about 500 million kilometers away from Earth,

距離地球約五億公里，

floats a metallic orb the size of Massachusetts.

懸浮著一個如麻州大小的金屬球

That's no moon...it's 16 Psyche,

那不是月球...它是「靈神星」

one of the most massive asteroids in the solar system.

太陽系中最大的小行星之一

And it is the asteroid our droids are looking for.

也正是我們探索機器人在尋找的

We humans have managed to send robotic spacecraft

人類已經送出太空船

to all sorts of environments in space –

至宇宙中各種環境的星球

the gas clouds of Saturn and Jupiter,

被氣雲圍繞的土星和木星

the icy wastes of Europa,

包覆在冰層之下的木衛二- 歐羅芭

and the rocky dunes of Mars.

及火星上的岩狀沙丘

But Psyche's surface isn't just hard rock –

但靈神星的表面不只是岩石

it's heavy metal.

還有重金屬

The asteroid mostly consists of nickel and iron,

這個小行星主要由鎳和鐵構成

by far the largest known body with such a composition.

是至今已知此結構中最大的小行星

But we don't yet know what it looks like;

但我們仍不知其外觀特徵

our best current radar images show a pixelated smudge.

目前最好的雷達圖像只揭示出模糊的像素

That'll change in 2026,

到 2026 年, 當美國太空總署探索計畫送出的

when an unmanned spacecraft sent as part of NASA's Discovery Program

無人機到達時

is scheduled to arrive.

這將改變

So why is NASA so interested in Psyche?

美國太空總署為何對靈神星如此感興趣？

Are we going to mine all that metal, or build a giant space magnet?

難道我們要開採上面的金屬礦，或是建造巨大的太空磁鐵？

Actually, the real reason is right under our feet.

事實上，正確答案就在我們腳下

The core of the Earth is thought to consist of a solid nickel-iron center

地球核心被認為由固體的鎳鐵組成，

with a molten outer layer.

包覆在融化的液態外層下

But we're prevented from studying it up close by 2,800 kilometers of solid rock.

但我們被 2,800 公里的岩層阻隔無法研究

The deepest we've been able to drill is 12 kilometers.

目前人類地表探鑽的最深深度是 12 公里

Even if we could go further,

即使我們能夠繼續深入

the pressure at the core is three million times higher than at the surface,

地心的壓力是地表的三百萬倍

with a temperature of 5,000 degrees Celsius.

攝氏 5,000 度

Simply put, a journey to the center of the Earth is out of the question for now.

簡單來說，地星探險以目前來說是不可能的

So scientists have had to resort to indirect ways of studying the core,

所以科學家必須採取迂迴的方式來研究地心

like measuring earthquake waves that pass through it,

如測量穿透地心的地震波

or studying minerals thought to have formed there.

或研究被認為是在其處形成的礦物質

But what if the best way to study Earth's inner space

但若是研究地心最好的方式

is by visiting outer space?

是探索外太空呢？

After all, we have a pretty good idea of how our planets formed.

畢竟，我們已有一個地球是如何形成的概念

Dust and gas orbiting our young Sun cooled and collided

環繞著我們年輕太陽的塵埃和氣體冷卻並相互撞擊

to form a few thousand miniature bodies we call planetesimals.

形成幾千個微型星，我們稱之為星子

As these continued to orbit, some combined to grow larger,

當這些星子持續依軌道運行，部分結合成了較大的星子

eventually forming our planets.

最終形成了我們的行星

Others experienced impacts that broke them apart into smaller chunks–

另外的星子經歷撞擊分裂成更小的塊狀

the asteroids we see today in the belt between Mars and Jupiter.

即我們今天在火星和木星之間的地帶看到的小行星

What makes Psyche so special

靈神星何以突出？

is that it appears to have been a planetesimal

原因是它正在歷經由星子

well on its way to becoming a planet,

發展成行星的歷程

with a rocky exterior surrounding a metal core.

且有岩層地表和金屬地心.

But its progress was cut short by a series of hit-and-run collisions

但這歷程被一連串

with other planetesimals

已遭受撞擊失去地殼只剩下核心的其他星子

that knocked off the rocky crust until only the core remained.

之互相碰撞和分裂所縮短

Experiencing that many destructive collisions

在經歷多次毀滅性的撞擊

with no additive ones in between is statistically very unlikely,

卻沒有成長在統計學上是極不可能的

making Psyche an amazingly rare opportunity

使靈神星成為可研究外露金屬地核

to study an exposed metallic core.

的極特殊的機會

To do that, NASA's robotic orbiter will be equipped

為了這項研究，美國太空總署的偵查軌道太空船會裝備

with an array of advanced instruments.

大量的先進儀器

A spectrometer will analyze the gamma rays and neutrons

光譜儀將會分析當靈神星受到宇宙射線侵襲的

produced when Psyche is struck by cosmic rays.

伽馬射線和中子

Each element in the periodic table

元素週期表中的每個元素

releases gamma rays of specific wavelengths,

會釋放出特定波長的伽馬射線

so these measurements will tell us what elements are found on the surface.

透過這些分析，我們會知道靈神星表面有什麼元素

A magnetometer will measure Psyche's magnetic field,

磁力計將會測量靈神星的磁場

allowing us to learn more

讓我們了解更多

about how Earth's magnetic field is generated at its core.

地球地心產生的磁場

And of course, an imager will give us a closer look at the surface

當然，成像儀會讓我們看到先前所未知

than ever before.

的表面清晰圖像

Visiting a whole new kind of world is exciting enough on its own.

探索一個全新的世界本身就是非常令人興奮的

But the mission to Psyche gives us a unique chance

但探索靈神星的任務給予我們一個獨一無二在遙遠行星

to discover our own planet's innermost secrets in an orbit far, far away.

發現我們自己的星球最深層的秘密機會