美国宇航局的好奇号探测器在火星上发现粘土矿物
美国宇航局的好奇号探测器在火星上发现粘土矿物
NASA's Curiosity rover has found the highest amounts of clay minerals since its landing on Mars in August of 2012, according to a release of NASA on Wednesday.
据美国国家航空航天局周三发布的消息，自2012年8月登陆火星以来，美国国家航空航天局的好奇心号探测器发现了数量最高的粘土矿物。
Two samples the rover recently drilled at rock targets called "Aberlady" and "Kilmarie" have revealed the highest amounts of clay minerals ever found during the mission, said the release.
该探测器最近在“阿伯莱德”和“基尔玛丽”两个钻探点获取的两个样本显示，在这次任务中发现的粘土矿物量是有史以来最高的。
Both drill targets appear in a new selfie taken by the rover on May 12, the 2,405th Martian day of the mission.
这两个探测点都出现在5月12日——好奇心探测器的第2405个火星日的自拍照片中。
This clay-enriched region, located on the side of lower Mount Sharp, stood out to NASA orbiters before Curiosity landed in 2012.
这片富含粘土的区域位于夏普山下部，在2012年好奇号着陆前，它在NASA的轨道飞行器面前显得格外显眼。
Clay often forms in water, which is essential for life. Curiosity is exploring Mount Sharp to see if it had the conditions to support life billions of years ago, according to the mission team.
粘土通常在水中形成，水对生命是必不可少的。好奇号正在探索夏普山，看看它是否具备数十亿年前支持生命存在的条件。
The rover's mineralogy instrument, called CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy), provided the first analysis of rock samples drilled in the clay-bearing unit. CheMin also found very little hematite, an iron oxide mineral that was abundant just to the north, on Vera Rubin Ridge, according to NASA.
探测车的矿物学仪器，称为CheMin(化学和矿物学)，提供了第一个分析岩石样本钻在粘土轴承单元。美国国家航空航天局(NASA)称，CheMin还在维拉鲁宾山脊(Vera Rubin Ridge)发现了非常少的赤铁矿。赤铁矿是一种氧化铁矿物，仅在北面就很丰富。
It is likely that the rocks in the area formed as layers of mud in ancient lakes, something Curiosity also found lower on Mount Sharp. Water interacted with sediment over time, leaving an abundance of clay in the rocks there, said NASA.
该地区的岩石很可能是由古代湖泊中的泥层形成的，在夏普山的下部也发现了一些奇特的东西。美国宇航局说，随着时间的推移，水与沉积物相互作用，在岩石中留下了丰富的粘土。
Amid this new drilling and analyzing, Curiosity used its black-and-white Navigation Cameras to snap images of drifting clouds on May 7 and May 12, which are likely water-ice clouds about 31 kilometers above the surface, according to NASA.
在这次新的钻探和分析过程中，“好奇号”用黑白导航相机拍摄了5月7日和5月12日的浮云照片。据美国宇航局称，浮云很可能是离地面约31公里的水冰云。
The mission team has been trying to coordinate cloud observations with NASA's InSight lander, which is located about 600 kilometers away. Capturing the same clouds from two vantage points can help scientists calculate their altitude, said NASA.
该任务小组一直试图协调云观测与美国宇航局的洞察号着陆器，该着陆器位于大约600公里之外。NASA说，从两个有利位置捕捉相同的云层可以帮助科学家计算它们的高度。
