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Scientists say they have found new evidence of organic matter on Mars that could be linked to past life on the planet.
科學家表示，他們發現了火星上存在有機物質的新證據，這些物質可能與火星上過去存在的生命有關。
The Perseverance explorer, which is operated by the American space agency NASA, discovered the organic materials.
由美國國家航空航天局運營的“毅力號”火星探測器發現了這些有機物質。
The explorer, or rover, has been collecting data on Mars since landing on the Red Planet in February 2021.
自2021年2月登陸火星以來，該探測器一直在火星上收集數據。
The goal, or mission, of Perseverance is to collect Martian soil and rock material as part of a search for signs of ancient life.
“毅力號”火星探測器的目標是收集火星土壤和巖石材料，它們是尋找古代生命跡象的一部分。
Scientists on Earth using the equipment on the rover examine this material as closely as possible.
地球上的科學家利用探測器上的設備盡可能近距離地檢查這類物質。
The collected soil and rocks are to be picked up in future missions and returned to Earth for examination.
收集到的土壤和巖石將會在未來的任務中被帶回地球進行檢查。
Researchers said the latest findings suggest the presence on the Martian surface of the same kinds of carbon "signals" that are linked to living organisms on Earth.
研究人員表示，最新的發現表明，火星表面存在著與地球上活的有機體有關的相同類型的碳“信號”。
The presence of carbon may suggest that biological life once existed on Mars.
碳的存在可能表明火星上曾經存在過生命。
But the carbon material could also be related to nonbiological processes.
但碳材料也可能與非生物過程有關。
In the past, data from two other NASA explorers – the Phoenix lander and the Curiosity rover – found evidence of organic carbon on the surface of Mars.
過去，（科學家從）美國國家航空航天局的另外兩個探測器——鳳凰號火星探測器和好奇號火星探測器——收集的數據發現了火星表面存在有機碳的證據。
But both of those discoveries were made with gas-based methods used for examining organic matter.
但這兩項發現都是用以氣體為基礎的方法來檢測有機物的。
The latest findings were made through a different method.
最新的發現是通過一種不同的方法得出的。
This time, the research team used an instrument attached to Perseverance's robotic arm known as SHERLOC.
這一次，研究小組使用了附著在“毅力號”火星探測器機械臂上的儀器，即SHERLOC。
It uses cameras, spectrometers and a laser to search for organic matter and minerals, NASA said.
美國國家航空航天局表示，它使用相機、光譜儀和激光來搜索有機物和礦物質。
The instrument centers on materials that might have been changed by watery environments and could provide biological evidence of past life.
該儀器主要搜索可能被水環境改變的物質，這些物質可能會提供過去存在過的生命的生物學證據。
One of the leaders of the latest research was Amy Williams, an astrobiologist and assistant professor at the University of Florida.
這項最新研究的帶頭人之一是佛羅里達大學的天體生物學家兼助理教授艾米·威廉姆斯。
She was one of the writers of a study that describes the latest findings in the publication Nature.
她是一篇發表在《自然》雜志上的研究論文的作者之一，該論文描述了這一最新發現。
The study suggests the new research method provided evidence "of a more intricate organic geochemical cycle on Mars than previously understood."
這項研究表明，新的研究方法提供了“火星上存在比之前所了解的更復雜的有機地球化學循環”的證據。
Williams works on the Perseverance mission team.
威廉姆斯在“毅力號”任務小組工作。
She said in a statement that the SHERLOC instrument appears to have observed several kinds of organic carbon matter.
她在一份聲明中表示，SHERLOC儀器似乎觀察到了幾種有機碳物質。
She added that the discovery "has implications for understanding the carbon cycle on Mars," as well as the possibility that the planet once supported life.
她補充說，這一發現“對了解火星上的碳循環具有重要意義”，也對了解火星上曾經存在生命的可能性有意義。
Williams said SHERLOC was very effective at mapping the positions of organic molecules and minerals on rock surfaces around an area of Mars called Jezero Crater.
威廉姆斯說，SHERLOC在繪制火星上一塊名為耶澤羅隕擊坑的區域周圍巖石表面有機分子和礦物質的位置方面非常有效。
Ashley Murphy was another writer of the study.
阿什利·墨菲是這項研究論文的另一位作者。
She is a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona.
她是亞利桑那州行星科學研究所的一名研究科學家。
Murphy said the SHERLOC instrument produces "the spatial resolution needed to observe important mineral-organic relationships" to study possible biological signals.
墨菲說，SHERLOC儀器產生了“觀察重要礦物質-有機關系所需的空間分辨率”，以研究可能的生物信號。
"The big takeaway here is, with SHERLOC's grain-by-grain resolution we can finally observe variation in organic preservation within the rocks on Mars," Murphy said.
墨菲說：“最大的收獲是，借助SHERLOC的粒度分辨率，我們終于可以觀察到火星巖石中有機物保存的變化。”
She added, "This is also one of the first reports of (possible) organics in Jezero Crater."
她補充說：“這也是在耶澤羅隕擊坑發現可能的有機物的首批報告之一。”
Scientists believe Jezero Crater contains the remains of an ancient river system.
科學家認為，耶澤羅隕擊坑包含了一個古老河流系統的遺跡。
NASA considers the area a good place to look for possible signs of past life.
美國國家航空航天局認為該地區是尋找可能的過去生命跡象的好地方。
Scientists believe if life ever existed on Mars, it would have been present 3 to 4 billion years ago, when water flowed freely on the planet.
科學家認為，如果火星上曾經存在過生命，那么它應該在30到40億年前就存在了，當時火星上的水是自由流動的。
Williams suggested the latest findings mark important progress in the search for signs of ancient life forms on Mars.
威廉姆斯認為，最新的發現標志著在尋找火星上古代生命形式的跡象方面取得了重要進展。
"We are just now scratching the surface of the organic carbon story on Mars, and it is an exciting time for planetary science."
“我們現在才剛剛觸及火星有機碳故事的皮毛，對于行星科學來說，這是一個激動人心的時刻。”
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布萊恩·林恩為您播報。
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