Scientists hope that a remote lake on a dormant Chilean volcano can provide clues to what life may have been like in a far more distant place -- the planet Mars. A 10-member team placed special plates in the lake on Licancabur volcano, at an altitude of 20,000 feet，on Sunday to measure the effects of ultraviolet light on organisms living there. The scientists, mostly from the United States, think learning how Licancabur organisms protect themselves may help researchers understand how life survived on early Earth and perhaps on early Mars as well. The damaging effects of UV radiation intensify at altitude and the air is very thin. And the lake is covered with ice most of the year, as would have been bodies of water on Mars. "If there was life on Mars 3.5 billion years ago, it could have used defense mechanisms similar to those used by the organisms at Licancabur volcano to survive," said team leader Nathalie Cabrol. The group, which includes science researchers from NASA and the SETI Institute, planned to spend two days at the lake, but weather conditions forced them to give up some of their research, which included a planned dive into the frigid lake. The mission also included geological experiments in the area around the volcano and testing a two-wheeled vehicle called "MARVIN," which may be used in future Mars missions. One of the group members said the experiments, were "very promising" but sediment and water samples would have to be analyzed in a laboratory before conclusions could be drawn. Another expedition will recover the UV plates next year. (Agencies) | 在智利火山的頂端，有一個(gè)靜謐的湖泊。近來(lái)，科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)了它的新價(jià)值--也許，它能告訴人們?cè)诟b遠(yuǎn)的火星，早期的生命是如何存在的。 11月10日，一個(gè)由10名科學(xué)家組成的小組在海拔2萬(wàn)英尺的利坎卡武爾火山頂端湖泊中放入了特殊的測(cè)量?jī)x板，來(lái)測(cè)試紫外線照射當(dāng)?shù)氐挠袡C(jī)生物所產(chǎn)生的效果。 以美國(guó)科學(xué)家為主的許多科學(xué)家都認(rèn)為，研究利坎卡武爾火山的有機(jī)生物如何自我保護(hù)能夠啟發(fā)人們認(rèn)識(shí)在早期的地球，生物是如何生存下來(lái)的，甚至也可以由此類推到早期的火星生命形態(tài)上去。  在利坎卡武爾火山頂，紫外線輻射相當(dāng)密集，殺傷力很強(qiáng)?？諝庖惨?yàn)楹０胃叨浅Ｏ”。嫔铣Ｄ杲Y(jié)著厚厚的冰層，與火星上的水域環(huán)境非常相似。
研究小組的負(fù)責(zé)人納塔莉·卡布羅爾說(shuō):"如果35億年前火星上有生物的話，情況應(yīng)該與利坎卡武爾火山頂生物生存下來(lái)所運(yùn)用的防御機(jī)制大致相同。" 這個(gè)研究小組的成員主要來(lái)自美國(guó)國(guó)家宇航局（National Aeronautics and Space Administration）和美國(guó)尋找地外智能生命研究所(Search for Exterritorial Intelligence Institute, 簡(jiǎn)稱SETI)。他們?cè)?jì)劃在湖邊度過(guò)兩天，但迫于天氣原因不得不放棄了部分研究項(xiàng)目，其中一項(xiàng)計(jì)劃還要潛入到刺骨的湖水中完成。 原計(jì)劃還包括在該火山地區(qū)進(jìn)行地址勘測(cè)，以及測(cè)試一種名叫"MARVIN"的兩輪運(yùn)輸車，這種車是為日后在火星進(jìn)行勘測(cè)時(shí)使用而設(shè)計(jì)的。 一位研究組成員認(rèn)為這次實(shí)驗(yàn)"非常有前景"，但沉淀物和水樣必須在實(shí)驗(yàn)室中經(jīng)過(guò)化驗(yàn)才能得出實(shí)驗(yàn)的最后結(jié)論。明年，另一支研究隊(duì)將被派往該地，收回紫外線測(cè)量?jī)x板。 （中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2002-11-13 01:00
