科学美国人60秒 火星上发现失传已久的着陆器

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Christmas 2003 was bittersweet for Mars scientists. Because one gift they desperately¹ wanted never arrived: The British-built spacecraft Beagle 2 was scheduled to land on the Red Planet, radio home the good news and begin a search for life. Instead, mission controllers heard nothing. They finally declared the Beagle 2 lost after months of silence. Many space scientists thought it crash-landed or broke up in the thin Martian atmosphere.

对于研究火星的科学家们来说，2003年圣诞节是苦乐参半的。因为他们极其想要的一份礼物没有到来：英国建造的飞船“猎兔犬2号”本应降落于该红色星球上，然后为科学家们传达回好消息，并开始寻找生命迹象。然而，该任务的指控人员没收到任何信息。经过几个月的沉默，他们最终宣布“猎兔犬2号”丢失了。许多太空科学家认为它在火星稀薄的大气中迫降或分解了。

But now Beagle 2’s final resting place has been found. New images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed the spacecraft in its intended landing region, a massive impact basin near the Martian equator.

但现在“猎兔犬2号”的最后安息地已被发现。美国宇航局的火星侦察轨道器传回的新图像显示该飞船在其预定着陆区——火星赤道附近一个巨大的撞击盆地。

The two-meter-wide lander is little more than a low-resolution lump of pixels in the images. But investigators² gathered enough information to piece together what probably went wrong: the probe’s solar panels seem to have only partially³ deployed⁴, throttling⁵ Beagle 2’s power and preventing it from phoning home. Without contact with mission control, the probe was doomed⁶ to a slow demise⁷ before it could perform any science.

在图像中，这个两米宽的着陆器更像是一个像素分辨率很低的肿块。但研究人员收集了足够的信息来拼凑出可能出错的原因：探测器的太阳能电池板似乎只有一部分展开了，限流了“猎兔犬2号”的电源，致使其无法向地球传送信息。无法联系任务控制中心，在其无法执行任何科学任务前探测器注定要缓慢死亡。

Nevertheless, the lander appears intact, and the remains⁸ of a parachute and an atmospheric-entry cover lie hundreds of meters away. Beagle 2 may now be considered a partial success, delivering the United Kingdom a very late Christmas gift: the nation’s first soft landing on another planet.

不过着陆器看起来完好无损，而降落伞和进入大气层的封盖的遗骸躺在几百米外。现在“猎兔犬2号”可被认定为部分成功了，也算是送给英国一个晚来的圣诞礼物：该国在另一星球的第一次软着陆。

1 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 throttling   

v.扼杀( throttle的现在分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制

参考例句：

• This fight scarf is throttling me. 这条束得紧紧的围巾快要把我窒息死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The latter may be used with bypass or throttling valves in the tower water pipework circuit. 近来，可采用在冷却塔的水管系统中设置旁通阀或节流阀。 来自辞典例句

6 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

7 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。