Name: 美國宇航局的工程師們希望用這個蒸汽朋克的探測器來揭開金星的祕密 (NASA Engineers Want This Steampunk Rover to Uncover Venus’ Secrets)
Uploaded: 2021-07-25T18:55:59.000Z
Duration: 9 min 36 s

程度副詞

These wind-powered mechanical creations can walk, store energy, and even react to their

這些以風為動力的機械作品可以行走，儲存能量，甚至對它們作出反應。

These creatures are awesome and amazing in the way they operate, and that it's all through

這些生物的運作方式令人敬畏和驚奇，而這一切是通過

a mechanical system that you can see and observe.

一個你可以看到和觀察到的機械系統。

If it was up to this NASA JPL engineer, these self-propelled creatures would be exploring

如果由這位美國宇航局JPL的工程師決定，這些自我推進的生物將在探索

one of the most mysterious planets in our solar system.

我們太陽系中最神祕的行星之一。

Venus is the exoplanet in our own backyard, 

金星是我們自己後院的系外行星。

The really important reason for going to Venus is to complete our picture of terrestrial

去金星的真正重要原因是為了完成我們對陸地的描述。

planets with atmospheres in our own solar system

有大氣層的行星在我們的太陽系中

so that we know which planets in other star systems could potentially harbor life.

這樣我們就能知道其他恆星系統中的哪些行星有可能孕育生命。

We just need to find a way to survive Venus' unforgiving environment, where lead melts

我們只需要找到一種方法在金星無情的環境中生存，在那裡鉛會融化

and most electronics are destroyed before even touching the ground.

而大多數電子產品甚至在接觸地面之前就被摧毀了。

What that means is we have to completely rethink how a rover would operate and be designed

這意味著我們必須完全重新思考漫遊車的操作和設計方式。

What I want is a Strandbeest on another planet.

我想要的是另一個星球上的Strandbeest。

Venus—often called Earth's evil twin—is a total mystery to us, despite having a similar

金星--通常被稱為地球的邪惡雙胞胎--對我們來說完全是個謎，儘管它有一個相似的

規模和組成與我們的星球相同。

It was actually the first planet to be explored by a spacecraft. 

它實際上是第一個被航天器探索的星球。

But after more than 50 years of studying Venus with probes and landers, it seems we've

但在用探測器和著陸器研究金星50多年後，我們似乎已經

I mean we know basic information about the atmosphere, what's the makeup of it.

我的意思是我們知道關於大氣層的基本資訊，它的構成是什麼。

Part of that is because it's shrouded in clouds,

which makes it very hard to observe the planetary surface. 

這使得它很難觀察到行星的表面。

The other challenge is that there's just been a handful of spacecraft that have traveled

另一個挑戰是，目前只有少數幾個航天器進行了旅行。

After several attempts, the Soviet Union's Venera space program safely landed its first

經過幾次嘗試，蘇聯的Venera空間計劃安全地降落了其第一個

They sent more spacecraft over the next decade,

在接下來的十年裡，他們派出了更多的航天器。

with the longest surviving mission operating on the surface for just 127 minutes.

最長的一次任務是在地面上運行了127分鐘。

As you descend, both the pressure and the temperature builds until you get to nearly

隨著你的下降，壓力和溫度都在增加，直到你幾乎達到了

100 times that of Earth's pressure and 465 degrees Celsius.  

是地球壓力的100倍，溫度為465攝氏度。  

That's hot enough where lead and solder would melt, and paper would spontaneously combust.

這個溫度足以讓鉛和焊料熔化，而紙會自燃。

These inhospitable conditions have made it easier to study planets much farther away

這些荒涼的條件使我們更容易研究更遠的行星

rather than the one right in our backyard. 

We know quite a bit about Earth, and we're constantly learning more and more about Mars,

我們對地球有相當多的瞭解，而我們對火星的瞭解也在不斷增加。

By understanding these three sets of planets, we can do what's known as comparative planetology

通過了解這三組行星，我們可以做所謂的比較行星學

to be able to help extrapolate what makes the conditions for life or against life

能夠幫助推斷出是什麼讓生命或反對生命的條件。

to help answer one of those fundamental questions.

以幫助回答這些基本問題之一。

While the jury is still out on that one, both public and scientific interest are at a turning

雖然陪審團對這個問題還沒有結論，但公眾和科學界的興趣都處於轉捩點。

NASA recently approved two missions to study the planet's atmosphere and map its surface

美國宇航局最近準許了兩項任務，以研究該行星的大氣層並繪製其表面圖。

after not sending a dedicated spacecraft there in more than 30 years.

在30多年來沒有向那裡發送專門的航天器之後。

But those missions aren't meant to survive on the surface. 

但這些任務並不是為了在地面上生存。

Jonathan believes that what we need is a presence on the ground.

喬納森認為，我們需要的是在當地的存在。

We absolutely have to do surface investigations on Venus and that's because there's

我們絕對要在金星上做表面調查，這是因為那裡有

some questions that you just can't answer when you're farther away, 

有些問題，當你在更遠的地方，你就無法回答。

Eventually, you need to get down to the  surface and really look at

最終，你需要深入到表面，真正看一看

things that you're not going to  be able to see from a distance.

Remember, we're talking about hellish conditions here. 

記住，我們在這裡談論的是地獄般的條件。

NASA can't just send one of their Mars rovers to Venus. 

美國國家航空航天局不能只是把他們的一個火星探測器送到金星。

For each planetary condition, you need to design a unique application for how you explore

對於每個行星的情況，你需要設計一個獨特的應用程序，以探索如何

That's where this radically new rover comes in. 

這就是這個全新的漫遊車的作用。

The Hybrid Automaton Rover-Venus combines a little bit of steampunk with spacecraft

混合型自動機漫遊者-維納斯將蒸汽朋克與航天器結合在一起

Jonathan's concept for HAR-V went through NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program,

喬納森的HAR-V概念通過了美國宇航局的創新先進概念計劃。

which incubates ideas that have the potential to shake up space exploration. 

該公司孵化有可能撼動太空探索的想法。

We originally started off with a walking rover that looked a lot like Theo Jansen Strandbeest,

我們最初是以一個行走的漫遊者開始的，它看起來很像西奧-詹森-斯特朗貝斯特。

but after we talked with Theo, he advised us against the legs.

但在我們與西奧交談後，他建議我們不要用腿。

That eventually moved us to a four-wheeled rover concept, using compliant wheels and that

這最終使我們轉向了一個四輪漫遊車的概念，使用順應性的車輪和

would allow us to drive on the surface of Venus. 

將使我們能夠在金星的表面行駛。

The original idea was an entirely mechanical creation. 

最初的想法是一個完全的機械創造。

But after trial and error, the team found that tackling the most basic challenges like

但經過試驗和錯誤，該團隊發現，解決最基本的挑戰，如

power, navigation, and data collection required a slightly different approach. 

動力、導航和數據收集需要一個稍微不同的方法。

So, the HAR-V rover takes a very simplified approach to your standard Mars rover

是以，HAR-V火星車採取了一種非常簡化的方法來處理你的標準火星車

Basically, we have the mechanical system, which does a lot of the driving, the operations,

基本上，我們有機械系統，它做了很多的驅動和操作。

And then there are a subset of electronics that are designed for high temperature, made

還有一部分電子器件是為高溫而設計的，它們是在高溫下製造的。

out of things like silicon carbide and gallium nitride. 

And these can actually operate at extremely high temperatures, above that of the surface

而這些實際上可以在極高的溫度下運行，高於表面的溫度。

Which will help this rover collect data like its Mars cousins do, but HAR-V's hardware

這將有助於這個漫遊車像它的火星表親那樣收集數據，但HAR-V的硬件

This means the rover will have to do much of the operations on its own

這意味著漫遊者將不得不自己完成大部分操作

So the idea is an observe-and-report rover

是以，這個想法是一個觀察和報告的漫遊器

It's likely that it would just be a continuous transmission, where you're just constantly

它很可能只是一個連續的傳輸，在那裡你只是不斷地

saying, "This is what I'm seeing," and cycling through different instruments. 

說，"這是我看到的，"並在不同的樂器中循環。

But Jonathan and his team still have to solve a major problem. 

但喬納森和他的團隊仍需解決一個重大問題。

The high-temperature electronics have the computational ability of a solar powered calculator,

高溫電子產品具有太陽能計算器的計算能力。

所以他們只能處理基本的過程。

To traverse the Venus landscape, the team is looking to one of the planet's most abundant

為了穿越金星的地貌，該團隊正在尋找這個星球上最豐富的生物之一。

So the wind seems to be the best approach for navigating the surface of Venus with then

是以，風似乎是在金星表面導航的最佳方法，那麼

a mechanical obstacle-avoidance detection system that would sense obstacles in the near

一個機械式避障檢測系統，可以感知近處的障礙物。

term, including holes, rocks, and cliffs that the rover couldn't drive over and overcome.

術語，包括洞、岩石和懸崖，漫遊車無法駛過和克服。

If conditions are right, HAR-V could even withstand the harsh elements on Venus for

如果條件合適，HAR-V甚至可以抵禦金星上的惡劣環境，為

up to 120 days, far surpassing the Soviet record of just over two hours.

長達120天，遠遠超過了蘇聯的記錄，即僅僅兩個多小時。

  HAR-V handles the temperature by being built

out of stainless steel and titanium alloys, which can operate at these extremely high

用不鏽鋼和鈦合金製成的，可以在這些極高的溫度下工作。

temperatures and are impervious to the sulfuric acid content in the atmosphere

溫度，並且不受大氣中硫酸含量的影響。

Now, HAR-V doesn't simply exist on the computer.

現在，HAR-V並不簡單地存在於電腦上。

Jonathan and his team have actually started putting the design to the test.  

喬納森和他的團隊實際上已經開始對該設計進行測試。  