探索火星的五大理由

達(dá)雷爾·M.韋斯特

The recent launch of the Mars rover Perseverance is the latest U.S. space mission seeking to understand our solar system. Its expected arrival at the Red Planet in mid-February 2021 has a number of objectives linked to science and innovation. The rover is equipped with sophisticated1 instruments designed to search for the remains of ancient microbial2 life， take pictures and videos of rocks， drill for soil and rock samples， and use a small helicopter to fly around the Jezero Crater landing spot.

Mars is a valuable place for exploration because it can be reached in 6? months， is a major opportunity for scientific exploration， and has been mapped and studied for several decades. The mission represents the first step in a long-term effort to bring Martian samples back to Earth， where they can be analyzed for residues of microbial life. Beyond the study of life itself， there are a number of different benefits of Mars exploration.

Understand the origins and ubiquity3 of life

The site where Perseverance is expected to land is the place where experts believe 3.5 billion years ago held a lake filled with water and flowing rivers. It is an ideal place to search for the residues4 of microbial life， test new technologies， and lay the groundwork for human exploration down the road.

The mission plans to investigate whether microbial life existed on Mars billions of years ago and therefore that life is not unique to Planet Earth. As noted by Chris McKay， a research scientist at NASAs Ames Research Science Center， that would be an extraordinary discovery. “Right here in our solar system， if life started twice， that tells us some amazing things about our universe，” he pointed out. “It means the universe is full of life. Life becomes a natural feature of the universe， not just a quirk5 of this odd little planet around this star.”

The question of the origins of life and its ubiquity around the universe is central to science， religion， and philosophy. For much of our existence， humans have assumed that even primitive life was unique to Planet Earth and not present in the rest of the solar system， let alone the universe. We have constructed elaborate religious and philosophical narratives around this assumption and built our identity along the notion that life is unique to Earth.

If， as many scientists expect， future space missions cast doubt on that assumption or outright disprove it by finding remnants of microbial life on other planets， it will be both invigorating and illusion-shattering. It will force humans to confront their own myths and consider alternative narratives about the universe and the place of Earth in the overall scheme of things.

As noted in my Brookings book， Megachange， given the centrality of these issues for fundamental questions about human existence and the meaning of life， it would represent a far-reaching shift in existing human paradigms6. As argued by scientist McKay， discovering evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars would lead experts to conclude that life likely is ubiquitous around the universe and not limited to Planet Earth. Humans would have to construct new theories about ourselves and our place in the universe.

Develop new technologies

The U.S. space program has been an extraordinary catalyst for technology innovation. Everything from Global Positioning Systems and medical diagnostic tools to wireless technology and camera phones owes at least part of their creation to the space program. Space exploration required the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to learn how to communicate across wide distances， develop precise navigational tools， store， transmit， and process large amounts of data， deal with health issues through digital imaging and telemedicine， and develop collaborative tools that link scientists around the world. The space program has pioneered the miniaturization7 of scientific equipment and helped engineers figure out how to land and maneuver a rover from millions of miles away.

Going to Mars requires similar inventiveness. Scientists have had to figure out how to search for life in ancient rocks， drill for rock samples， take high resolution videos， develop flying machines in a place with gravity that is 40 percent lower than on Earth， send detailed information back to Earth in a timely manner， and take off from another planet. In the future， we should expect large payoffs in commercial developments from Mars exploration and advances that bring new conveniences and inventions to people.

Encourage space tourism

In the not too distant future， wealthy tourists likely will take trips around the Earth， visit space stations， orbit the Moon， and perhaps even take trips around Mars. For a substantial fee， they can experience weightlessness， take in the views of the entire planet， see the stars from outside the Earths atmosphere， and witness the wonders of other celestial bodies.

The Mars program will help with space tourism by improving engineering expertise with space docking， launches， and reentry and providing additional experience about the impact of space travel on the human body. Figuring out how weightlessness and low gravity situations alter human performance and how space radiation affects people represents just a couple areas where there are likely to be positive by-products for future travel.

The advent of space tourism will broaden human horizons in the same way international travel has exposed people to other lands and perspectives. It will show them that the Earth has a delicate ecosystem that deserves protecting and why it is important for people of differing countries to work together to solve global problems. Astronauts who have had this experience say it has altered their viewpoints and had a profound impact on their way of thinking.

Facilitate space mining

Many objects around the solar system are made of similar minerals and chemical compounds that exist on Earth. That means that some asteroids， moons， and planets could be rich in minerals and rare elements. Figuring out how to harvest those materials in a safe and responsible manner and bring them back to Earth represents a possible benefit of space exploration. Elements that are rare on Earth may exist elsewhere， and that could open new avenues for manufacturing， product design， and resource distribution. This mission could help resource utilization through advances gained with its Mars Oxygen Experiment （MOXIE） equipment that converts Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen. If MOXIE works as intended， it would help humans live and work on the Red Planet.

Advance science

One of the most crucial features of humanity is our curiosity about the life， the universe， and how things operate. Exploring space provides a means to satisfy our thirst for knowledge and improve our understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe.

Space travel already has exploded centuries-old myths and promises to continue to confront our long-held assumptions about who we are and where we come from. The next decade promises to be an exciting period as scientists mine new data from space telescopes， space travel， and robotic exploration. Ten or twenty years from now， we may have answers to basic questions that have eluded8 humans for centuries， such as how ubiquitous life is outside of Earth， whether it is possible for humans to survive on other planets， and how planets evolve over time.

近期，美國發(fā)射了毅力號火星車，這是美國最新開展的太空探索活動，旨在了解我們所在的太陽系。毅力號預(yù)計于2021年2月中旬到達(dá)火星，肩負(fù)許多科技創(chuàng)新方面的任務(wù)。該火星車配有精密儀器，用于搜索古代微生物遺跡，拍攝巖石照片和視頻，鉆取土壤和巖石樣本，并使用小型直升機(jī)巡視杰澤羅火山口著陸點。

從地球飛行6個半月即可抵達(dá)火星，因此火星極具考察價值，探索火星也是進(jìn)行科學(xué)探索的重要機(jī)會，而人類繪制火星地圖和研究火星已經(jīng)有幾十年時間。火星探索的長期任務(wù)是將火星樣本帶回地球，在地球上進(jìn)行分析以搜尋火星微生物的殘留物，此次活動就是這一任務(wù)的第一步。除了研究生命本身，火星探索還有許多其他益處。

了解生命的起源及普遍性

專家認(rèn)為，毅力號預(yù)計著陸的地方在35億年前曾是一處湖泊，湖水充盈，還有河水流經(jīng)。那里是尋找微生物生命殘留物、測試新技術(shù)及為人類未來的探索奠定基礎(chǔ)的理想之地。

本次任務(wù)計劃調(diào)查幾十億年前火星上是否存在過微生物生命，由此判定生命是否為地球所獨有。正如美國國家航空航天局（NASA）埃姆斯科學(xué)研究中心科學(xué)家克里斯·麥凱指出的那樣，這將是一項非同尋常的發(fā)現(xiàn)。“就在我們的太陽系里，如果生命開始過兩次，那就說明我們宇宙存在讓人驚嘆的事情。”他表示，“這意味著宇宙里到處是生命。生命成為宇宙的一個自然特征，而地球這顆奇特小行星上存在生命也不足為奇。”

生命的起源及其在宇宙中的普遍存在是科學(xué)、宗教和哲學(xué)關(guān)注的核心問題。在人類存在的大部分時間里，我們一直認(rèn)為，即使是原始生命也是地球獨有，在太陽系的其他地方?jīng)]有生命存在，更不用說宇宙了。我們圍繞這一假設(shè)構(gòu)建了復(fù)雜的宗教和哲學(xué)體系，并根據(jù)生命是地球獨有這一理念構(gòu)建了人類的身份。

如果像許多科學(xué)家預(yù)期的那樣，未來的太空探索在其他星球上發(fā)現(xiàn)微生物生命的遺跡，以此對這一假設(shè)提出質(zhì)疑或徹底否定，那將既令人振奮，又讓人幻覺破碎。人類將被迫面對他們自己編織的神話，考慮換一種方式去描述宇宙和地球在大千世界中的位置。

正如我在布魯金斯學(xué)會出版社出版的《大變革》一書中所指出的，鑒于這些問題在人類生存和生命意義等基本問題中的中心地位，這將意味著現(xiàn)有的人類思維和行為范式會發(fā)生影響深遠(yuǎn)的轉(zhuǎn)變。正如科學(xué)家麥凱所說，如果在火星上發(fā)現(xiàn)古代微生物生命存在的證據(jù)，專家將由此得出如下結(jié)論：生命可能在宇宙中無處不在，并非只存在于地球。人類將不得不構(gòu)建關(guān)于我們自己以及我們在宇宙中所處位置的新學(xué)說。

開發(fā)新技術(shù)

美國的航天計劃一直是技術(shù)創(chuàng)新極佳的催化劑。從全球定位系統(tǒng)和醫(yī)療診斷工具到無線技術(shù)和可視電話，所有這些創(chuàng)新都至少部分歸功于航天計劃。空間探測要求NASA了解如何實現(xiàn)遠(yuǎn)距離通信，開發(fā)精確的導(dǎo)航工具，存儲、傳輸和處理大量數(shù)據(jù)，通過數(shù)字成像和遠(yuǎn)程醫(yī)療處理健康問題，以及開發(fā)將世界各地科學(xué)家聯(lián)系起來的合作工具。航天計劃開創(chuàng)了科學(xué)設(shè)備小型化的先河，幫助工程師們找到了從億萬英里外讓探測車著陸并加以操控的方法。

去火星需要類似的創(chuàng)造力。科學(xué)家們必須找到方法在遠(yuǎn)古巖石中尋找生命，鉆取巖石樣本，拍攝高分辨率視頻，開發(fā)在重力只有地球上的40%的地方使用的飛行器，及時向地球發(fā)回詳細(xì)信息，并從另一個星球起飛。未來，我們可以期待從火星探索中獲得巨大的商業(yè)開發(fā)回報，以及給人們帶來新便利和新發(fā)明的科技進(jìn)步。

促進(jìn)太空旅游

在不遠(yuǎn)的將來，富有的游客可能會到太空環(huán)游地球，參觀空間站，繞月飛行，甚至可能環(huán)游火星。只要付一大筆錢，他們就可以體驗失重狀態(tài)，欣賞整個星球的景色，在地球大氣層外看星星，并目睹其他天體的奇觀。

火星探索計劃將通過改善空間對接、發(fā)射和再入的工程專業(yè)技術(shù)，以及提供更多關(guān)于太空旅行對人體影響的經(jīng)驗，來促進(jìn)太空旅游。弄清失重和低重力環(huán)境如何改變?nèi)说谋憩F(xiàn)，以及太空輻射如何對人產(chǎn)生影響——對未來的太空旅行來說，這只是可能附帶產(chǎn)生有益影響的兩個領(lǐng)域而已。

正如國際旅行能讓人們接觸到其他地域的風(fēng)土人情，太空旅游的出現(xiàn)將拓寬人類的視野。人們會明白，地球的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)是多么脆弱，多么需要保護(hù)，以及不同國家的民眾攜手解決全球問題為何如此重要。有過太空旅行經(jīng)歷的宇航員說，太空旅行改變了他們的觀點，對他們的思維方式產(chǎn)生了深遠(yuǎn)的影響。

促進(jìn)太空采礦

太陽系的許多天體都是由礦物質(zhì)和化合物組成的，這些物質(zhì)與地球上存在的礦物質(zhì)和化合物類似。這意味著一些小行星、衛(wèi)星和行星可能富含礦物質(zhì)和稀有元素。想出安全、可靠的方法來收集這些物質(zhì)并將它們帶回地球，這是太空探索可能具有的一個有益之處。地球上罕見的元素或存在于其他星球，這可能為制造活動、產(chǎn)品設(shè)計和資源分配開辟新的途徑。這項任務(wù)攜帶的“火星氧氣實驗”（MOXIE）設(shè)備可以將火星上的二氧化碳轉(zhuǎn)化為氧氣，這樣的科技成果可用于助力資源利用。如果MOXIE如愿正常工作，它將幫助人類在火星上生活和工作。

促進(jìn)科學(xué)發(fā)展

人類最重要的特征之一是我們對生命、宇宙和事物運行方式懷有好奇心。探索太空提供了渠道來滿足我們對知識的渴望，同時讓我們更加了解自身和我們在宇宙中的位置。

太空旅行已經(jīng)打破了延續(xù)千百年的神話，并有望繼續(xù)挑戰(zhàn)長期以來我們對自己是誰和來自哪里的假設(shè)。隨著科學(xué)家從太空望遠(yuǎn)鏡、太空旅行和機(jī)器人探索中挖掘新數(shù)據(jù)，未來10年將是一個激動人心的時期。從現(xiàn)在起，10年或20年后，我們可能會找到千百年來人類一直未能找到的基本問題的答案，例如生命在地球之外有多普遍，人類是否有可能在其他星球上生存，以及星球是如何隨著時間的推移而演化的。? □

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎?wù)撸?/p>