Lunar exploration 月球探索There is now cast-iron evidence for water on the Moon現(xiàn)在有確鑿的證據(jù)表明月球上有水
cast-iron: 有力的、確實的
And it may be more widespread than previously suspected而且它的分布可能比之前想象的更廣Oct 26th 2020 |
IF HUMAN BEINGS should ever wish to build bases on the Moon, those bases will need water. Residents will require it not only for their own sustenance but also as a raw material for rocket fuel to power adventures farther afield—Mars, for example. Given the cost of blasting things off the surface of Earth, however, such a base would be best served by finding its water locally. A pair of studies published on October 26th, in Nature Astronomy, will therefore raise the hopes of would-be lunar settlers.
sustenance：生計、食物
blast off: 發(fā)射升空
如果人類希望在月球上建立基地，那這些基地就需要水。居民們不僅需要它維持生計，還需要它作為火箭燃料的原材料，為更遠的太空探險——比如火星，提供動力。然而，考慮到把東西從地球表面送到太空的成本，太空基地最好能在當?shù)卣业剿囱a給。因此，10月26日發(fā)表在《自然天文學》雜志上的兩項研究為未來的月球定居者帶來了希望。One, led by Paul Hayne of the University of Colorado, Boulder, shows that more of the Moon’s surface is in perpetual shadow than was previously believed. This matters because ice—the form in which any lunar water is likely to exist—would be stable and long-lived in such cold, shaded regions. Most of the lunar surface is bathed in harsh ionising radiation from the sun, so any water molecules present would swiftly be torn apart or disappear into space. But Dr Hayne’s work calculates that there are around 40,000 square kilometres of these ice-preserving “cold traps” on the Moon.
