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Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm

Neil and with me today is Chris.

Chris: Hello there.

Neil: Now Chris, are you fan of driving?

Chris: Erm not really. I do have a driving licence but I don’t actually drive that

often.

Neil: OK then, so how do you think you would you like to try driving on Mars?

Chris: On Mars? Wow, yes, I suppose that would be even more challenging than

the London rush hour.

Neil: Well, our story today is about driving on Mars, though the vehicle which

has been sent up there is remotely controlled. It means there isn’t a

person driving it. It’s controlled using a machine back on Earth.

Chris: Wow, it sounds just like the best Christmas present I ever got as a child!

Neil: Well, you’re going to like this programme then today! But before we get

into the details, though, let’s have our quiz question. It’s Mars-related, of

course. I want to know how long a Mars year is. So, how long does it take

Mars to go around, or orbit, the Sun? Is it:

a) 152 days

b) 687 days

c) 2024 days

Chris: That’s quite a tricky one. I will say b) 687 days.

Neil: OK, we will find out if you are right at the end of the programme. Now,

some more information about this vehicle on Mars.

Chris: Yes, this isn’t the first rover – or driverless car - to drive on the surface of

the red planet.

Neil: No, there have been plenty of others but this is by far the most

sophisticated. It’s called the Curiosity rover and was made by NASA, the

American Space Agency.

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Chris: It took eight months to get to Mars and it’s about the size of a family car.

While it’s up there, Curiosity will spend about two years exploring.

Neil: After that, there’s a plan to send up a new robot called InSight. Listen to

this first part of a report from the BBC’s correspondent Jonathan Amos.

What does he say the robot will be doing?

Insert

InSight will put seismometers on the surface of the Red Planet and listen for

‘Marsquakes’. From the pattern of signals it picks up, the spacecraft should be able to

work out where the different rock boundaries lie inside the planet

Neil: Some interesting vocabulary there, Chris.

Chris: Yes, the robot will put some seismometers on the surface of Mars. A

seismometer is a machine which measures sudden movements under the

surface of a planet.

Neil: These seismometers will listen for what they’re calling ‘Marsquakes’.

Chris: When the earth shakes violently, it’s called an earthquake. Because this

is Mars, they are calling them ‘Marsquakes’.

Neil: They also hope to find out more about Mars’s core – that’s the centre of

the planet.

Chris: Listen out for a word which describes metal or rock which is so hot, it is

liquid. Here’s the second part of the BBC report.

Insert

It should also be able to establish whether Mars has a molten core. It is Earth's swirling

iron core that gives it the magnetic field which protects our atmosphere and oceans from

being eroded by the Sun. Mars doesn't have that and this probably goes a long way to

explaining why the cold, desiccated world appears to have no life on it today.

Neil: Very interesting stuff there. They want to find out if the core of Mars is

molten. That’s the word which describes rock or metal which is so hot it’s

liquid.

Chris: The Earth’s core is made from iron. This spinning iron ball gives us the

magnetic field which protects our atmosphere. They think that Mars

doesn’t have that and so its atmosphere is very thin. Therefore, it’s not

protected from the Sun and that’s also why there is probably no life on

Mars.

Neil: No life on Mars!? Oh, come on Chris, don’t disappoint me.

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Chris: Well, according to scientists, it’s very unlikely. But they do hope the

explorations will give them some clues about whether there ever was life

on the red planet.

Neil: It’s a shame. It would be so fascinating to discover there was life on Mars.

Just think how amazing it would be to discover little green men alive on

Mars!

Chris: Er, yeah, you sound a little bit obsessed with this idea of life on Mars,

Neil. But you’re not the only one, according to some critics of NASA.

Neil: Let’s hear the final part of this BBC report from Jonathan Amos. What do

they say NASA should be doing?

Insert

Nasa says the selection of InSight was made before its latest rover, Curiosity, landed a

fortnight ago, and so recent events had no influence on the decision. But there are those

within the planetary science community who believe the agency is becoming Marsobsessed,

and they would like to see a more diverse list of exploration targets.

Chris: Critics of NASA say they should be looking at a more diverse list of

exploration targets. Basically, this means they should be looking at a

variety of places in space rather than concentrating on Mars.

Neil: Well, I’d be quite happy for them to keep concentrating on Mars, actually!

Chris: But you don’t work for NASA.

Neil: That is very true. Now, we're coming to the end of the programme, so

there's just time to answer the quiz question. I wanted to know how long

a Mars year is. So how long does it take Mars to go around, or orbit, the

Sun? Is it:

a) 152 days

b) 687 days

c) 2024 days

Chris: And I said b) 687 days.

Neil: And you were absolutely right. I think you should be the one working for

NASA, Chris.

Chris: Thank you!

Neil: That's all from us, but do join us again for more 6 Minute English from

bbclearningenglish.com. Goodbye for now!

Chris: Bye!