The most Martian place on Earth | Armando Azua-Bustos

翻译人员: chunhua zhang 校对人员: Kai Lu

This is a picture of a sunset on Mars

这是一张由美国宇航局 好奇号探测器

taken by NASA's Curiosity rover in 2013.

在2013年拍摄的火星上的日落图。

Mars is a very cold planet,

火星是一个非常寒冷的星球，

flooded with high levels of UV radiation

被高强度的紫外线所覆盖，

and extremely dry.

并且极度干旱。

In fact, Mars is considered to be too dry for life as we know it.

事实上，我们认为火星上过于干燥， 根本不适合物种的生存。

I'm an astrobiologist.

我是一个天体生物学家。

I try to understand the origin of life on Earth

我试图了解地球上生命的起源，

and the possibilities of finding life

以及在宇宙中其它地方

elsewhere in the universe.

找到生命的可能性。

People sometimes ask me,

人们有时问我

how can you be an astrobiologist

你都没有自己的宇宙飞船，

if you don't have your own spaceship?

怎么能做一个天体生物学家呢？

Well, what I do is that I study life

事实上，我所做的是研究地球上

in those environments on Earth

那些跟宇宙中其它一些有趣的地方

that most closely resemble other interesting places in the universe.

非常类似的环境中的生命。

All life on Earth requires water,

地球上所有的生命都需要水，

so in my case I focus on the intimate relationship

所以就我而言，我专注于研究

between water and life

水和生命之间的密切关系，

in order to understand

以便去了解

if we could find life in a planet as dry as Mars.

我们是否能在一个像火星 这样干燥的星球上发现生命。

But since I do not have the 2.5 billion dollars

但是由于我没有发送机器人去火星

to send my own robot to Mars,

所需的25亿美元，

I study the most Martian place on Earth,

所以我只能研究地球上 最像火星的地方，

the Atacama Desert.

也就是阿塔卡马沙漠。

Located in northern Chile,

它位于智利北部，

it is the oldest and driest desert on Earth.

是地球上最古老、最干燥的沙漠。

To give you an idea of how dry it is,

为了让你了解它有多干燥，

consider here in Vancouver it rains over 1,000 millimeters of rain every year.

对比一下，温哥华 每年降雨超过1000毫米。

In the Atacama, there are places with no reported rains

而在阿塔卡马， 有些地方在过去400年

in the last 400 years.

都没有降水的报道。

How do I know this?

我是怎么知道的呢？

Well, because I was born and raised in the Atacama --

因为我出生并成长在阿塔卡马——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So I had a unique advantage

所以当我开始研究这片沙漠时，

when I started studying this desert.

就已经具备了独特的优势。

So let me tell you guys a few fantastic examples

让我来告诉你们一些我所发现的，

he has found

关于生命是如何

on how life has adapted to live with almost no water at all.

在几乎完全无水的环境中 适应并生存的奇妙事例。

One of my first findings was in the entrance of a cave

我最初的发现之一是在一个

facing the Pacific Ocean.

面向太平洋的洞穴入口处。

In this place, we reported a new type of microalgae

在这里，我们发现了一种新的微藻，

that grew only on top of the spiderwebs that covered the cave entrance.

它只生长在布满了 洞穴入口的蜘蛛网上。

Have you ever seen a spiderweb early in the morning?

你见过早上的蜘蛛网吗？

It's covered with dew,

上面沾着露水，

so this microalgae learned that in order to carry photosynthesis

所以这种微藻学会了 要想在这个

in the coast of the driest desert on Earth,

地球上最干燥的沙漠的边缘 进行光合作用，

they could use the spiderwebs.

它可以利用蜘蛛网。

So here they may access the water from the fogs

在这里它们可以从 经常在早上

that regularly cover these areas in the morning.

覆盖这些区域的浓雾中获得水份。

In another cave, we found a different type of microalgae.

在另一个洞穴中， 我们发现了一种不同的微藻。

This one is able to use ocean mist as a source of water,

这种微藻可以利用海雾作为水源，

and strikingly lives in the very bottom of a cave,

并且显然是生活在洞穴的底部，

so it has adapted to live with less than 0.1 percent

所以它适应了在 光照不到普通植物

of the amount of light that regular plants need.

所需光照量的0.1%的环境下生活。

These type of findings suggest to me that on Mars,

这类发现提醒了我在火星上，

we may find even photosynthetic life inside caves.

我们也可能在洞穴中 发现依赖光合作用的生物。

And by the way, that's me.

顺便说一下，照片里那个是我。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now, for almost 15 years this region of Yungay, discovered by NASA,

在过去的将近15年里， 这个被美国宇航局发现的云盖地区，

was thought to be the driest place of this desert,

被认为是这个沙漠中最干燥的地方。

but I knew that it was not.

但是我知道它不是。

How? You already know the answer.

我是如何知道的呢？ 你们已经知道答案了。

Because I was born and raised in this desert.

因为我出生并成长在这个沙漠。

So I remembered that I usually see fogs in Yungay,

我记得我经常在云盖看到雾气，

so after setting sensors in a number of places,

所以在好几个我记得从来没见过

where I remember never seeing fogs or clouds,

雾或云的地方放置传感器后，

I reported four other sites much drier than Yungay,

我发现了四个比云盖更干燥的地方，

with this one, María Elena South,

这个地方，玛丽亚-埃伦娜南部，

being the truly driest place on Earth,

是真正的，地球上最干燥的地方，

as dry as Mars,

就像火星上一样干燥，

and amazingly, just a 15-minute ride

让人意想不到的是， 这里离我出生的

from the small mining town where I was born.

矿业小镇只有15分钟的车程。

Now, in this search, we were trying to actually find the dry limit

在这项研究中，我们尝试着去找到

for life on Earth,

地球上的生物忍受干旱的极限，

a place so dry that nothing was able to survive in it.

去找到一个干燥到 没有任何生命能够存活的地方。

But even here, well hidden underground,

但是即便是在这里，在隐藏的地下

we found a number of different microorganisms,

我们还是发现了一些不同的微生物，

which suggested to me that similarly dry places, like Mars,

这意味着在类似的干燥地区， 比如火星上，

may be inhabited.

可能是有生命存在的。

We even have some preliminary evidences

我们甚至有一些初步的证据，

that these microorganisms may still be active

证明这些微生物在脱水的情况下

in the desiccated state,

仍然能够活动。

like walking mummies all around us,

就像是在我们周围行走的木乃伊，

and that they may be using UV radiation as a source of energy.

并且它们可能将紫外线作为能源。

If confirmed, this would have a huge impact on our definition of life,

如果被证实了， 这将对我们如何定义生命，

on how we look for life elsewhere in the universe.

以及如何在宇宙中的其它地方 寻找生命产生重大的影响。

Due to its clear skies, by 2020,

得益于它晴朗的天空，到2020年，

60 percent of the biggest telescopes on Earth

地球上60%的大型天文望远镜

will be located in the Atacama,

将会被安装在阿塔卡马，

and while everyone else will be looking among the stars

在每个人都将抬头望向星空去寻找

to answer the question, "Are we alone?"

“我们独自存在于宇宙中吗？” 这个问题的答案时，

I will be looking down to the ground

我则会望向地面，

searching for this same answer

在我的后院

in my own backyard.

寻找同一个问题的答案。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）