⁷ it with rover geology instruments to determine whether it actually formed in water. Evidence of the liquid would suggest Mars was once hospitable⁸ to life.

One of the researchers, Rob Sullivan of Cornell University, says the science team is intrigued¹⁰ by patches of sand at the bottom of the trench that are brighter than that on the surrounding surface.

"It could be in fact that we've discovered something that is intrinsically different down on the floor of this trench than what we've seen so far on the surface. It's also possible that there may be some increased fine particles down where the trench floor is and they have been very carefully molded under the weight of the wheels. So there could be a reflection effect."

On the other side of Mars, the twin rover Spirit is studying soil and rocks as it gradually makes it way over several days to a crater nicknamed Bonneville, about 240 meters away.

The six-wheeled vehicle has traveled 108 meters since it arrived 45 days ago, a Mars distance record. It has exceeded the amount of territory covered by the Sojourner¹¹ rover mission in 1997 by about six meters.

 

注释：

spun [spin] v. 旋转

trench [trentF] n. 沟渠

in the midst  在……之中，在……中途

trek [trek] n. 艰苦跋涉

crater [5kreItE(r)] n. 火山口

Opportunity rover  机遇号火星探测车

rotate [rEu5teit] v. 旋转

maneuver [mE5nu:vE] n. 操作

hematite [5hemEtait] n. 赤铁矿

intrigue⁹ [in5tri:^] vt. 激起……的兴趣

intrinsically [in5trinsikEli] adv. 本质地，固有地

mold [mEuld] vt. 塑造

nickname [5nIkneIm] vt. 给……取绰号

 

1 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

2 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

3 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

4 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

7 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

8 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

9 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

10 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

11 sojourner   

n.旅居者，寄居者

参考例句：

• The sojourner has been in Wales for two weeks. 那个寄居者在威尔士已经逗留了两个星期。 来自互联网
• A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it. 出12:45寄居的、和雇工人、都不可吃。 来自互联网