VOA慢速英语2020--Three Countries Send Spacecraft to Mars

China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States plan to launch unpiloted spaceships in the next few weeks to fly to Mars. The operations are aimed at searching for signs of ancient, microscopic¹ life. Each country hopes the research will help them learn if astronauts could someday visit the red planet.

The spaceships are expected to reach Mars in February after traveling about 485 million kilometers. Scientists want to find out what Mars was like billions of years ago, when it had rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Ken² Farley is a professor at California Institute of Technology and a project scientist for Perseverance³, the U.S. rover that will go to Mars. He noted⁴ how hard it is to confirm that life existed on another planet. There is "a very big burden of proof," he said.

It is not by chance that the three launches are taking place soon. Mars and Earth are currently in positions that favor such travel, permitting shorter travel time and less fuel use. The positioning happens about every two years.

The United Arab Emirates spacecraft is named Amal, which is an Arabic word for hope. It is set to leave from Japan on Friday.

The spacecraft, built in partnership⁵ with the University of Colorado Boulder⁶, will arrive at Mars in the year that the UAE marks the 50th anniversary of its founding.

Omran Sharif is the project manager for the launch. "The UAE wants to send a strong message to the Arab youth," he said. "The message here is that if the UAE can reach Mars in less than 50 years, then you can do much more."

Controlled from Dubai, the spaceship – a kind of weather station – will study the upper atmosphere of Mars and follow changes in its climate.

China will launch a rover and an orbiter sometime around July 23. Chinese officials have not released much information about the operation, which is called Tianwen, or Questions for Heaven.

NASA plans to launch on July 30 from Cape⁷ Canaveral, Florida. Perseverance, the NASA spaceship, will land in Jezero Crater⁸, the site of an ancient river and lake. The area is full of large rocks, cliffs and sand dunes⁹ – all possible threats to Perseverance.

New technology will help keep the craft away from such dangers. Ground controllers will not be able to help because it takes ten minutes for radio signals to travel between Earth and Mars.

But Jezero Crater is worth the risks, scientists say. About 3.5 billion years ago, the area had a lot of water, they say, and maybe some living organisms. Perseverance will look for rocks that show signs of past life in the area.

The NASA operation will also test some of the technology that will be needed to send humans to the red planet -- and bring them home safely.

Farley said that it might seem strange for him to call the operation low risk because it took a lot hard work and costed billions of dollars. But, he noted, "if something goes wrong" everyone will be glad the operation did not involve astronauts.

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

rover – n. a vehicle used for exploring the surface of a moon, planet, etc.

burden – n. someone or something that is very difficult to accept, do, or deal with

orbiter – n. a vehicle or device that travels around a planet or moon in space

cliff -- n. a high, steep surface of rock, earth, or ice

1 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

2 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

3 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

7 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

8 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

9 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。