NASA 到地下为首个月球基地选址
Where should the first people to live on the Moon make their home? NASA thinks part of the answer may lie beneath the surface.
The space agency has chosen three new scientific projects to help prepare for a permanent base near the Moon's south pole. The instruments will be carried to the Moon by commercial landers.
The first project will set up a monitoring station that keeps track of moonquakes and tiny space rocks, called micrometeoroids, hitting the surface. Because the Moon has almost no atmosphere, there is nothing to burn up this debris before it lands.
The second will investigate a huge hole in the lunar surface that may lead to an underground lava tube – a tunnel formed long ago by flowing lava. Caves like this could provide natural shelter from radiation and extreme temperatures, so astronauts would not have to build everything above ground.
The third project will search for ice hidden in tiny, permanently shadowed craters. Water found on the Moon could be used for drinking, or split into oxygen and hydrogen, saving the huge cost of carrying supplies from Earth.
NASA says the goal is to give future crews the information they need to stay safe before they arrive – and, eventually, to help humans travel on to Mars.
第一批在月球上生活的人，应该把家安在哪里？NASA 认为，答案有一部分可能藏在月面之下。
NASA 选定了三个新的科学项目，为在月球南极附近建立永久基地做准备。相关仪器将由商业着陆器送上月球。
第一个项目要建一个监测站，记录月震，以及撞击月面的微小太空岩石，也就是微流星体。月球几乎没有大气层，这些碎片在落地之前不会被烧掉。
第二个项目要调查月面上的一个大坑洞。它可能通往一条地下熔岩管——很久以前熔岩流动时形成的隧道。这样的洞穴能天然地挡住辐射和极端温度，宇航员就不必把所有设施都建在地面上。
第三个项目要寻找藏在终年不见阳光的小陨石坑里的冰。月球上的水可以喝，也可以分解成氧气和氢气，省下从地球运送补给的巨额开销。
NASA 表示，目标是让宇航员在出发前就掌握保障安全所需的信息，并在将来帮助人类继续飞往火星。