火星表面化合物或有劇毒 人類移民火星夢或破碎

A new study suggests that the surface of Mars may contain toxic chemical compounds called perchlorates which destroy bacteria in the presence of UV light.

一項最新研究表明，火星表面可能含有一種名爲“高氯酸鹽”的有毒化合物，它能夠在有紫外線的情況下殺死細菌。

The findings suggest that Mars may be more uninhabitable than previously thought, and could have implications for human exploration on the red planet.

該發現表明，火星可能沒有此前所想的那麼宜居，這對人類探索這一紅色星球會有所影響。

To understand the impact of these chemicals, the researchers investigated their effect on Bacillus subtilis – a common bacteria often found on spacecrafts.

爲了瞭解這些化學物質的影響，研究人員們調查了它們對枯草桿菌--一種宇宙飛船上常見的細菌--的影響。

In the laboratory, the researchers put magnesium perchlorate under short-wave UV radiation, similar to conditions on the surface of Mars.

在實驗室中，研究人員們將高氯酸鎂暴露於類似於火星表面環境的短波紫外輻射下。

They found that under these conditions, the magnesium perchlorate became bacteriocidal, meaning it killed all bacteria.

他們發現，在這些條件下，高氯酸鎂變得具有殺菌作用，也就是它殺死了所有細菌。

The Bacillus subtilis lost viability within minutes in the presence of the magnesium perchlorate.

這些暴露於高氯酸鎂的枯草桿菌在幾分鐘內就失去了活性。

The researchers also suggest that two other components on the Martian surface - iron oxides and hydrogen peroxide - may act alongside the perchlorates resulting in a 10 times increase in bacteria death.

研究人員們還表示，火星表面的其它兩種成分--氧化鐵和過氧化氫--可能會與高氯酸鹽協作，導致細菌死亡率翻了10倍。

While the toxic effects of the Martian surface have been suspected for some time, the findings suggest that the surface of Mars could be very dangerous to cells.

雖然懷疑火星表面的毒性效應已有一些時間，但是此次發現表明，火星表面對於細胞而言是一大威脅。