第2184期:Why Is Methane Gas Coming Out of the Ground on Mars?

for example, when the Curiosity rover drives over the area.例如当好奇号火星车驶过该地区时，也可能释放少量甲烷。

Pavlov said this theory could help explain why methane levels have only been discovered in the Gale Crater area. It is the only place on Mars where NASA’s Curiosity rover is currently active.巴甫洛夫说，这一理论可以帮助解释为什么只在盖尔陨石坑地区发现了甲烷水平。 这是美国宇航局好奇号火星车目前在火星上唯一活跃的地方。

NASA has another rover working on Mars, Perseverance. But it has been exploring the Jezero Crater area on another part of the planet. Jezero Crater is also believed to have contained large water bodies in the distant past. But Perseverance is not equipped with a methane-detecting instrument.美国宇航局还有另一辆火星车“毅力号”正在火星上工作。 但它一直在探索地球另一部分的杰泽罗陨石坑地区。 据信，杰泽罗陨石坑在遥远的过去也曾存在过大型水体。 但毅力号并未配备甲烷检测仪器。

Pavlov noted that the latest theory came from his memories of an unrelated experiment carried out in 2017. The experiment involved growing microorganisms in a simulated Martian environment that included frozen soil that contained salt.巴甫洛夫指出，最新的理论来自他对 2017 年进行的一项无关实验的记忆。该实验涉及在模拟火星环境中培养微生物，其中包括含盐的冻土。

During that experiment, researchers observed that the collection of soil on top formed an icy, salty crust. Changes in conditions caused the ice to melt, turning the solid material into a gas and leaving the salt behind.在那次实验中，研究人员观察到顶部的土壤聚集形成了冰冷的咸味外壳。 条件的变化导致冰融化，将固体物质变成气体并留下盐。

Pavlov’s team tested five samples of frozen soil containing different kinds of salt material commonly found on Mars. A new set of Earth-based experiments was carried out in which the frozen material was exposed to different temperatures and air pressures inside an environment at Goddard that was designed to be like Mars.巴甫洛夫的团队测试了五个冻土样本，其中含有火星上常见的不同种类的盐物质。 进行了一系列新的地球实验，其中将冷冻材料暴露在戈达德的一个设计为类似于火星的环境中的不同温度和气压下。

The team was able to repeatedly copy the salt sealing process in Mars-like conditions during laboratory testing. The researchers said they plan to keep carrying out experiments under different conditions and using salt minerals to confirm their theory.该团队能够在实验室测试期间重复复制类似火星条件下的盐密封过程。 研究人员表示，他们计划继续在不同条件下进行实验，并利用盐矿物质来证实他们的理论。

But the researchers noted that to carry out more detailed methane investigations, they will likely need a whole new generation of sensitive instruments. These would be designed to measure methane continuously from many places on Mars.但研究人员指出，为了进行更详细的甲烷研究，他们可能需要全新一代的敏感仪器。 这些将被设计用于从火星上的许多地方连续测量甲烷。