VOA科学技术2023 中国研究团队发现新的月球水资源

Scientists report they have discovered water in materials collected during a Chinese moon mission.

科学家报告称，他们在中国探月任务中采集的样本中发现了水。

The water is in extremely small glass beads¹ that were found in the dirt where many meteorites² have hit the moon. The dirt was collected in 2020.

这些水是在极其微小的玻璃珠中，它们是在许多陨石撞击月球处的土壤中发现的。这些土壤采集于2020年。

Hejiu Hui of Nanjing University took part in the study, which was published recently in Nature Geoscience.

南京大学的惠鹤九教授参与了这项研究，该研究最近发表在《自然·地球科学》上。

Hui said the beads differ in size from the width of one hair to several hairs. The amount of water inside was extremely small.

惠教授表示，这些玻璃珠的尺寸一根头发到几根头发的宽度不等。它里面的水含量极小。

Since billions if not trillions of these beads exist on the moon, there could be large amounts of water. But mining it would be difficult, the research team said.

该研究小组表示，由于这种玻璃珠在月球上存在数十亿甚至数万亿数量，因此月球上可能有大量水。但是开采水会很困难。

"Yes, it will require lots and lots of glass beads," Hui said in an email. "On the other hand, there are lots and lots of beads on the moon."

惠教授在电邮中表示：“是的，这将需要非常多的玻璃珠。但是另一方面，月球上有非常多玻璃珠。”

The findings are based on 32 glass beads randomly³ chosen from moon dirt collected on China's Chang'e 5 moon mission.

这些发现是基于中国嫦娥五号探月任务所采集月球土壤中随机选择的32颗玻璃珠。

More will be studied, Hui said.

惠教授称会更深入研究。

The beads are everywhere, the result of the cooling of melted material sent out by incoming space rocks.

这些玻璃珠无处不在，它源于外来太空岩石（撞击月球）溅射出的熔融物质。

This shows "water can be recharged on the moon's surface ... a new water reservoir on the moon," Hui said.

慧教授表示，这表明“月球表面可以重新补给水，这是月球上的新水库。“

The study's findings raise the possibility that water could be removed by heating the beads in future robotic missions.

该研究发现提出了在未来的机器人任务中通过加热玻璃珠来获取水的可能性。

Still, more studies would be needed to show whether such water removals are possible or if the water would be safe to drink.

尽管如此，还需要更多研究来证明如此取水是否可能实现，或者这些水是否可以安全饮用。

Earlier studies found water in glass beads formed by volcanic⁴ activity on the moon. Those studies used material collected on the moon by American astronauts more than fifty years ago.

更早的研究发现，在月球火山活动中形成的玻璃珠中含有水。这些研究使用了美国宇航员50多年前采集的样本。

The American space agency NASA plans to put astronauts back on the moon's surface by the end of 2025. The astronauts will aim for the south pole where craters⁵ are believed to be filled with frozen water.

美国宇航局计划在2025年底之前将宇航员重新送上月球。这些宇航员将瞄准南极，据信那里的火山口充满了冰冻水。

1 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

2 meteorites   

n.陨星( meteorite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One theory about the existence of extraterrestrial life rests on the presence of carbon compounds in meteorites. 地球外存在生命的理论是基于陨星上存在碳化合物质这一事实的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》