Could we actually live on Mars? - Mari Foroutan

我們真可定居火星? - Mari Foroutan

譯者: Steven Hsieh 審譯者: Seke Wei

So, you're thinking of moving to Mars.

你想過要移民火星嗎？

Have you picked out a spot for your new home?

想好你的新家要蓋在哪裡了嗎？

No? Well, I'm here to help.

還沒？我可以幫你。

First things first,

首先，

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

去火星前，你需要準備一些東西。

a high tolerance for cold, loneliness, and radiation;

第一是對寒冷、寂寞、輻射的 高度容忍力；

a lifetime supply of breathable air and food;

再來是夠你用一輩子的氧氣和食物；

a multibillion dollar spaceship;

一架數十億美元極其昂貴的太空船；

a desire to just get away from it all;

想要拋下一切的念頭；

and water.

和水。

You're definitely going to need water.

水是絕對不可以少的。

So what sort of real estate are you looking for?

那麼 你想要什麼樣的房產呢？

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

在諾克提斯迷宮（火星地名）中建座豪宅？

A hideaway in the Happy Face Crater?

在笑臉撞擊坑中蓋間別墅？

A fortress on the Face Mesa?

在人臉山上蓋座城堡？

An oceanview?

想要海景嗎？

Uh, bad news on the last one.

不幸的，你來遲了

You're about 4 billion years late.

若你早來 40 億年就好了

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

我們相信火星上曾經有海洋、湖泊、河流，

the whole package.

全套都有。

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

但隨著時間變化 大部分的水都在地底下結成冰

or evaporated off into space.

或是蒸發到外太空中了

There's probably still some trapped beneath

也許還有一些水藏在冰原下

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

這些二氧化碳構成的冰原 會隨季節伸縮。

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

如果火星的表面還有水的話 會長什麼樣子？

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

那得看水量多寡而定了

but maybe something like this.

也許會像這樣

The relatively flat northern hemisphere is below the average elevation,

由於相對平坦的北半球 低於平均地表高度

so it would become one giant ocean,

所以應該會變成一大片汪洋

while the crater-ridden southern hemisphere

而佈滿了隕石坑的南半球

would stay mostly high and dry.

則大部分保持較高且乾燥。

That difference between hemispheres is a bit bizarre,

兩個半球為何有如此奇異的差別，

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

我們尚不知其理由。

The southern half is probably much older,

猜測南半球年齡較老

judging by features like the number of craters,

因為有較多的隕石坑，

and the evidence of increased volcanic activity in the north.

北半球較年輕 因有較多的火山活動跡象

Okay, so who knows?

好吧，天知道？

Maybe one day Mars will have oceans again,

將來有一天 火星說不定會再度出現海洋。

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

但目前看來 就只是一大片多塵的沙漠。

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

事實上 火星的沙漠跟地球很類似。

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

因此，從地球我們就能了解 很多火星的環境。

For instance, Martian sand dunes form and behave

比方說，沙丘的形成和動態

similarly to our sand dunes,

就跟地球上的沙丘很類似。

though the Martian versions often grow twice as large

只是火星沙丘經常要比 地球沙丘大出兩倍

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

因為火星上的引力 大約只有地球的三分之一。

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

火星也有一些地球罕見地形，

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

比方說高達十五公尺的光滑沙丘

whose formations we have yet to understand.

我們至今仍不知道是怎麼形成的。

You're probably wondering,

你可能會好奇，

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

當居住的星球滿佈沙漠 你會遭遇什麼情況?

with an atmosphere that, like ours,

尤其又有地球般的大氣層，

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

隨時會有氣壓差產生 風場，沙塵暴。

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

沒錯， 這些將成為你居住火星的主要天氣災害。

They play a large part in making the planet red

其實這也是火星會變紅的主要原因。

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

眾多鐵鏽顆粒隨著氣流 散佈到地表和空氣中，

Thanks to the low gravity and lack of moisture,

加上引力微弱並乾燥的環境，

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

這些沙塵暴可以持續好幾個月 並且覆蓋整個星球

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

因此，你也許得把家 盡可能建在較高的地方。

Well, look no further.

別再找了。

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

這裡是奧林帕斯山， 太陽系中最大的火山。

Even if Mars had a breathable atmosphere,

假設火星上有可以呼吸的空氣

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

站在25公里高山峰上的景觀 也足以讓你驚嘆屏息。

Or are volcanos not your thing?

不喜歡火山啊？

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

那水手谷如何？這是太陽系最大的峽谷。

It's so wide that from one side,

其寬度之大， 人從山谷一邊，

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

看不見山谷另一邊， 因為另一邊已在地平線以下。

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

而且，在這裡能看見平常紅天之下 壯麗的藍色日落。

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

紅天是因為塵埃會吸收 大部分的藍光，

and the way sunlight is scattered by the atmosphere.

及陽光遭大氣散射所致。

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

現在你是否已經精神奕奕，充滿好奇， 正等候機會的來臨呢？

Then stop stalling and make the move to Mars today.

不要再等了 今天就移民火星吧

Mars: Redder than Ever.

火星： 火紅耀眼，前所未見！