火星可能曾經(jīng)是藍(lán)色的

研究隕石發(fā)現(xiàn)，火星可能曾經(jīng)是藍(lán)色的

Scientists have discovered 4-billion-year-old organic molecules containing nitrogen in a Martian meteorite, shedding new light on the red planet’s early history.

科學(xué)家在火星隕石中發(fā)現(xiàn)了40億年前的含氮有機分子，為這顆紅色星球的早期歷史提供了新的線索。

The meteorite, ALH 84001, was ejected from the surface of the red planet 15 million years ago, according to scientists. It was found in Antarctica in 1984.

據(jù)科學(xué)家稱，這顆隕石編號為ALH 84001，是1500萬年前從這顆紅色行星的表面噴射出來的。它于1984年在南極洲被發(fā)現(xiàn)。

The discovery was made by a team that included experts from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

這一發(fā)現(xiàn)是由一個小組完成的，該小組成員包括來自東京理工大學(xué)地球生命科學(xué)研究所(ELSI)和日本宇宙航空研究開發(fā)機構(gòu)(JAXA)空間和航天科學(xué)研究所的專家。

Scientists say that the discovery of nitrogen molecules offers clues to what Mars was once like. Specifically that the presence of water on the planet may have once given it a significantly different appearance to the red planet we now know.

科學(xué)家說，氮分子的發(fā)現(xiàn)為火星曾經(jīng)的樣子提供了線索。特別是，火星上的水可能曾經(jīng)使它的外觀與我們現(xiàn)在所知道的紅色星球完全不同。

“Because carbonate minerals typically precipitate from the groundwater, this finding suggests a wet and organic-rich early Mars, which could have been habitable and favorable for life to start,” they explain in a statement. “Early Mars may have been more ‘Earth-like’, less oxidizing, wetter and organic-rich. Perhaps it was ‘blue.’”

他們在一份聲明中解釋說:“由于碳酸鹽巖礦物通常會從地下水中沉淀出來，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)表明，早期的火星是濕潤的，富含有機物，可能適合居住，有利于生命的開始。”“早期的火星可能更‘像地球’，氧化性更小，更濕潤，富含有機物。也有可能是‘藍(lán)色’的。”

The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

這項研究發(fā)表在《自然通訊》雜志上。

In the study, experts note that the current surface of the red planet is too harsh for most organics to survive, although organic compounds could likely be preserved in the near-surface of Mars for billions of years. “This seems to be the case for the nitrogen-bearing organic compounds the team found in the ALH84001 carbonates, which appear to have been trapped in the minerals 4 billion years ago and preserved for long periods before finally being delivered to Earth,” they explain in the statement.

在這項研究中，專家們指出，目前這顆紅色星球的表面過于嚴(yán)酷，大多數(shù)有機物無法生存，盡管有機化合物可能在火星近地表保存數(shù)十億年。他們在聲明中解釋說：“這似乎是研究小組在ALH84001碳酸鹽巖中發(fā)現(xiàn)的含氮有機化合物的情況，這些化合物似乎在40億年前被困在礦物中，并保存了很長一段時間，最后才被送到地球。”。