宇宙（2007）

The Universe S01E02

Part 4 April 22, 2021, 8:10 p.m.

在他们在其中建立了4个独♥立♥证据的情况下,
the team was ready.
研究小组一切就绪.
They announced their hypothesis.
他们宣布了他们的假设.
ALH84001 contain possible evidence of passed life on Mars.
ALH84001包含了火星上可能存在生命的证据.
"We conclude that...
"我们推定...
This is evidence for early life on Mars".
这是一个火星上的早期生命."
NASA held a major press conference,
NASA举♥行♥了一个大型的记者招待会,
but not everyone was convinced.
然而不是每个人都相信.
Labs across the globe requested samples of the rock
全球的实验室都要求将岩石的样本
to conduct their own analysis.
让他们自己做分♥析♥.
In the end, after months of at times acrimonius debate,
最后,在经过几个月的激烈辩论后,
the consensus was...
共识是...
That there was no consensus.
没有形成共识.
Papers were published in support of the claim
发表的论文支持这个论点,
but many more were published ebunking the idea.
但是更多的则持反对意见.
"If I could have the first slide please?
"如果我们来看第一张幻灯片,
The features that you see,
你看到的这个特写,
may be any number of things, for example, they could..."
可能是一些物体,例如,可能会..."
Many researchers are conviced that the formations in the rock,
许多研究员确信那是岩石的成分,
that appeared to be signs of Martian life,
那个似乎是火星生命的痕迹,
were actually caused by mineral activity.
实际上是由矿物活性造成的.
The majority of people would say that
多数人会说
there's no really biogenic activity
来自这个火星早期的陨石
from this meteorite from Mars.
其实没有生物活动
Those initial hypothesis was incorrect.
开头那些推论是错误的.
I would say at this point that...
我可以说在这一点上...
That's too simple hypothesis to take.
作出的推论太天真了.
I don't think the work is being completed to
我不认为得到一个满意的结果,
a satisfactory end point.
研究就完成了.
To say either way.
也就是说不论怎样.
Work on the meteorite is continuing.
关于陨石的研究还在继续.
But even if researchers never confirmed that the rock contains signs of Martian life,
但即使研究员从未证实岩石存在火星生命的痕迹,
ALH84001有趣事件已经完全给寻找红色星球生命
the ALH84001 episode has already completely reinvigorated interest
in the quest for life on the red planet.
注入了新的重要性.
Ironically, the new push to find life on Mars,
具有讽刺意义的是,寻找火星生命的新动力,
has often led scientists yet again to the continent of Antarctica.
往往引导科学家再次前往南极大♥陆♥.
Conditions, in this part of the world, are analogues in many ways to conditions on Mars.
地球上这个地方的环境与火星上的环境相似.
Seeking out life forms that managed to thrive
寻找生命形态在这个极端环境下
an extreme circumstances here, might shed light
形成繁衍,可能揭示
on how and where primitive life could have once taken hold on the red planet.
原始生命曾经能否在红色星球上生存.
What environment astrobiologist, Dale Andersen, focuses on,
环境天体生物学家Dale Andersen关注的是
is that the bottom of lakes,
那个全年覆盖厚厚的冰的湖底.
covered year-around, with thick layers of ice.
Most people said that because of the ticks ice covers?
大多数人说是由于冰盖的作用吗?
"You would find nothing but rocks?"
"你除了岩石以外,什么都不会发现."
There'll be very little to nothing on the bottom.
湖底没东西,希望非常渺茫.
The ice layer sealing off many of these lakes,
冰层封锁许多这样的湖泊,
is up to 15 feet thick.
冰层厚达15英尺.
But rather than trying to blast or drill through it,
不过,要么炸开它,要么钻通它,
and disturbing the ecosystem below,
干扰下面的生态系统,
Andersen and team have found a much less damaging approach.
Andersen及其伙伴找到了大大减少破坏的办法.
They let a massive coil of copper tubing make an opening.
他们用一大盘铜线圈制♥作♥一个通道.
Then you just pass a hot liquid through it,
然后就用热的液体通过,
throw it down on the ice and it'll melt its way down.
将它投在冰上,使冰融化降下去.
It takes about 24 hours to melt through the ice
用了24小时化开了冰,
and then makes this very nice clean hole to dive through.
然后用这个漂亮的窟窿进行潜水.
Divers enter the water wearing full-body drysuits.
潜水员身穿潜水服潜到水里.
And what they find at the bottom of nearly every Antarctical lake pad,
他们发现几乎每一个南极湖泊的湖底
is a testament to the stubborn ternacity of life.
都是生命坚韧不拔的最好证据.
Mats of microbial organisms
有机微生物丛
are thriving in frigid enviroments that receive virtually no sunlight.
在没有任何阳光的极度寒冷的环境下繁衍.
Most people thought that, if you have less than about 1% of the surface light,
大多数人会认为,在不足地表光线1%的地方,
you won't have any photosynthesis taking place, down on the bottom.
在那个湖底,不可能进行光合作用.
They won't be old to use enough light to live.
没有足够的光,不会变老.
It's turned out that they can photosynthesis with light levels down to 1/10 to 1%.
结果是光照水平下降到10%,到1%,它们还能进行光合作用.
For Andersen and his team
对Andersen和他的团队来说,
the pristine mats are truly a window to the past.
原始的生物丛真是通往过去的一个窗口.
There no air organism, no fish, no insects,
这里没有空调有机体,没有鱼类,没有昆虫,
no animals creeping through it, so these microbial communities
没有爬行动物,这些微生物种落
have the opportunity to grow
依然有生长的机会
by themselves without interference, no matter animal or plants.是独♥立♥不受干涉,无论是来自动物或植物的.
And that gives them the opportunity to grow in very special ways.
并让他们有机会以非常特殊的方式生长.
Is it possible that a similar form of microbial life
这可能微生物生命类似的形态
could still reside somewhere beneath the frozen surface of Mars?
还会生存在火星恶劣的表面之下?
Especially at the hydrogen-rich poles?
特别是在氢含量高的极地?
Andersen and scientists like it. Believe it is worth investigating.
Andersen和科学家们希望是这样.相信这是值得研究的.
T-Minus 10... 9... 8... 7... 6...
倒计时,10..9..8..7..6..
5... 4... 3... 2...
5... 4... 3... 2...
And lifted off the Delta-2 rocket with the Mars exploration robot.
Delta2号♥带着火星探险机器人升空了.
In the Summer of 2003,
在2003年夏季,
NASA's jet propulsion laboratory, delivered two exploration spacecrafts,
NASA的喷气推进实验室派出了两台探测飞船,
to the surface of Mars.
到火星的表面去.
Missions to the red planet are only feasible once every two years,
到红色星球去进行每两年一次的会面,
during a specific short window of time.
这是一次短暂的时间窗口.
The launch must be timed,
发射必须准时,
so that the spacecraft and Mars arrive at a specific point in the planet's orbit
使飞船和火星在同一时间到达火星轨道的
at the same time.
一个特定的点.
The journey across the 34 million mile distance can take up to seven months.
横跨3400万英里距离需要7个月.
And the trajectory must be perfect.
轨道必须精确.
The accuracy required to go from Earth to Mars
需要精确到从地球到火星
and to hit the spot you want to be at on Mars
并击中火星上你想要的点,
is equivalent to shoot in a basketball from Los Angeles to New York.
这相当于从洛杉矶投蓝进纽约的蓝筐.
And have it go trough without hitting the rib. Nothing but that.
并且通过时要不碰蓝框,不过没什么.
All systems are go for entering the step landing.
所有的系统已经输入了登陆的程序.
We are currently 6 minutes from landing
我们现在6分钟后开始,
at the Gusev crater of solar hemisphere of Mars.
在火星向阳面的Gusev坑登陆.
Point lock at 1.356 miles per hour.
锁定每小时1.356英里.
Expecting parachute deploy in 5 seconds.
预计5秒钟后打开降落伞.
Parachute detected.
探测到降落伞.
Expecting reach ***********.
已经到达***********.
The spacecrafts were actually rovers.
太空船实际上成了漫游者.
Robotic vehicles capable of travelling across the martian surface
遥控车能够在火星表面行走
and poking around.
并捅开包围物体.
The rovers are robot geologist.
漫游者是机器地质学家.
Their job is to be our eyes, our feet, our hands on the Martian surface.
它们干的活是在火星上当我们的眼睛,我们的脚和手.
We experience Mars through them.
我们通过它们探索火星.
They can reach out. They can touch rocks.
它们能伸出去,能接触岩石.
There's this device called the Rat.
这是叫做Rat的装置.
R.A.T. the Rock Abrasion Tool wich is a diamond-tip grinding tool that we can use
R.A.T.(岩石磨具)是一个钻石磨头的工具,
to grind into the interior of a rock,
我们能够用来打孔进入岩石内部,
and so we can actually get a window inside the rock.
所以我们实际上把它作为进入岩石的窗口.
They have sensors on the end of that arm like there's a microscope,
它们有个装在机械臂末端的传感器,象个显微镜,
for telling us in detail what they look like.
来告诉我们它们看到的一切.
So we've got a whole bunch of tools, similar to what the geologists would want,
所以我们有整套的工具,类似地质学家想要的,
if they were actually phisically there on the scene.
如同他们亲临现场.
The rovers were named Spirit and Opportunity
漫游者被命名为精灵号♥和机会号♥,
and they are still exploring regions of Mars today,
直到今天它们仍然在火星上探索,
at locations on the planet hundreds of miles from eachother.
在火星表面相互相距数百英里.
Spirit landed in an area dubbed Gusev crater.
精灵号♥降落在Gusev坑.
The crater is believed to be a dried up lake bed.
机会号♥相信是在干燥的湖床上.
So if the water it once held contains biology,
所以如果水里曾经有过生物,
Spirit might uncover signs of it.
精灵号♥会发现它的痕迹.
Opportunity touched down in a region called Meridiani Planum.
机会号♥降落在叫做Meridiani Planum的区域.
The area is a triggy, because it contains an ancient layer of hematite
这个区域很奇特,因为它含有一层赤铁矿,
an iron oxyd that on Earth usually formes in a spot that held liquid water.
一层氧化铁,在地球上通常会含有水份.
So far neither rovers has found signs of life.
到目前为止,两个漫游者都没有发现生命的痕迹.
But both Spirit and Opportunity have uncovered helpful proof
但是精灵号♥和机会号♥都发现了有价值的证据,
that liquid water was once plentiful on the surface of the Red Planet.
即在火星表面曾经存在过大量的水.
We've seen places where water soaked the rocks beneath the surface,
我们看到了水地表下被水浸泡过的岩石,
we've seen places where water came to surface and flowed, over the martian
看到了水曾在其表面流淌过的地方,在整个火星表面,
surface creating little ripples that are still preserved in the rocks
制♥造♥了小小的波纹,仍然保存在岩石里
billions of years later.