Lunar exploration 月球探索There is now cast-iron evidence for water on the Moon现在有确凿的证据表明月球上有水
cast-iron: 有力的、确实的
And it may be more widespread than previously suspected而且它的分布可能比之前想象的更广Oct 26th 2020 |
IF HUMAN BEINGS should ever wish to build bases on the Moon, those bases will need water. Residents will require it not only for their own sustenance but also as a raw material for rocket fuel to power adventures farther afield—Mars, for example. Given the cost of blasting things off the surface of Earth, however, such a base would be best served by finding its water locally. A pair of studies published on October 26th, in Nature Astronomy, will therefore raise the hopes of would-be lunar settlers.
sustenance:生计、食物
blast off: 发射升空
如果人类希望在月球上建立基地,那这些基地就需要水。居民们不仅需要它维持生计,还需要它作为火箭燃料的原材料,为更远的太空探险——比如火星,提供动力。然而,考虑到把东西从地球表面送到太空的成本,太空基地最好能在当地找到水源补给。因此,10月26日发表在《自然天文学》杂志上的两项研究为未来的月球定居者带来了希望。One, led by Paul Hayne of the University of Colorado, Boulder, shows that more of the Moon’s surface is in perpetual shadow than was previously believed. This matters because ice—the form in which any lunar water is likely to exist—would be stable and long-lived in such cold, shaded regions. Most of the lunar surface is bathed in harsh ionising radiation from the sun, so any water molecules present would swiftly be torn apart or disappear into space. But Dr Hayne’s work calculates that there are around 40,000 square kilometres of these ice-preserving “cold traps” on the Moon.