[ti:NASA Chooses Moon Landing Site for Ice-Seeking Rover]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]The American space agency NASA
[00:03.92]has chosen the moon landing site
[00:07.92]for a new ice-seeking explorer
[00:11.32]set to arrive in 2023.
[00:16.00]The explorer, or rover, will be sent to an area
[00:21.56]on the moon’s south pole called Nobile Crater.
[00:27.56]The robotic vehicle is called Volatiles
[00:31.80]Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER.
[00:39.08]VIPER’s purpose will be
[00:41.88]“to map and explore the region’s surface
[00:46.00]and subsurface for water and other resources,”
[00:51.40]NASA said in a recent announcement.
[00:55.80]Nobile Crater was formed through a crash with a space object.
[01:02.12]VIPER measures 1.5 meters by 1.5 meters by 2.5 meters.
[01:11.84]It weighs 430 kilograms.
[01:16.80]Unlike the rovers used on Mars,
[01:20.48]VIPER can be piloted nearly in real time,
[01:25.20]because the distance from Earth is much shorter.
[01:30.44]VIPER is solar-powered and comes with a 50-hour battery
[01:36.88]that was built to withstand extreme temperatures.
[01:42.36]It was designed with the ability to "walk" sideways
[01:47.48]so that its solar equipment can stay pointed toward the sun.
[01:54.16]The mission is part of NASA’s Artemis program,
[01:59.28]which aims to land the first woman
[02:03.04]and next man on the moon by 2024.
[02:09.12]The program’s long-term goal is to establish
[02:13.64]a continued human presence on the moon.
[02:18.64]NASA says it will be the first mission
[02:22.40]to explore the surface of the moon’s south pole.
[02:28.16]This is one of the coldest areas in our solar system.
[02:34.60]So far, it has only been studied by orbiters
[02:39.08]and satellites observing the moon.
[02:43.12]Data collected from those observations led scientists to believe
[02:49.40]that ice and other resources likely exist in areas near the moon’s poles.
[02:57.92]Some of these areas remain permanently blocked from the sun.
[03:04.56]NASA says such areas can reach temperatures
[03:09.48]as low as minus 248 degrees Celsius.
[03:16.84]Scientists believe the south pole’s frozen water
[03:21.68]could date back billions of years.
[03:25.76]Lori Glaze is the director of NASA's planetary science division.
[03:33.00]She told reporters: "The rover is going to get up close and personal
[03:39.88]with the lunar soil, even drilling several feet down."
[03:45.08]NASA says the search for ice on the moon is important
[03:51.28]because it is seen as a necessary resource
[03:55.56]for future exploration activities.
[04:00.04]Astronauts could use the ice for drinking water
[04:04.00]and to cool equipment or make rocket fuel
[04:08.64]for missions deeper into the solar system.
[04:13.32]NASA says it chose a mountainous area
[04:17.44]on the western edge of the Nobile Crater for the landing
[04:22.32]because it contains many “nearby sites of scientific interest.”
[04:30.04]It also has surface areas that the rover can effectively explore.
[04:37.48]Daniel Andrews is overseeing the VIPER project.
[04:43.24]He said in a statement that “years of study” had gone
[04:48.48]into examining the polar area the rover will explore.
[04:55.00]“VIPER is going into uncharted territory -- informed by science
[05:02.08]-- to test hypotheses and reveal critical information
[05:07.60]for future human space exploration.”
[05:12.40]NASA hopes the data and samples that VIPER collects
[05:17.72]will help scientists find other places
[05:21.92]where water might exist on the moon.
[05:26.48]The mission also aims to help NASA
[05:30.36]better understand how frozen water first reached the moon
[05:36.20]and how it was able to survive for billions of years.
[05:42.20]I’m Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM