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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.
科学家表示，他们发现了火星上存在有机物质的新证据，这些物质可能与火星上过去存在的生命有关。
The Perseverance explorer, which is operated by the American space agency NASA, discovered the organic materials.
由美国国家航空航天局运营的“毅力号”火星探测器发现了这些有机物质。
The explorer, or rover, has been collecting data on Mars since landing on the Red Planet in February 2021.
自2021年2月登陆火星以来，该探测器一直在火星上收集数据。
The goal, or mission, of Perseverance is to collect Martian soil and rock material as part of a search for signs of ancient life.
“毅力号”火星探测器的目标是收集火星土壤和岩石材料，它们是寻找古代生命迹象的一部分。
Scientists on Earth using the equipment on the rover examine this material as closely as possible.
地球上的科学家利用探测器上的设备尽可能近距离地检查这类物质。
The collected soil and rocks are to be picked up in future missions and returned to Earth for examination.
收集到的土壤和岩石将会在未来的任务中被带回地球进行检查。
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.
研究人员表示，最新的发现表明，火星表面存在着与地球上活的有机体有关的相同类型的碳“信号”。
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经存在过生命。
But the carbon material could also be related to nonbiological processes.
但碳材料也可能与非生物过程有关。
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.
过去，（科学家从）美国国家航空航天局的另外两个探测器——凤凰号火星探测器和好奇号火星探测器——收集的数据发现了火星表面存在有机碳的证据。
But both of those discoveries were made with gas-based methods used for examining organic matter.
但这两项发现都是用以气体为基础的方法来检测有机物的。
The latest findings were made through a different method.
最新的发现是通过一种不同的方法得出的。
This time, the research team used an instrument attached to Perseverance's robotic arm known as SHERLOC.
这一次，研究小组使用了附着在“毅力号”火星探测器机械臂上的仪器，即SHERLOC。
It uses cameras, spectrometers and a laser to search for organic matter and minerals, NASA said.
美国国家航空航天局表示，它使用相机、光谱仪和激光来搜索有机物和矿物质。
The instrument centers on materials that might have been changed by watery environments and could provide biological evidence of past life.
该仪器主要搜索可能被水环境改变的物质，这些物质可能会提供过去存在过的生命的生物学证据。
One of the leaders of the latest research was Amy Williams, an astrobiologist and assistant professor at the University of Florida.
这项最新研究的带头人之一是佛罗里达大学的天体生物学家兼助理教授艾米·威廉姆斯。
She was one of the writers of a study that describes the latest findings in the publication Nature.
她是一篇发表在《自然》杂志上的研究论文的作者之一，该论文描述了这一最新发现。
The study suggests the new research method provided evidence "of a more intricate organic geochemical cycle on Mars than previously understood."
这项研究表明，新的研究方法提供了“火星上存在比之前所了解的更复杂的有机地球化学循环”的证据。
Williams works on the Perseverance mission team.
威廉姆斯在“毅力号”任务小组工作。
She said in a statement that the SHERLOC instrument appears to have observed several kinds of organic carbon matter.
她在一份声明中表示，SHERLOC仪器似乎观察到了几种有机碳物质。
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.
她补充说，这一发现“对了解火星上的碳循环具有重要意义”，也对了解火星上曾经存在生命的可能性有意义。
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.
威廉姆斯说，SHERLOC在绘制火星上一块名为耶泽罗陨击坑的区域周围岩石表面有机分子和矿物质的位置方面非常有效。
Ashley Murphy was another writer of the study.
阿什利·墨菲是这项研究论文的另一位作者。
She is a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona.
她是亚利桑那州行星科学研究所的一名研究科学家。
Murphy said the SHERLOC instrument produces "the spatial resolution needed to observe important mineral-organic relationships" to study possible biological signals.
墨菲说，SHERLOC仪器产生了“观察重要矿物质-有机关系所需的空间分辨率”，以研究可能的生物信号。
"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.
墨菲说：“最大的收获是，借助SHERLOC的粒度分辨率，我们终于可以观察到火星岩石中有机物保存的变化。”
She added, "This is also one of the first reports of (possible) organics in Jezero Crater."
她补充说：“这也是在耶泽罗陨击坑发现可能的有机物的首批报告之一。”
Scientists believe Jezero Crater contains the remains of an ancient river system.
科学家认为，耶泽罗陨击坑包含了一个古老河流系统的遗迹。
NASA considers the area a good place to look for possible signs of past life.
美国国家航空航天局认为该地区是寻找可能的过去生命迹象的好地方。
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.
科学家认为，如果火星上曾经存在过生命，那么它应该在30到40亿年前就存在了，当时火星上的水是自由流动的。
Williams suggested the latest findings mark important progress in the search for signs of ancient life forms on Mars.
威廉姆斯认为，最新的发现标志着在寻找火星上古代生命形式的迹象方面取得了重要进展。
"We are just now scratching the surface of the organic carbon story on Mars, and it is an exciting time for planetary science."
“我们现在才刚刚触及火星有机碳故事的皮毛，对于行星科学来说，这是一个激动人心的时刻。”
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
