[ti:NASA Explorer Successfully Lands on Mars] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The American space agency’s Mars explorer, Perseverance, [00:06.00]landed successfully on the Red Planet Thursday [00:10.48]after a seven-month trip. [00:13.84]The six-wheeled explorer, or rover, is on a NASA mission [00:20.76]to collect Martian soil and rocks [00:24.12]as part of the search for signs of ancient life. [00:29.20]Ground controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California [00:35.36]cheered after receiving confirmation of the landing on Mars. [00:41.88]It took 11-and-one-half minutes for the confirmation signal to reach Earth. [00:49.92]Moments later, controllers received the rover’s first pictures of Mars. [00:58.16]Perseverance landed in an area of Mars called Jezero Crater, [01:04.60]just north of the planet’s equator. [01:09.24]The area contains a large ancient lakebed. [01:14.36]NASA considers the area a promising place [01:18.52]to find possible signs of microbial life. [01:23.24]Scientists believe if life ever existed on Mars, [01:28.16]it would have been present 3 to 4 billion years ago, [01:33.00]when water flowed on the planet. [01:37.04]However, rough ground around Jezero Crater [01:41.64]presented possible landing dangers for the Perseverance spacecraft. [01:48.08]Al Chen is a member of JPL’s landing team. [01:53.64]He told reporters that while the area was [01:57.16]full of things scientists want to study, [02:00.64]it did not offer the most favorable landing conditions. [02:05.76]The successful landing marked the third recent visit to Mars. [02:11.80]Last week, spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates [02:17.00]and China entered the planet’s orbit. [02:21.60]All three of the missions launched in July to take advantage [02:26.88]of the shorter distance between Earth and Mars at the time. [02:32.88]This closeness between the planets happens every two years. [02:39.52]Perseverance is NASA’s fifth rover to explore Mars. [02:45.76]The first, named Sojourner, was sent in 1997. [02:52.00]Then came Spirit and Opportunity, which landed in 2004. [02:59.08]The fourth rover, Curiosity, has been exploring the planet since 2012. [03:06.60]Those missions all resulted in valuable information about the Red Planet. [03:14.16]NASA says Perseverance “aims to take the next step” [03:19.36]in searching for signs of ancient microbial life. [03:24.96]It is NASA’s largest, heaviest [03:28.32]and most technology-loaded vehicle ever sent to Mars. [03:33.64]It has 19 cameras, two microphones [03:37.96]and a two-meter-long robotic arm. [03:42.32]A machine connected to the arm [03:44.76]will dig into the ground to gather rock and soil. [03:49.68]The rover is equipped with X-ray and imaging systems [03:54.20]to study Martian chemistry [03:56.64]and to identify possible organic compounds. [04:01.24]Perseverance is also carrying a small experimental flyer called Ingenuity. [04:09.16]NASA says the 1.8 kilogram vehicle [04:14.08]will attempt its first flight in the coming months. [04:19.00]NASA officials hope it will be the first vehicle [04:22.76]to fly on a planet other than Earth. [04:26.44]I’m Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM