"發現火星有水新證據"

美國國家航空暨太空總署（NASA），最近公布服役已十年的火星探測車機會號的新證據，證明火星表面真的曾經有孕育生命的水存在。

機會號在撞擊坑邊緣的採樣分析含水岩石的時候，發現了pH值為中性的蒙特石，這種石頭在有淡水的環境才會形成。只是火星上所採集到的樣本，應該是早在三四十億年前就發生的，那時的火星上面應該有著大量的水。但後來隨著火星地核逐漸固化，最終導致火星失去了磁場，才變成我們現在所看到的模樣。

除了機會號發現的新證據外，前年登陸火星的好奇號，也發現了一些類似的證據。美國太空總署除了持續探索生命跡象相關的證據外，其它科學家們也將展開火星磁場消失的研究。

(Technology) Evidence of Water Discovered on Mars

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently announced that its decade-old Mars rover, Opportunity, has found new evidence suggesting that life-friendly fresh water once existed on the red planets surface.

The Opportunity rover was in the middle of analyzing water-bearing rocks at the rim of an impact crater when it discovered smectites, which only form in the presence of pH-neutral water (like fresh water). The samples collected are believed to be from three to four billion years ago when there were likely to have been pools of water on the planets surface. However, the gradual solidification of its core eventually resulted in the loss of its magnetic field and led it to become the dry planet we see today.

Apart from the new evidence Opportunity uncovered, the Curiosity rover also made similar discoveries earlier in 2012. While the U.S. NASA remains dedicated to its search for signs of life on Mars, other scientists have also begun to conduct research on the disappearance of the red planets magnetic field.

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