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SciShow Space is supported by Brilliant.org.
《太空科学秀》由Brilliant.org赞助播出。
Lately, there's been a lot of talk about building a colony on Mars.
最近，很多人都在讨论在火星上建阳台的事儿。
There's still a lot to do before we get to that point, like, we should probably figure out how to get people there.
不过，在建阳台之前还有很多工作要做，比如，要先想办法把人送到火星去。
But even if we did set up a human habitat, we'd still have some huge challenges to overcome.
但就算我们能在火星上建造人类的栖息地，也还是有很多巨大的挑战要攻克。
Because traveling to, and living on, the Red Planet would be more dangerous than basically anything we've ever tried.
因为抵达火星以及在火星上居住这两件事是人类目前为止遇到的难度最大的事情。
Here are three of the biggest challenges the Mars colonists would, or will, have to face.
下面我来介绍一下在火星上生活所不得不面临的三大挑战：
The danger starts long before reaching the Martian surface.
危险在还没抵达火星之前就有了。
Depending on exactly when and how our astronauts launch, it will take the crew somewhere around seven months to get to Mars.
抵达火星表面大概需要七个月的时间，具体情况视出发的时间和方式而上下浮动。
And as soon as they leave the protection of Earth's magnetic field, they'll be exposed to the intense radiation environment of space.
一旦人类离开地球磁场的保护，就要身置于宇宙的强辐射中。
This radiation is mostly made of tiny subatomic particles like protons and neutrons.
这种辐射大部分是由微小的亚原子粒子组成，有点像质子和中子。
Many stream out of the Sun as part of the solar wind, while others, called cosmic rays, come from all over the galaxy.
其中有一部分是以太阳风的形式从太阳放出的，还有一部分是来自银河系各处的宇宙射线。
And sometimes, these particles can strike a bit of DNA as they pass through the human body.
有时候，这种粒子在穿过人体的时候会对DNA造成冲击。
Each hit can randomly change a little of someone's genetic code,
每次冲击都会对人体的基因序列造成一点改变，
and that can lead to mutations in new cells that ultimately cause problems like cancer or heart disease.
继而导致新生细胞的遗传突变，最终造成癌症、心脏病等问题。
Thankfully, because we're protected by the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, we aren't exposed to most of these particles.
平时身置于地球上的我们由于可以得到地球磁场和大气层的保护，所以不会受到这些粒子的伤害。
But things aren't the same in space.
但在宇宙中就不是这么回事儿了。
Although astronauts take precautions, spending six months on the International Space Station results
就算宇航员做再多的预防措施，也抵不过在国际空间站
in absorbing about three times as much radiation as the U.S. annual legal limit, and a trip to Mars would be over twice as much as on the ISS.
待半年所吸收的辐射，高达美国年度法律上限的三倍，而去一次火星所经受的辐射是这三倍辐射的两倍多。
And, if there happened to be an explosive solar flare during the trip, the crew could receive a lethal dose of radiation in just a few hours.
此外，如果航行期间恰好遇到爆炸性的日晕，那宇航员可能就要在短短几小时之内受到致命的高辐射伤害。
Since Mars lacks a global magnetic field and doesn't have much of an atmosphere, things don't get a lot better once the astronauts land, either.
而且，由于火星周围没有磁场，也没有什么大气层，所以即便在火星着陆后也不会有明显的改善。
Over about 500 Earth days, they would receive about as much radiation as on the trip there, and that would really add up over a lifetime.
在近500个地球日里，他们在火星受到的辐射与航行期间一样多，而且随着时间的流逝会越来越多。
To protect our first interplanetary settlers, scientists have a couple of ideas that would make MacGyver proud.
为了保护首批登陆火星的宇航员，科学家们想到了几个能让百战天龙也感到骄傲的点子。
First, it turns out that water is very effective at absorbing radiation,
首先，水吸收辐射的能力很强，
because it's rich in hydrogen, which is just the right size to block these subatomic particles.
因为水富含氢原子，而氢原子的大小恰好可以阻隔这些亚原子粒子。
And water is something the astronauts will already be bringing with them.
而宇航员体内恰好自带水分。
So one option is to line their spaceships and habitats with tanks of it.
所以有一个办法就是在宇宙飞船和栖息地上配置大量的水。
Another option is tunneling underground to escape the radiation,
还有一个办法是在地下挖隧道来躲避辐射，
or setting up shop in giant, empty lava tubes left over from when Mars was volcanically active.
或者找到火星火山活跃期间留下的大型空旷熔岩洞，在里面建造商店。
Of course, astronauts don't need to worry about radiation if they starve to death first, and growing food on Mars won't be a picnic.
当然了，如果宇航员在火星上饿死了的话，也就不必担心辐射的问题了，而且就算在火星上种菜也不会有野餐的环境。
Well, actually, growing food might not be too terrible.
不过其实，种菜是个可以考虑的选择。
Laboratory experiments suggest that it is possible to grow plants in the powdery Martian soil,
室内实验表明，在粉状的火星土壤里种菜不是不可能的，
and Mars' atmosphere is full of yummy carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.
而且火星的大气层里满是光合作用的原料二氧化碳。
What might be more tricky is not dying from the food you grow.
但最可怕的不是在火星上种菜。
See, Mars' surface is full of perchlorates, a class of salts considered industrial waste here on Earth.
火星表面富含高氯酸盐这种地球上的工业废盐
Perchlorates overwhelm the body's thyroid gland by blocking its ability to absorb iodine,
高氯酸盐会阻止人体甲状腺吸收碘，
which is normally used to produce a hormone that regulates your metabolism.
而碘是管理新陈代谢以产生荷尔蒙的必要成分。
In the U.S., it's regulated in things like groundwater at the state level.
美国对于蕴含高氯酸盐的物质是进行监管的，比如地下水。
Massachusetts, for example, sets the legal limit at two parts per billion by mass.
马萨诸塞州的法律规定，地下水中高氯酸盐的含量不能高于十亿分之二。
Meanwhile, on Mars, perchlorates are found at a rate of around 6 million parts per billion, which is just a tad higher.
而火星上高氯酸盐的含量大概是十亿分之六百万，要稍微高一些。
Just like we can clean up soil here at home, it's possible to do the same thing on Mars, like by introducing microbes that eat perchlorate as an energy source.
正如我们可以在地球上清理土壤一样，在火星上也能做同样的事，比如引入以高氯酸盐为食的微生物。
Which, of course, would run the risk of contaminating Mars with even more Earth life.
当然，这样做有一个风险，就是可能会污染火星的环境，让火星土壤里出现更多地球上的生物。
And that's a whole different problem. So, either way, I'm gonna let you take the first bite.
这样所造成的麻烦就不是清除高氯酸盐那么简单了，所以无论最后用哪种方法，我会先为大家科普一下情况。
To power all that soil cleanup, plus basically everything else, settlers will need a reliable source of electricity.
要为清理土壤等事情提供能量，首先需要一种可靠的电源。
The obvious answer is to just throw up a bunch of solar panels and call it a day, but that could be a big mistake.
我们很容易就能想到太阳电池板，只要扔一组太阳电池板在火星上就完活了。但这种方式会产生一个很大的问题。
See, every year, Mars suffers from dust storms the size of Earth's continents, and, on average, those cover the globe about twice a decade.
因为每年火星都会产生与地球大陆规模相当的尘暴，火星平均每十年就会出现两次整个星球规模的尘暴。
The thin Martian atmosphere means these windstorms wouldn't blow over the solar panels, but all that dust flying around blocks an enormous amount of sunlight.
由于火星大气稀疏，所以尘暴不会让太阳电池板停止运转，但四处飞扬的尘土会阻止太阳电池板接收日光。
When the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity got trapped in the last global dust storm in 2007, they were reduced to operating just a few minutes each day.
上一次火星爆发尘暴的2007年，勇气号探测器和机遇号探测器沦落到每天只能运转几分钟的地步。
That's okay if you're a robot, but not so good if you need to do things like, I don't know, breathe or see at night.
要是机器人在火星上还可以，但要是人的话，在晚上就别想喘气也别想看东西了。
To get around this, the first Martian colonists will need to bring a different kind of power source,
要应对这个问题，首批登陆火星的宇航员需要自带一种不同的电源，
like something based on plutonium, because plutonium doesn't care if the Sun is out.
比如以钚为基础的电源，因为钚发电不需要有日光。
So, it's not that there aren't solutions to these problems.
所以说，这些问题也不是没有办法解决的。
We could clean up the soil, build radiation-proof habitats, and figure out a reliable power supply.
我们可以做到清理土壤、建造防辐射的火星并找到可靠的电源。
The thing is, there are a lot of problems, and finding the answer to each of them in a way that doesn't break the bank will be a real challenge.
关键是有太多的问题要解决，找到每个问题的解决方法又不耗尽资源才是真正的挑战。
But, hey. People. On Mars. If we can get that far, we'll figure out the rest.
但是如果已经进行到这一步，之后的问题也能迎刃而解了。
Now, even though solar energy may not be the perfect fit for a Mars colony, it would still be useful.
而现在，虽然太阳能并不是人类以火星为栖息地的最好能源，也依然有用。
And if you want to dive deeper into the quandary of powering a planet with solar, our sponsor Brilliant has a cool lesson about just that.
如果你想深入了解如何利用太阳能来为星球提供能量，我们的赞助商Brilliant有一节专门的课哦！
Brilliant takes you through puzzles and quizzes as a good refresher on how much solar energy we really have to work with here on Earth,
Brilliant详细介绍了当前人类的一些困惑，还以练习的形式科普了地球到底有多少太阳能资源，
and how much we'd need to collect to power current human consumption. Let's see if we can figure it out.
以及人类需要收集多少太阳能来供应当前的消耗水准，然后看看我们能否找到解决的办法吧。
So one of the things I personally love about a Brilliant quiz is that it starts off with some really basic information,
关于Brilliant的小测试，我非常喜欢的一点是，一开始总是介绍非常基础的知识点，
and then dives into some really interesting details before the quiz even starts.
然后深入到一些非常有趣的细节，之后才正式开始测试。
So for example in the Solar Power quiz, it talks about how, of course,
比如，有关太阳能小测验的环节当然就会讲到
all plants and animals are kind of connected with the sun, as far as their power goes, if you will,
动植物能量的消耗与太阳有怎样的关系，
but also how things like windmills depend on the sun, as the wind fundamentally results from uneven heating of the Earth's surface.
以及风车一类的东西是怎样依靠太阳运转起来的，地球表面受热的程度不均匀引起了风。
Which I think is cool!
我觉得这种测试很棒！
So then when you start the actual quiz, what's great is that it gives you all the information that you really need to find the answer,
等你开始测试你就会明白，这种测试好就好在它会为你提供必要的信息，帮助你得出答案。
and if you need to cheat you can just view the solution, then go back and figure out how you would have gotten there in the first place.
而且你也可以直接看答案，然后回头屡思路。
And the first 200 people that sign up at brilliant.org/scishowspace will not only be supporting our show, but will get 20% off an annual subscription.
最先注册brilliant.org/scishowspace的200名用户不仅是对我们节目的大力支持，也可以减免20%的订阅费哦！
