2007年VOA标准英语-Phoenix Probe Ready for Mars Mission

By Paul Sisco
Washington
13 July 2007
 

NASA scientists have unveiled details of the space agency's plans to pierce the icy surface of Mars, near its north pole. The mission is designed to find evidence of water or life on the red planet.  VOA's Paul Sisco reports.

NASA scientists described the Phoenix1 mission to Mars

At a Washington news conference this week NASA scientists discussed the upcoming Phoenix mission to Mars.

The probe is scheduled for launch in the predawn hours of August third and will take 10 months to reach its target.

Project Manager Barry Goldstein explains what happens next. "On May 25th, 2008 the fun begins.  We separate from the crew stage.  We're traveling at about 12,600 miles an hour. We take up most of that energy with the heat shield, which is at the bottom the entry vehicle.  We take up about 94 percent of the energy as we come in.  We drop a parachute."

An artist's drawing of the probe making its landing on Mars

Unlike previous Mars probes that bounced to the surface, this one has thrusters that ignite, and cushion the landing.

Goldstein further explains, "Basically what we are dealing² with is, we're dealing with a system that is coming into the planet at 12,600 miles an hour, screaming into the planet and slowing down to basically zero inside seven minutes."

Once the dust settles the solar arrays on the Phoenix deploy³.  The camera springs up into place, followed by instruments used to collect atmospheric⁴ data. The robotic arm on Phoenix scoops⁵ up soil samples and drops them into a sort of oven for analysis.

That is done by remote by Peter Smith's team at the University of Arizona.

Phoenix's robotic arm

"I see this mission as a stepping stone towards the search for life on other planets. We're hoping to find a place that we consider really a habitable zone on Mars.  And to me if we can find that out, it will be a tremendous success on this mission."

The public is invited to join the Phoenix mission in its search for water and life on Mars by logging onto the Internet at http://www.NASA.gov

1 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

4 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

5 scoops   

n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• I used three scoops of flour and one(scoop)of sugar. 我用了三杓面粉和一杓糖。 来自辞典例句