VOA标准英语2012--Unusual Mars Rock Surprises Rover Scientists
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(十月)
Unusual Mars Rock Surprises Rover Scientists
Curiosity's engineers on Earth put the drilling and sampling tools on the rover's robotic arm to full use this week as they assessed the makeup 1 of the pyramid-shaped rock. The sample is named Jake Matijevic, in honor of a senior engineer on the Curiosity team who passed away this summer. Co-investigator Edward Stolper of the California Institute of Technology says the football-size rock is similar to a kind of igneous 2, or volcanic 3 rock found on Earth.
"The composition of Jake Matijevic is a very close match to highly crystalized or fractionated magmas that occur on particular places on earth," said Stolper.
Stolper says it is difficult to conclude from this one rock whether it formed the same way such rocks formed on Earth. But he says further studies could answer that question.
Scientists were pleased with the data they gathered from two new instruments on Curiosity - the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer and the Chemistry and Camera Instrument, called ChemCam, which shoots rock-busting laser pulses from the top of the rover’s mast.
This image shows where NASA's.
NASA scientists say the information from the two instruments is just a preview of things to come. The rover also carries tools to gather and analyze 4 soil samples. Actually, the first samples will be used to clean off a protective film of oil - possibly bearing traces of terrestrial dust - left on the instruments when they were assembled on Earth. Chris Roumeliotis, with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says it's rather like a Martian car-wash.
“The decontamination activity is extremely important because we don’t want our instruments spooked by any terrestrial contamination. And once we clean everything we will be up and running with full capability," said Roumeliotis.
After the decontamination, the rover will be driven about 90 meters toward another rock in the Gale 5 Crater 6 area that's been selected as the first target for Curiosity's drill.
Over the rover's two-year mission, researchers will be studying whether this region of Mars ever had - or might still have - conditions that could support life.
- Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
- Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？
- Igneous rocks do not contain fossils.火成岩不含化石。
- The rocks here are igneous and do not fracture along predictable lines.这儿的石头都是火成岩，石头的裂缝极不规则。
- 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。
- We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
- The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。
- We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
- According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。