Have you picked out a spot for your new home?

你挑出你新家的地點了嗎？

No? Well, I'm here to help.

還沒？看來，我能幫忙。

First things first, here are some of the things you'll need to bring to The Red Planet: a high tolerance for cold, loneliness, and radiation; a lifetime supply of breathable air and food; a multibillion dollar spaceship; a desire to just get away from it all; and water.

最重要的第一點，有些東西你該帶去那顆紅色行星 (火星)：你需要能忍受冷、寂寞以及輻射；還需要可提供一生所需的，氧氣與食物；造價數十億的太空船；以及一顆想遠離一切的心；還有水。

You're definitely going to need water.

你一定會需要水。

So what sort of real estate are you looking for?

所以你在尋找什麼樣的新家呢？

How about a mansion in the maze-like Noctis Labyrinthus?

在諾克提斯迷宮建一個豪宅？

A hideaway in the Happy Face Crater?

或者在 Happy Face Crater (隕石坑) 裡找一個藏身處？

A fortress on the Face Mesa?

還是在 Face Mesa 上蓋一座堡壘？

An oceanview?

一個能看海的地方？

Uh, bad news on the last one.

啊，最後來掃興一下。

You're about 4 billion years late.

要看海的話，你已經晚了四十億年。

We're pretty sure that Mars used to have oceans, lakes, rivers, the whole package.

我們很確定火星以前有海洋、湖泊以及河流，一應俱全。

But over time, almost all of it froze beneath the surface, or evaporated off into space.

但隨著時間流逝，幾乎一切都被凍結在地表下，或者逸散至外太空了。

There's probably still some trapped beneath the seasonally expanding and contracting carbon dioxide ice caps, though.

也許還有一些水還在地表下，，會季節性地膨脹與收縮，成為充滿二氧化碳的冰冠。

So what might Mars look like today if it had surface water?

如果火星表面上還有水，它現在看起來會如何？

That, of course, depends on how much we're talking about, but maybe something like this.

恩，當然，這視我們假設它有多少水，但大概看起來會像這樣。

The relatively flat northern hemisphere is below the average elevation, so it would become one giant ocean, while the crater-ridden southern hemisphere would stay mostly high and dry.

相對來講比較平坦的北半球，低於平均海拔高度，所以會形成一個巨大海洋，而遍布隕石坑的南半球則又高且乾燥。

That difference between hemispheres is a bit bizarre, and we don't know why it's like that.

兩個半球的不同處有點奇怪，而我們也不知道為何會這樣。

The southern half is probably much older, judging by features like the number of craters,and the evidence of increased volcanic activity in the north.

南半球的年紀應該比較古老一些，由隕石坑的數量以及北半球漸增的火山活動判斷出來的。

Okay, so who knows?

所以囉，誰知道？

Maybe one day Mars will have oceans again, but for now, what we've got is essentially one giant dusty desert.

也許火星會重新誕生一個海洋，但是現在，火星上就只有一個大沙漠。

In fact, it's similar enough to deserts on Earth, that we've been able to learn a great deal about Mars on our home planet.

事實上，它和地球的沙漠差不多，所以我們能夠從地球上的沙漠，得到關於火星的大量資訊。

For instance, Martian sand dunes form and behave similarly to our sand dunes, though the Martian versions often grow twice as large thanks to a gravitational pull that's about a third as strong as ours.

比如說，火星的沙丘組成和特性和地球上的很像，但火星上的沙丘，往往是地球上的兩倍大，這是因為火星上重力是地球的三分之一倍。

And Mars has some features you won't see on Earth, like tars, which are crestless sand dunes up to fifteen meters tall, whose formations we have yet to understand.

比方說 tars，這是無頂的沙丘，高達十五公尺，它們的形成至今尚未確認。

You're probably wondering.

你也許會感到疑惑。

What do you get when you combine a planet-wide desert with an atmosphere that, like ours, is subject to wind-generating pressure differentials?

當你把一個星球大的沙漠跟類似地球上那能產生風壓的大氣層組合起來，會發生什麼事？

Dust storms.

答案是沙塵暴。

These will be your main weather hazards on the Red Planet.

它是火星上主要的危險天氣。

They play a large part in making the planet red by distributing rusted iron particles across the surface and into the air.

是使火星看起來紅紅的元凶，它們吹起生鏽的鐵粒子到地表上，並進到空氣中。

Thanks to the low gravity and lack of moisture, these dust storms can last for months and cover the planet.

因為低重力與缺乏水分，這些沙塵暴能持續數月，席捲整個火星。

So, you might want to build your home as high as possible.

所以，你可能會想把家蓋在越高的地方越好。

Well, look no further.

那就是這裡了。

This is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System.

這是 Olympus Mons , 太陽系上最大的火山。

Even if Mars had a breathable atmosphere, you'd find the views from the 25 kilometer summit breathtaking.

如果火星擁有大氣層，你便會發現 25 公里高的峰頂上視野非常驚人。

Or are volcanos not your thing?

火山不是你的菜嗎？

Then how about Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the Solar System?

那 Valles Marineris 如何？太陽系內最大的峽谷？

It's so wide that from one side, the opposite rim would be below the curve of the horizon.

它大到從一邊看，另一邊會低於地平線。

Still, you'll catch some spectacular blue sunsets in the normally red sky, which gets its color from the dust absorbing most of the blue light, and the way sunlight is scattered by the atmosphere.

但你仍然可以在平常的紅色天空中捕捉到美麗的藍色日落，它的顏色來自大部分吸收藍色光的粉塵，以及陽光在大氣層中散佈的方式。

Have you got spirit, curiosity, or are you just looking for opportunity?

你有冒險的精神、好奇心，或只是在尋找機會？

Then stop stalling and make the move to Mars today.

不要再拖延了，今天就移動到火星。

Mars: Redder than Ever.

火星：比往常都紅。