美国宇航局的毅力漫游者收集了第一个火星岩石样本

The American space agency NASA says its Mars explorer, or rover, has successfully collected its first Martian rock sample.

The rover, called Perseverance¹, used a drill attached to its robotic arm to remove a small, circular sample -- also called a core -- from a larger rock on the surface of Mars.

NASA confirmed the successful collection in a statement on Monday. The agency also released pictures of the sample, which it said appears to be about as thick as a writing instrument.

After the drilling was completed, Perseverance took additional pictures of the sample as well as the tube it was kept in. The images are useful to scientists back on Earth who study the sample.

In the final step, Perseverance moved the tube to a storage area inside the rover and hermetically sealed the container. Hermetic sealing is a process that completely closes off the container so that no air can flow in or out.

The Perseverance team shared the news on Twitter. "It's official: I've now captured, sealed, and stored the first core sample ever drilled on another planet, in a quest to return samples to Earth." The tweet added that the sample was "the first in a one-of-a-kind Martian rock collection."

It was the second collection attempt for Perseverance. The first one happened about a month ago. In that try, NASA confirmed that the rover had successfully drilled into another rock at a different site on the Mars surface.

But during the collection attempt, images showed that the sample tube was empty. NASA engineers later reported that the rock the rover drilled into must not have been strong enough to produce a core sample. So, the drilling operation only produced dust that could not be collected.

The latest core sample -- and all others collected from now on – will be stored on Mars until they can be picked up during future missions to the Red Planet and brought to Earth. NASA says its Mars Sample Return mission -- to be carried out jointly² with the European Space Agency -- could have the rock samples back to Earth sometime in the 2030s.

NASA science officer Thomas Zurbuchen called the successful collection a "truly historic moment." The agency's leader, Bill Nelson, also praised the effort and said, "I can't wait to see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team."

Perseverance landed in February at Jezero Crater³, an area scientists believe to be the remains⁴ of an ancient river system. The high-tech⁵ rover is on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars.

Perseverance has been assisted in some efforts by a small experimental helicopter called Ingenuity⁶. The helicopter made history in April by becoming the first aircraft to perform a powered, controlled flight on another planet. So far, Ingenuity has performed above expectations, completing 11 flight tests and helping⁷ to identify areas for Perseverance to explore.

Ken⁸ Farley is a project scientist on the Perseverance team. He said the latest collection effort marks the beginning of many more to come for the rover, which has 43 sample tubes to fill.

"There is a lot of Jezero Crater left to explore, and we will continue our journey in the months and years ahead," Farley said in a statement. "When we get these samples back to Earth, they are going to tell us a great deal about some of the earliest chapters in the evolution of Mars," he added.

Words in This Story

sample – n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from

drill – n. a tool or machine used for making holes in a hard substance

quest – n. an attempt to get something of do something difficult

mission – n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel

incredible – adj. unbelievable, exciting or large

journey – n. the act of traveling from one place to another

chapter – n. a period of time when something happens

evolution – n. the way in which things gradually develop and change over millions of years

1 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。

2 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

3 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。

4 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。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 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.