中文导读

“毅力号”在火星累计行驶45.22公里，成为在地球以外天体表面行驶最远的车辆。本文解释自动导航为何让它更快跨越复杂地形，也说明里程纪录如何服务于寻找古代环境证据。

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On October 11, NASA’s Perseverance rover became the vehicle that has driven farthest on the surface of another world. Its total reached 45.22 kilometers on Mars, just beyond the 45.16 kilometers recorded by Opportunity. Perseverance needed about five and a half years to pass a distance that Opportunity reached over almost 15 years. The new record is not about speed alone. It shows how much robotic driving has changed.

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10月11日，NASA的“毅力号”成为在地球以外天体表面行驶最远的车辆。它在火星上的总里程达到45.22公里，刚刚超过“机遇号”创下的45.16公里。“毅力号”用了约五年半，走过了“机遇号”接近15年才达到的距离。这个新纪录并不只是关于速度，它显示了机器人驾驶技术发生了多大变化。

A rover on Mars cannot be controlled like a toy car. Radio signals take several minutes to travel between Earth and Mars, so a driver cannot react at once to a rock or a steep slope. Engineers on Earth choose a general destination. Perseverance then uses cameras and its AutoNav system to study the ground, build a three-dimensional map, and select a safe path while it moves.

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火星车不能像玩具车那样被实时控制。无线电信号在地球与火星之间传递需要几分钟，因此驾驶人员无法立刻对岩石或陡坡作出反应。地球上的工程师会选择一个大致目的地，随后“毅力号”利用摄像头和AutoNav系统研究地面、建立三维地图，并在行驶时选择安全路线。

This system has guided more than 90 percent of the rover’s distance. NASA says Perseverance checks about 600,000 points each time it studies the path. Sojourner, NASA’s first Mars rover in 1997, used only 20 points. Earlier rovers also had to stop more often to process information. Perseverance can think while driving, which lets it cover more ground during the limited working time of a Martian day.

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这个系统已经引导“毅力号”完成超过90%的行驶里程。NASA表示，“毅力号”每次研究前方路线时会检查约60万个点。NASA于1997年使用的第一辆火星车“旅居者号”只检查20个点。更早的火星车也必须更频繁地停下来处理信息。“毅力号”可以一边行驶一边“思考”，从而在一个火星日有限的工作时间里走过更多路程。

However, traveling farther is only useful if it brings the rover to better places for science. Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater in 2021. Billions of years ago, this area held a lake and a river delta. The rover has moved from the old lake floor through the former river system and toward the crater’s edge. It has collected 29 samples from places with different geological histories.

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然而，只有当更远的行驶能把火星车带到更适合科学研究的地点时，它才真正有用。“毅力号”于2021年降落在杰泽罗陨石坑。数十亿年前，这片区域拥有一个湖泊和一处河流三角洲。火星车已从古老湖底穿过旧河流系统，并向陨石坑边缘前进。它已从具有不同地质历史的地点收集了29份样本。

One rock found along the route may contain a possible sign of ancient microbial life. Scientists call this a potential biosignature, not proof that life existed on Mars. The rover is now entering even older ground, where researchers hope to find signs of past hot-water systems. Such places may once have offered warm, wet conditions that could support life.

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在行驶路线中发现的一块岩石可能含有古代微生物生命的迹象。科学家称其为潜在生物特征，而不是火星曾存在生命的证明。火星车目前正进入更加古老的地面，研究人员希望在那里发现过去热水系统的迹象。这类地点可能曾拥有能够支持生命的温暖、潮湿环境。

The mission still faces limits. Sunlight can create glare in its cameras, rough ground can slow the wheels, and every choice must protect a machine that cannot be repaired by people. NASA has extended the mission through about the end of 2028, and engineers believe the rover may work into the 2030s. Its distance record matters because each safe kilometer gives scientists access to more rocks, more environments, and a longer story of Mars.

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这项任务仍面临限制。阳光可能在摄像头中造成眩光，崎岖地面会减慢车轮速度，而每个选择都必须保护一台无法由人类现场维修的机器。NASA已将任务延长至大约2028年年底，工程师认为火星车可能工作到21世纪30年代。它的里程纪录之所以重要，是因为每一公里安全行驶都会让科学家接触更多岩石、更多环境，并读到更长的火星故事。

新闻来源

• Reuters · NASA’s Perseverance rover breaks record for off-planet driving on Mars
• NASA JPL · NASA’s Perseverance Sets Off-World Record for Total Distance Driven
• TechNews 科技新報 · NASA 毅力號正式打破地球外星球駕駛距離紀錄，自動導航系統為最大功臣
• CNES · Mars 2020 / Perseverance / SuperCam

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