A Mars explorer has discovered new evidence of a large amount of water ice buried near the planet’s equator .
火星探测器发现了火星赤道附近埋有大量水冰的新证据。
The discovery was made with data collected by the Mars Express orbiter. The spacecraft is operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). The American space agency NASA is a partner on the orbiter’s mission .
这一发现是根据火星快车轨道飞行器收集的数据得出的。该航天器由欧洲航天局（ESA）运营。美国航天局 NASA 是轨道飞行器任务的合作伙伴。
ESA launched Mars Express in 2003 and it has been studying the Red Planet ever since. The mission’s main goal is to use its seven scientific instruments to search for signs of water underneath the surface of Mars.
欧空局于 2003 年发射了火星快车，从那时起它就一直在研究这颗红色星球。该任务的主要目标是利用七台科学仪器寻找火星表面下有水的迹象。
Scientists involved in the new research say data suggesting the presence of newly discovered ice deposits could mean Mars may have once supported life.
参与这项新研究的科学家表示，数据表明新发现的冰沉积物的存在可能意味着火星可能曾经支持过生命。
The Mars Express orbiter collected data around an area of the planet known as the Medusae Fossae Formation (or MFF). NASA describes this formation as “a soft, easily eroded deposit that extends for nearly 1,000 kilometers along the equator of Mars.”
火星快车轨道飞行器收集了火星上一个被称为美杜莎窝地层（Medusae Fossae Formation，简称 MFF）的区域周围的数据。 NASA 将这种地层描述为“一种柔软、容易被侵蚀的沉积物，沿着火星赤道延伸近 1000 公里”。
Scientists believe the MFF was most likely formed by wind-blown dust or volcanic ash. The formations could have formed after volcanic activity estimated to have taken place up to 3.8 billion years ago.
科学家认为，MFF很可能是由风吹尘埃或火山灰形成的。据估计，这些地层可能是在 38 亿年前发生的火山活动后形成的。
Images of the area show raised areas that scientists thought in the past might contain dust blown around the planet by wind over many years. But the new research used newer data collected by the orbiter’s MARSIS instrument. It is “a subsurface radar sounder” with a 40-meter-long antenna . The tool looks for water on the surface, as well as up to five kilometers below the surface.
该地区的图像显示了一些凸起的区域，科学家过去认为这些区域可能含有多年来被风吹到地球周围的灰尘。但新研究使用了轨道器 MARSIS 仪器收集的最新数据。它是带有40米长天线的“地下雷达探测仪”。该工具会寻找地表以及地表以下五公里处的水。
The MARSIS instrument is designed to send radio waves to an area scientists choose. It then attempts to listen to and examine “ echoes ” produced by the radio waves. The echoes help researchers recognize where water or ice might be, NASA explains .
MARSIS 仪器旨在向科学家选择的区域发送无线电波。然后，它尝试聆听并检查无线电波产生的“回声”。美国宇航局解释说，这些回声有助于研究人员识别水或冰可能存在的位置。
Scientists say any water identified near the surface results in stronger signals while the presence of ice or other materials would produce weaker signals. The team said MARSIS readings suggest the MFF area of Mars contains a large amount of water ice rather than wind-blown dust.
科学家表示，在地表附近发现的任何水都会产生更强的信号，而冰或其他物质的存在会产生较弱的信号。研究小组表示，MARSIS 的读数表明，火星的 MFF 区域包含大量水冰，而不是风吹尘埃。
Thomas Watters of the U.S. Smithsonian Institution led the new research. His team’s findings were recently published in a study in Geophysical Research Letters . He said in a statement the radar data showed the deposits in the MFF area were even thicker than earlier measurement estimates had shown.
美国史密森学会的托马斯·沃特斯领导了这项新研究。他的团队的研究结果最近发表在《地球物理研究快报》的一项研究中。他在一份声明中表示，雷达数据显示 MFF 区域的沉积物甚至比之前测量估计的还要厚。
The researchers said the data showed the examined deposits extended beneath the Mars surface to depths up to 3.7 kilometers. They seemed to contain “ layers of dust and ice, all topped by a protective layer of dry dust or ash.”
研究人员表示，数据显示，所检查的沉积物在火星表面以下延伸至 3.7 公里的深度。它们似乎含有“一层层的灰尘和冰，上面覆盖着一层干燥的灰尘或灰烬的保护层”。
Earlier data examinations of the MFF area found similarities in the electrical properties of deposits there to ice-rich deposits found in the planet’s north and south poles. The latest MARSIS data strengthens this evidence by suggesting similarities between deposit layering in the MFF and the planet’s poles.
早期对 MFF 地区的数据检查发现，那里沉积物的电特性与地球南北两极发现的富含冰的沉积物相似。最新的 MARSIS 数据通过表明 MFF 和地球两极沉积层之间的相似性，强化了这一证据。
“The radar signals match what we’d expect to see from layered ice,” Watters said. He added that the radar waves were found to be “similar to signals we see from Mars’s polar caps, which we know to be very ice rich.”
“雷达信号与我们期望从层状冰中看到的信号相符，”沃特斯说。他补充说，雷达波被发现“与我们从火星极冠看到的信号相似，我们知道火星极冠富含冰。”
It is not the first time scientists have discovered strong evidence for the presence of water ice on Mars. But the researchers say the latest study suggests the largest amount of water ever identified in the MFF area. They estimated the total amount of water contained there would be enough “to cover the surface of Mars to a depth of about 1.5 to 3 meters.”
这并不是科学家第一次发现火星上存在水冰的有力证据。但研究人员表示，最新研究表明，MFF 地区存在有史以来发现的最大水量。他们估计那里的水总量足以“覆盖火星表面约 1.5 至 3 米的深度”。
Colin Wilson is a project scientist with the Mars Express mission. He said while the new finding is exciting, it also “raises as many questions as answers.” He continued, “How long ago did these ice deposits form, and what was Mars like at that time?” Wilson said if confirmed to be water ice, the large deposits “would change our understanding of Mars climate history.”
科林·威尔逊是火星快车任务的项目科学家。他说，虽然这一新发现令人兴奋，但它也“提出了与答案一样多的问题”。他继续说道：“这些冰沉积物是多久以前形成的，当时的火星是什么样子？”威尔逊表示，如果确认是水冰，这些大量沉积物“将改变我们对火星气候历史的理解”。
Watters added that since the discovery was made in an area near the Martian equator, it could be considered a good place for future exploration missions. He explained that with a lower elevation , the MFF area would be considered “an ideal landing spot for spacecraft.” Such an elevation provides more atmosphere to support an effective, controlled landing, Watters said.
沃特斯补充说，由于这一发现是在火星赤道附近的区域进行的，因此它可以被认为是未来探索任务的好地方。他解释说，由于海拔较低，MFF 区域将被视为“航天器的理想着陆点”。沃特斯说，这样的高度提供了更多的大气层来支持有效的、受控的着陆。