科学家提出了加热火星的想法

The idea of turning Mars into a livable world for humans is a common element of science fiction. But could such an action be done in real life?

将火星变成适合人类居住的世界是科幻作品中的一个常见元素。但这种行动在现实中是否可能实现？

Scientists are now proposing a new method to warm up Earth's planetary neighbor. The idea involves putting engineered particles made of iron or aluminum into the atmosphere. The goal is to trap escaping heat and direct sunlight toward the Martian surface.

科学家们现在提出了一种新的方法来加热地球的行星邻居。这一想法涉及将由铁或铝制成的工程化粒子释放到大气中。目标是捕捉流失的热量并将阳光引导到火星表面。

The proposed idea would be to increase the natural greenhouse effect on Mars and raise its surface temperature by around 28 degrees Celsius over ten years.

提议的想法是增加火星的自然温室效应，在十年内将其表面温度提高约28摄氏度。

Such a change alone would not make Mars livable for people. But the scientists who developed the idea see it as a possible first step.

仅仅这样的变化还不足以使火星适合人类居住。但提出这一想法的科学家们认为，这可能是一个可行的第一步。

Edwin Kite of the University of Chicago helped lead the study that appeared recently in the publication Science Advances.

芝加哥大学的埃德温·凯特帮助领导了最近发表在《科学进展》上的这项研究。

Kite described the process of terraforming – meaning to change a planet's environment to be more like Earth. "For Mars, warming the planet is a necessary, but insufficient, first step. Previous concepts have focused on releasing greenhouse gases, but these require large amounts of resources that are scarce on Mars," he said.

凯特描述了改造星球的过程——即改变一个行星的环境，使其更像地球。“对于火星来说，加热行星是一个必要但不充分的第一步。之前的概念侧重于释放温室气体，但这些需要大量在火星上稀缺的资源，”他说。

Kite added that climate modeling suggests the new idea of using engineered particles to warm Mars' atmosphere could work better than previous ideas. Kite explained that the work is important because it presents a possible method that could help future exploration plans.

凯特补充说，气候模型表明，使用工程化粒子来加热火星大气的新想法可能比之前的想法更有效。凯特解释说，这项工作很重要，因为它提供了一种可能的方法，可能有助于未来的探测计划。

NASA has sent robotic vehicles to explore the Martian surface and the InSight Lander to study the planet's interior. The U.S. space agency's Artemis program aims to put astronauts in the coming years on the moon's surface for the first time since 1972 in preparation for possible future human missions to Mars.

美国宇航局已经派遣了机器人探测器探索火星表面，并且发射了“洞察号”着陆器以研究行星内部。美国航天局的“阿尔忒弥斯”计划旨在在未来几年将宇航员送上月球表面，这是自1972年以来的第一次，以为可能的未来火星人类任务做准备。

There are several barriers to human settlements on Mars. They include a lack of breathable oxygen, harmful ultraviolet radiation, salty soil, and dust storms that sometimes cover much of the planet. And Mars' cold temperatures are a serious issue.

人类在火星上建立定居点面临几个障碍。这些障碍包括缺乏可呼吸的氧气、有害的紫外线辐射、咸土和有时覆盖大部分行星的尘暴。而火星的寒冷温度也是一个严重问题。

The median Martian surface temperature is about minus-65 degrees Celsius. With its thin atmosphere, solar heat on the Martian surface easily escapes into space. The proposal would aim to permit liquid water to exist on the surface of Mars, which has water in the form of ice at its polar areas and its subsurface.

火星表面的中位温度约为零下65摄氏度。由于其稀薄的大气层，火星表面的太阳热量容易逃逸到太空中。该提案旨在使火星表面能够存在液态水，而火星的极地和地下区域已存在冰态水。

The scientists proposed continuously releasing tiny particles, called nanorods, into the atmosphere at a rate of about 30 liters per second for years.

科学家们提议以每秒约30升的速度，将称为纳米杆的微小粒子持续释放到大气中，持续多年。

Samaneh Ansari of Northwestern University in Illinois is the study's lead writer. Ansari said, "The idea is to either ship the material or better yet, ship the manufacturing tool and make the nanorods on the planet since iron and aluminum are abundant on the surface of Mars.”

伊利诺伊州西北大学的萨曼娜·安萨里是这项研究的主要作者。安萨里说：“这个想法是将材料运送到火星，或者更好的是，将制造工具运送过去，在火星上制造纳米杆，因为铁和铝在火星表面非常丰富。”

The researchers are mindful of the possibility of unintended consequences in terraforming another world. Scientists, for instance, are eager to learn whether Mars has held life in the past - or perhaps currently, in the form of subsurface microbes.

研究人员关注改造另一个世界可能带来的意外后果。例如，科学家们急于了解火星是否曾经存在生命——或者现在可能存在以地下微生物的形式存在。

Kite suggested that the costs and benefits of releasing nanorods are uncertain. For example, he said if Mars' soil has compounds that are harmful to life from Earth, then the benefit of warming Mars is zero.

凯特表示，释放纳米杆的成本和效益尚不确定。例如，他说，如果火星土壤中含有对地球生命有害的化合物，那么加热火星的益处为零。

polar – adj. of or relating to a geographic pole

abundant -- adj. existing or occurring in large amounts

consequence -- n. something produced by a cause