[ti:Mars Rover Marks First Year on Red Planet] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:In the News] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com [00:03.57]From VOA Learning English, [00:06.54]this is In the News. [00:08.99]This week marks the first anniversary of [00:12.16]a major exploration effort on Mars. [00:16.13]It has been 12 months since the exploration device [00:20.63]called "Curiosity" landed on the distant planet. [00:25.60]Curiosity is named for the human condition of [00:29.56]wanting to learn or know something. [00:33.51]The United States space agency, NASA, says [00:37.48]Curiosity has driven more than 1.6 kilometers on Mars. [00:44.20]The device, called a "rover," is about the size of a car. [00:49.60]Curiosity has found evidence of an ancient riverbed [00:54.68]and other signs of wet conditions. [00:58.90]NASA scientists say that with these discoveries, [01:03.32]Curiosity has answered the question of whether conditions [01:08.38]on ancient Mars could have supported life. [01:12.75]Jim Green leads the planetary division [01:15.97]at NASA's Science Mission Directorate. [01:19.59]"We found all the ingredients of life [01:22.34]as measured in this material [01:24.61]that's deposited in this ancient riverbed. [01:27.28]Mars was habitable in its past." [01:31.35]Curiosity is a traveling laboratory [01:34.97]that contains 10 scientific instruments. [01:39.23]The rover has found hydrogen, [01:42.53]oxygen and other elements necessary for life. [01:47.11]The space agency says Curiosity [01:50.71]has fired more than 75,000 laser shots. [01:55.68]The laser turns rocks and soil into gas. [02:00.39]The equipment on Curiosity then examines [02:04.97]and identifies the materials on the Martian surface. [02:10.07]Curiosity has sent back more than 70,000 images [02:16.04]that give a new understanding of Earth's neighboring planet. [02:20.81]Curiosity's findings will help set future Mars exploration. [02:27.02]NASA's Jim Green says the next mission will be launched in 2020. [02:34.09]"Knowing that Mars was an environment [02:36.49]that was habitable in its past, [02:38.61]we're going to start seeking the signs of potential life [02:42.76]that could have existed on Mars. [02:45.12]And that, if we could answer that question, will change everything." [02:50.52]Space scientists chose to explore Mars instead of other planets [02:56.04]because of the Red Planet's similarities with our own. [03:00.84]NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says [03:04.46]Mars is the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. [03:09.40]"If life exists beyond Earth, [03:11.75]and I am one who believes that it may very well, [03:14.87]Mars, for me, is the most likely place that that life will be found." [03:19.42]Mr. Bolden spoke at an event [03:21.58]to mark Curiosity's first year of exploring Mars. [03:26.15]Curiosity is traveling in the low area called Gale Crater, [03:32.48]where it landed last year. [03:34.92]The crater was formed by an asteroid that hit Mars long ago. [03:40.90]It is a deep, 150-kilometer-wide area [03:45.70]similar to a valley or canyon on Earth. [03:49.97]Curiosity is moving toward the area called Mount Sharp. [03:55.68]NASA scientists plan for the device [03:59.08]to study the lower levels of that Martian mountain. [04:03.82]It will search for clues about how the planet has changed over time. [04:10.03]The rover will also search for a type of soil called "clay." [04:16.14]Curiosity has found clay minerals on Mars. [04:21.10]Clay is evidence of once wet conditions on the planet. [04:26.90]Curiosity was designed to work for two years, [04:31.36]but it could go on exploring [04:34.56]and sending information back to Earth much longer. [04:39.33]And that's In the News from VOA Learning English. [04:44.88]For more reports, videos and lessons in American English, [04:49.96]please visit us at 51voa.com. [04:56.27]I'm Steve Ember.