Could we actually live on Mars? - Mari Foroutan

翻译人员: Aiting Ye 校对人员: 高 荣嘉

So, you're thinking of moving to Mars.

假设你在考虑移民去火星。

Have you picked out a spot for your new home?

想好把家安置到哪里了吗？

No? Well, I'm here to help.

还没？没关系，让我帮你想想吧。

First things first,

先说点重要的事。

here are some of the things you'll need to bring to The Red Planet:

在去往这个红色星球之前， 你需要做好如下几点准备：

a high tolerance for cold, loneliness, and radiation;

对寒冷、寂寞和辐射的超强抵抗力；

a lifetime supply of breathable air and food;

够一辈子用的空气和食物；

a multibillion dollar spaceship;

一架造价几十亿美元的宇宙飞船；

a desire to just get away from it all;

一颗能抛弃所有的强大内心；

and water.

以及水。

You're definitely going to need water.

水，是你绝对需要的东西。

So what sort of real estate are you looking for?

那么，你到底需要什么样的房子呢？

How about a mansion in the maze-like Noctis Labyrinthus?

建在类似诺克提斯那种迷宫中的别墅？

A hideaway in the Happy Face Crater?

或者在“笑脸撞击坑”中的 一处隐蔽居所？

A fortress on the Face Mesa?

还是"火星之脸“山区上的一座城堡？

An oceanview?

亦或是一套海景房？

Uh, bad news on the last one.

呃，最后这一条有点困难。

You're about 4 billion years late.

40亿年前才是最好的时机。

We're pretty sure that Mars used to have oceans, lakes, rivers,

我们非常肯定火星上 曾经有过海洋，湖泊，河流，

the whole package.

与水相关的一切。

But over time, almost all of it froze beneath the surface,

但随着时间的推移， 绝大部分水资源已冻结在地表下，

or evaporated off into space.

或者蒸发到宇宙中了。

There's probably still some trapped beneath

可能依然有一部分水存留在

周期性扩张和收缩的 二氧化碳冰盖下面。

the seasonally expanding and contracting carbon dioxide ice caps, though.

So what might Mars look like today if it had surface water?

如果如今火星表面还有水的话， 将会是什么样子呢？

That, of course, depends on how much we're talking about,

当然这要基于火星地表 会有多少的水资源存在，

but maybe something like this.

或许情况是这样的：

The relatively flat northern hemisphere is below the average elevation,

地势相对平坦， 平均海拔较低的北半球

so it would become one giant ocean,

将会是汪洋大海，

while the crater-ridden southern hemisphere

而在火山口聚集的南半球，

would stay mostly high and dry.

则大部分处在高海拔、干燥的状态下。

That difference between hemispheres is a bit bizarre,

南北半球之间的差异实属奇怪，

and we don't know why it's like that.

而且我们都不知道为什么会那样。

The southern half is probably much older,

通过一些特征，例如

judging by features like the number of craters,

火山口的数量以及 北半球火山活动的加剧，

and the evidence of increased volcanic activity in the north.

我们推断南半球相对更为古老一些。

Okay, so who knows?

好吧，但谁知道呢？

Maybe one day Mars will have oceans again,

也许将来海洋会在火星上再次出现呢，

but for now, what we've got is essentially one giant dusty desert.

但目前，火星本质上还只是 一个巨大且布满灰尘的沙漠。

In fact, it's similar enough to deserts on Earth,

实际上，火星跟地球上的沙漠非常相似，

that we've been able to learn a great deal about Mars on our home planet.

我们可以通过研究 地球上的沙漠来了解火星。

For instance, Martian sand dunes form and behave

例如，火星沙丘的形成和运动

similarly to our sand dunes,

跟地球上的沙丘情况是相似的，

though the Martian versions often grow twice as large

可是火星沙丘的体积 通常是地球上的两倍，

thanks to a gravitational pull that's about a third as strong as ours.

因为火星引力只是地球上的三分之一。

And Mars has some features you won't see on Earth,

同时，火星也有些不同于地球的特征。

like tars, which are crestless sand dunes up to fifteen meters tall,

例如“Tar”，一种高达15米的无顶沙丘，

whose formations we have yet to understand.

我们至今都不知道它们形成的原因。

You're probably wondering,

也许你正在思考，

"What do you get when you combine a planet-wide desert

“在一个布满沙漠

with an atmosphere that, like ours,

且大气环境易受 风力大小影响的星球上，

is subject to wind-generating pressure differentials, dust storms?"

会见到什么样的情形，沙尘暴吗？”

These will be your main weather hazards on the Red Planet.

这将是这颗红色星球上 最主要的气象灾害。

They play a large part in making the planet red

沙尘暴将氧化后的铁颗粒 从地表吹向空气中，

by distributing rusted iron particles across the surface and into the air.

从而导致整个星球看上去是红色的。

Thanks to the low gravity and lack of moisture,

再加上较弱的引力以及缺少水分，

these dust storms can last for months and cover the planet.

沙尘暴可以持续数月之久， 并且蔓延至整个星球。

So, you might want to build your home as high as possible.

所以你还是得把房子建得越高越好。

Well, look no further.

嘿，看这里。

This is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System.

这就是奥林帕斯山，太阳系中最大的火山。

Even if Mars had a breathable atmosphere,

即使你能在火星上呼吸，

you'd find the views from the 25 kilometer summit breathtaking.

当你站在25公里高的顶峰处观赏美景时， 也绝对会窒息的。

Or are volcanos not your thing?

或许你不喜欢火山？

Then how about Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the Solar System?

那么太阳系中最大的峡谷， “水手号峡谷”如何呢？

It's so wide that from one side,

“水手号峡谷”实在太大了，

the opposite rim would be below the curve of the horizon.

大到你在一头都看不到 另一头的峡谷边缘。

Still, you'll catch some spectacular blue sunsets in the normally red sky,

与此同时，你还能在红色天际中 欣赏到壮观的蓝色日落，

which gets its color from the dust absorbing most of the blue light,

正是因为大气中的尘埃吸收了 大部分的蓝光，

and the way sunlight is scattered by the atmosphere.

再加上大气层对太阳光线的散射作用， 才有了这样的美景。

Have you got spirit, curiosity, or are you just looking for opportunity?

你现在感到兴奋，好奇了吗？ 或者你正在寻找机会？

Then stop stalling and make the move to Mars today.

不要犹豫了， 现在就向火星进发吧。

Mars: Redder than Ever.

火星：没有最红，只有更红。