VOA慢速英语2015 志愿者在夏威夷体验火星

Volunteers Get Taste of Mars in Hawaii 志愿者在夏威夷体验火星

For generations, people have dreamed of traveling to Mars to explore Earth's closest planetary neighbor. NASA and other space agencies have announced plans to send people to the Red Planet. But such a manned mission is years away.

In the United States, some volunteers are learning how people will react to months of separation from other humans on a Mars base.

What would it be like to live on the planet Mars? Volunteers are spending eight months in an area that looks much like the surface of Mars. But actually, they are living in Hawaii.

Six people are isolated¹ high on top of Mauna Loa, a volcanic² mountain on the Big Island of Hawaii. They are living on a simulated, or make-believe, Mars Base. The American Space Agency, NASA, has provided financial support for the work. The project is called HI-SEAS, or Hawaii Space Exploration Analog³ and Simulation.

Kim Binsted of the University of Hawaii is supervising the project.

She walks across red lava⁴ rock from the volcano, 2,500 meters above sea level. Because it is so high, the land is not warm or rich with plants, like the rest of Hawaii. Ms. Binsted says this stark⁵ environment is as close to Mars as you can find here on Earth.

"Visually, it is very similar to what you see on Mars. You will see that there is really no visible plant life, there is no visible animal life. And you have got this wonderful volcanic material.  We are on a cinder⁶ cone⁷ here on Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa is geologically very similar to Olympus Mons on Mars."

Mauna Loa is almost as tall as that Martian mountain. When measured from its base, deep in the ocean, Mauna Loa is the second largest mountain in our solar system, after the one on Mars.

The six member HI-SEAS crew is mostly self-sufficient. They take care of themselves. Food and supplies are brought to them. But the individuals bringing those supplies cannot communicate with volunteers inside the habitat, or base.

Kim Binsted says this experiment looks at how the astronauts interact, or get along with each other.

"We study how well they work together, how we can keep them happy and supported, and not wanting to kill each other over these long durations."

The current crew has been living in the habitat since October, and will stay until June. Two earlier crews lived there before them. Crew members communicate with the outside world through e-mail and blogs. They also produce videos on the YouTube website, like this one from mission commander Martha Lenio:

"Hi Mission Support. This is Commander Martha from the HI-SEAS Crew Three...."

Crew members also are using a smartphone app, or program, that creates a 20-minute delay for communications. That would be the same as if you were communicating from Mars.

"I am really enjoying this opportunity to live in this dome⁸ and pretend that I'm on Mars and get to learn all sorts of new skills.”

This is not the only group of volunteers with sights set on Mars. A group called Mars One has appealed for would-be Mars astronauts from around the world. Mars One is a private, non-government project based in The Netherlands.

Others believe the American or European space agencies are the most likely to put people on Mars, maybe in the 2030s, or later.  

Whoever gets there first, the trip will not be easy, says Kim Binsted.

"It is going to be challenging."

For now, on a mountaintop in Hawaii, volunteers are getting a taste of life on a future Mars base. 

Words in This Story

isolated – adj. separate from others

stark – adj. something that looks very simple, and often cold or empty

solar system – n. planets in orbit around a sun or star. Earth and Mars are in the same solar system

self-sufficient – adj. being able to live or operate on your own, without help

habitat – n.  the place where an animal or place normally lives

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

3 analog   

n.类似物，模拟

参考例句：

• The analog signal contains high-frequency video information,which helps make up the picture.模拟信号包括有助于构成图像的高频视频信息。
• The analog computer measures continuously,without proceeding step by step.模拟计算机不是一步一步地进行，而是连续地进行量度。

4 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

5 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

6 cinder   

n.余烬，矿渣

参考例句：

• The new technology for the preparation of superfine ferric oxide from pyrite cinder is studied.研究了用硫铁矿烧渣为原料，制取超细氧化铁红的新工艺。
• The cinder contains useful iron,down from producing sulphuric acid by contact process.接触法制硫酸的矿渣中含有铁矿。

7 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

8 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。