双语新闻：科学家们认为，火星上有史以来最大的地震是地震活动的结果

Scientists now believe the largest quake ever recorded on Mars was the result of seismic activity, not a strike by a space object.

科学家们现在认为，火星上有史以来最大的地震是地震活动的结果，而不是太空物体撞击的结果。

Instruments attached to the InSight lander identified the quake in 2021. The InSight lander is a Mars explorer operated by the American space agency NASA. On Earth, seismic activity causes earthquakes. Scientists often call seismic activity on Mars "marsquakes."

洞察号着陆器上的仪器在2021年确定了地震。洞察号着陆器是由美国宇航局操作的火星探测器。在地球上，地震活动引起地震。科学家们通常把火星上的地震活动称为“火星地震”。

NASA estimated the largest marsquake had a strength of 4.7. While this level of quake would not be considered major on Earth, it is very powerful on Mars.

美国宇航局估计最大的一次地震强度为4.7级。虽然这种级别的地震在地球上不算大，但在火星上却非常强大。

Scientists say a marsquake happens when Martian soil is subjected to a buildup of pressure so great that it causes rock structures to break. So far, the InSight lander has identified, or detected, more than 1,300 marsquakes. The explorer uses a device called a seismometer to detect the ground movements.

科学家们说，火星土壤受到巨大压力的累积，导致岩石结构破裂，就会发生火星地震。到目前为止，洞察号着陆器已经识别或探测到1300多次火星地震。探测器使用一种叫做地震仪的设备来探测地面运动。

The seismometer was designed to be extremely sensitive for the Martian environment. It aims to differentiate between seismic signals coming from inside Mars and activity coming from above the surface, such as wind or meteorite strikes.

地震仪的设计对火星环境极为敏感。它旨在区分来自火星内部的地震信号和来自地表以上的活动，如风或陨石撞击。

Researchers look at other things to confirm whether a marsquake was caused by seismic activity below the surface or by an outside force hitting the planet. In the case of the strongest marsquake ever recorded, an international team of scientists looked for evidence of a crater that would have been created by a large meteorite hit.

研究人员通过观察其他因素来确定地震是由地表以下的地震活动引起的，还是由撞击地球的外力引起的。在有记录以来最强烈的一次地震中，一个国际科学家小组寻找了一个陨石坑的证据，这个陨石坑可能是由大型陨石撞击造成的。

The team was led by researchers from Britain's University of Oxford. But scientists working for space agencies in Europe, China, India and the United Arab Emirates also took part. China has an explorer on Mars and the other agencies all have spacecraft orbiting the planet.

该研究小组由英国牛津大学的研究人员领导。但欧洲、中国、印度和阿拉伯联合酋长国的太空机构的科学家也参加了这次活动。中国有一艘火星探测器，其他机构都有绕火星运行的航天器。

A recently released study describes the findings in Geophysical Research Letters.

最近发表在《地球物理研究快报》上的一项研究描述了这一发现。

The research team estimated that a 4.7-level marsquake would have created a crater at least 300 meters in diameter. Two other large marsquakes left craters of about 150 meters. So, the researchers searched satellite data collected by InSight as well as the other space agencies.

研究小组估计，4.7级的地震会造成一个直径至少300米的陨石坑。另外两次大地震留下了大约150米深的火山口。因此，研究人员搜索了洞察号和其他太空机构收集的卫星数据。

Each agency examined data from their satellites for evidence of a large crater, as well as other signs that a meteorite might have struck before the largest marsquake. Another sign, team members noted, could have been a dust cloud appearing in the hours after the quake.

两家机构都检查了各自卫星的数据，寻找一个大陨石坑的证据，以及在最大的火星地震之前可能有陨石撞击的其他迹象。团队成员指出，另一个迹象可能是地震后数小时内出现的尘埃云。

But after several months of searching, the researchers said no new, larger crater was found. They said their examinations ruled out a meteorite strike as the cause of the 4.7 marsquake.

但经过几个月的搜寻，研究人员表示没有发现新的、更大的陨石坑。他们说，他们的检查排除了陨石撞击导致4.7级地震的可能性。

The researchers decided instead that the largest marsquake must have been caused by the release of powerful "tectonic forces" at work deeper inside the Red Planet. This finding suggests that Mars "is much more seismically active than previously thought," the Oxford University team said in a statement.

相反，研究人员认为，最大的火星地震一定是由这颗红色星球深处强大的“构造力”释放造成的。牛津大学的研究小组在一份声明中说，这一发现表明火星“比以前认为的要活跃得多”。

Benjamin Fernando is a professor of physics at Oxford University who led the study. He said in a statement that scientists do not believe Mars has ongoing tectonic movements. Rather, Fernando said the team thinks the largest marsquake was "caused by the release of stress within Mars' crust."

本杰明·费尔南多是牛津大学物理学教授，他领导了这项研究。他在一份声明中说，科学家不相信火星有持续的构造运动。相反，费尔南多说，该团队认为最大的火星地震是“由火星地壳内部的压力释放引起的”。

He added that such stress is likely the result of billions of years of development on Mars, including the cooling and shrinking of different parts of the planet at different speeds. "We still do not fully understand why some parts of the planet seem to have higher stresses than others, but results like these help us to investigate further," Fernando said.

他补充说，这种压力可能是火星数十亿年发展的结果，包括地球不同部分以不同速度的冷却和收缩。费尔南多说:“我们仍然不能完全理解为什么地球上的某些地方似乎比其他地方承受更大的压力，但这样的结果有助于我们进一步调查。”

Constantinos Charalambous is a planetary scientist at Imperial College London who helped lead the research. He spoke to Reuters news agency about the finding. He said it "represents a significant step forward in our understanding of Martian seismic activity – and takes us one step closer to better unraveling the planet's tectonic processes."

Constantinos Charalambous是伦敦帝国理工学院的行星科学家，他帮助领导了这项研究。他对路透社谈到了这一发现。他说，这“代表着我们对火星地震活动的理解向前迈出了重要的一步，并使我们更接近于更好地揭示火星的构造过程。”

Fernando added, "One day, this information may help us to understand where it would be safe for humans to live on Mars and where you might want to avoid."

费尔南多补充说:“有一天，这些信息可能会帮助我们了解人类在火星上住在哪里是安全的，以及你可能想要避免的地方。”