In June of 2021, NASA announced two bold new missions that will be launched by the end of the decade, DAVINCI+ and VERITAS.

2021年6月，美國宇航局宣佈了兩項大膽的新任務，DAVINCI+ 和 VERITAS，他們將在2030年前啟動。

Although the planet was a focus for early exploration, temperatures that melt lead and clouds of sulfuric acid earned Venus a reputation of being “hard to work with”.

雖然這顆星球是早期探索的重點，但能融化鉛的高溫和硫酸雲為金星贏得了「難以相處 」的聲譽。

Between 1970 and 1985, a number of landers reached Venus' surface, but none lasted more than about two hours.

1970 年至 1985 年期間，有好些登陸器抵達金星表面，但都沒有辦法待超過兩個小時。

So that's why NASA pivoted to Mars, where its Viking 1 lander touched down successfully in 1976.

所以這就是為什麼美國宇航局的目標轉向了火星，其維京 1 號登陸器於 1976 年在那裡成功著陸。

These early discoveries made Mars the “go-to” spot for future missions and landers.

這些早期的發現使火星成為未來任務和登陸器的「首選」地點。

Fast forward to 2020 and scientists announced the discovery of phosphine on Venus, a potential sign of life.

快轉到 2020 年，科學家宣佈在金星上發現了磷化氫，這是生命存在的潛在跡象。

That turned everything around.

這扭轉了一切。

Although the findings were heavily controversial, it reignited interest in the forgotten planet.

儘管這些發現有很大的爭議，但它重新點燃了人們對這個被遺忘星球的興趣。

In fact, in June 2021, scientists working with old orbiter data spotted something on Venus that kinda looks like plate tectonics.

事實上，在 2021 年 6 月，研究以前的軌道飛行器數據的科學家在金星上發現了一些東西，這些東西看起來有點像板塊構造。

All the more reason to go figure out what's going on.

這就更有理由去弄清楚發生了什麼。

To find out how a world so similar to ours became an inferno, NASA will go to hell...literally.

為了找出一個與我們如此相似的世界是如何變成地獄的，美國國家航空航天局將下地獄一探究竟......真的下地獄去。

The two missions, DAVINCI+ and VERITAS, also have scientists re-examining two major theories about Venus' origin.

DAVINCI+ 和 VERITAS 這兩項任務也使科學家們重新審視了關於金星起源的兩個主要理論。

In the first theory, when the planet was less than a billion years old, it was cooked by a warming sun, boiling off any existing water.

在第一個理論中，當這個星球還不到 10 億年的時候，它就被正在變暖的太陽烤熟了，一點水分也不剩。

The water vapor, plus the carbon dioxide from a magma ocean, quickly caused a runaway greenhouse effect, and the hope of a habitable paradise went up in flames.

水蒸氣，加上來自岩漿海洋的二氧化碳，迅速引發了失控的溫室效應，宜居天堂的期望化為泡影。

In the second theory, there were two habitable Earth-like planets in the early solar system.

在第二個理論中，在早期太陽系中有兩顆可居住的類地行星。

Venus still ends up with the runaway greenhouse effect, but not before it enjoyed oceans like Earth's for over 3 billion years.

金星仍然以失控的溫室效應告終，但在那之前長達30億年之間，它也曾擁有像地球一般的海洋。

Then, massive volcanic eruptions dumped carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, choking the climate.

然後，大規模的火山爆發將二氧化碳排放到大氣中，扼殺了氣候。

Temperatures went up, the oceans evaporated, and a once temperate planet became hostile.

溫度上升，海洋蒸發，一個曾經溫和的星球變得充滿敵意。

One of these theories is more accurate, but without more data, we don't know which.

這兩個理論其中有一個更準確，但因為缺乏更多的數據，我們不知道哪個為真。

But DAVINCI+ and VERITAS can help answer this and other questions.

但 DAVINCI+ 和 VERITAS 可以幫忙回答這個和其他的問題。

DAVINCI+ is short for the Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus.

DAVINCI+ 是金星深層大氣中的惰性氣體、化學和成像調查的簡稱。

The tandem spacecraft and probe will do two flybys where it will image Venus from above.

這個串聯的太空船和探測器將進行兩次飛越，從上方拍攝金星。

On its third flyby, it will release a descent probe.

在其第三次飛越時，它將釋放一個下降式探測器。

On its hour-long journey down to the surface it will sample the chemistry in the atmosphere, including noble gases like xenon, argon, and helium.

在一小時的著地過程中，它將對大氣中的化學成分進行採樣。包括氙氣、氬氣和氦氣等惰性氣體。

Since noble gases don't react with other elements, they can tell us whether the planet once had an ocean and how much of it ended up in the atmosphere.

由於惰性氣體不會與其他元素發生反應，它們可以告訴我們這個星球是否曾經有海洋，以及多少水氣最終進入大氣層。

The probe will also measure temperature, pressure, and wind speed.

該探測器還將測量溫度、壓力和風速。

It will descend over Alpha Regio, a complex pattern of valleys and ridges known as a “tessera”.

它將在阿爾法區域上空下降，這是一個由山谷和山脊組成的複雜地形，被稱為 「鑲嵌地塊」。

We don't really know what tesserae are, but the probe will snap extremely detailed images of them so we can see if they're related to volcanic activity.

我們並不真正知道什麼是魔術方塊，但探測器將拍下它們極其詳細的影像，以便我們可以觀察它們是否與火山活動有關。

Then there's VERITAS, which is short for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy.

然後是 VERITAS，它是金星發射率、無線電科學、干涉合成孔徑雷達、地形學和光譜學的簡稱。

The orbiter will have a radar that can peek through the clouds and map out the surface of the planet in high resolution.

該軌道飛行器將有一個雷達，可以透過雲層窺看並以高分辨率繪製出星球的表面。

It will also be equipped with a near-infrared spectrometer to determine the makeup of the surface.

它還將配備一個近紅外光譜儀來確定表面構成。

These images will replace the relatively low-resolution ones taken by the Magellan orbiter when it visited the planet in the '90s.

這些影像將取代麥哲倫飛行軌道器在 90 年代訪問該星球時拍攝的相對低分辨率的影像。

VERITAS will also take measurements of Venus's gravitational field, revealing the interior structure of the planet.

VERITAS 還將對金星的引力場進行測量，顯露出該行星的內部結構。

Not only can these missions to Venus tell us more about its origins, but also they can help improve our understanding of exoplanets.

這些金星任務不僅可以讓我們更加了解它的起源，而且還可以幫助提高我們對系外行星的理解。

To date, NASA has confirmed more than 4000 planets orbiting stars outside our Solar System.

迄今為止，美國宇航局已確認有 4000 多顆行星圍繞太陽系以外的恆星運行。

Some are located in the habitable zone, where liquid water could exist on the surface.

有些位於宜居區，表面可能存在液態水。

If we learn what caused Venus to go apocalyptic, it may help us identify which exoplanets could be habitable and create a roadmap for future exploration.

如果我們瞭解是什麼原因導致金星進入世界末日，這可能有助於我們確定哪些系外行星可能適合居住，並為未來的探索創建一個路線圖。

If the return to Venus has you wondering how well you know your neighbor, check out this video on Why Scientists Are Exploring Earth's Dangerous Twin.

如果返回金星的計畫讓你想知道你對自己的鄰居有多瞭解，請看這個視頻：為什麼科學家正在探索地球的危險雙胞胎。

If you have any space breakthroughs you think we should cover, let us know in the comments below

如果你有任何你認為我們應該報導的太空領域的重大進展，請在下面的評論中告訴我們。

and as always, thanks for watching Seeker.

一如以往，感謝觀看 Seeker。