[ti:NASA Releases First Video and Color Photos from Mars Explorer]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]The U.S. space agency NASA has released the first video,
[00:05.84]pictures and sound captured by its Mars explorer Perseverance.
[00:13.96]The video shows the explorer, or rover,
[00:18.32]at different points during its landing on the Red Planet last week.
[00:25.00]Some members of the Perseverance team said the video
[00:29.88]and images were even better than they had expected.
[00:34.44]"It gives me goose bumps every time I see it,
[00:38.84]just amazing," said Dave Gruel.
[00:42.68]He is head of the spacecraft's landing camera team.
[00:48.28]Al Chen heads the Perseverance landing team.
[00:52.36]He called the pictures and video "the stuff of our dreams."
[00:58.68]Six color cameras were positioned
[01:01.88]to capture all stages of the landing.
[01:05.96]NASA said the cameras started when the rover was about
[01:10.56]11 kilometers above the surface of Mars.
[01:15.32]Flight controllers were also pleased with the thousands of images
[01:20.96]that Perseverance sent back to Earth.
[01:24.72]They said the rover was in very good condition after the landing.
[01:30.48]Perseverance landed in an area of Mars called Jezero Crater,
[01:36.88]just north of the planet's equator.
[01:40.60]The area contains a large ancient lakebed.
[01:45.80]The six-wheeled explorer's main mission
[01:49.20]is to collect Martian soil and rocks
[01:53.08]to help scientists search for signs of ancient life.
[01:58.60]NASA added 25 cameras to the Perseverance mission
[02:03.92]-- the most ever sent to Mars.
[02:06.72]The space agency's last rover, 2012′s Curiosity,
[02:12.76]is only able to produce lower-quality images of the planet's surface.
[02:19.72]NASA said it also received sound from Perseverance.
[02:25.56]A microphone attached to the rover
[02:28.84]was not able to collect usable data during the actual landing.
[02:34.68]But it did record sounds from Jerezo Crater after it touched down.
[02:41.32]NASA said that about 10 seconds into a 60-second recording,
[02:47.64]Martian wind can be heard for a few seconds.
[02:52.52]Equipment sounds were also captured
[02:55.80]as the rover operated on the surface.
[02:59.04]The video and images provided NASA with the possibility
[03:04.92]to see the effectiveness of spacecraft systems
[03:09.24]– some of which could not be tested on Earth.
[03:13.96]"So this is the first time we've had a chance as engineers
[03:19.16]to actually see what we designed," said Matt Wallace,
[03:24.24]a project official with NASA's Mars 2020 program.
[03:29.72]Thomas Zurbuchen is NASA's science mission chief.
[03:35.28]He said the video and panoramic pictures
[03:39.40]that Perseverance captured "are the closest you can get
[03:43.64]to landing on Mars without putting on a pressure suit."
[03:48.92]NASA engineers say the images will help the agency prepare
[03:54.96]for astronaut flights to Mars in the future.
[03:59.88]But, imaging scientist Justin Maki noted
[04:04.44]that the pictures and videos can offer more immediate help, as well.
[04:11.48]"I know it's been a tough year for everybody," Maki said.
[04:16.60]"And we're hoping that maybe
[04:19.76]these images will help brighten people's days."
[04:24.20]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM