美国国家航空航天局（NASA）火星探测车：我们终于可以回答有关火星的大问题了吗？
Exactly a year from now, a capsule will come hurtling through the atmosphere of Mars with the Americans’ next big rover. If it survives the “seven minutes of terror” that describe its descent to the surface, the new robot promises a very different mission to all those that have gone before it.
大约一年后，一个胶囊将包裹着美国大型漫游车从火星的大气层飞驰而过。如果他在下降过程中的“恐怖七分钟”中幸存下来，这个新型机器人将承担着与之前来过的机器人完全不同的使命。
Because although Mars 2020 looks like a simple copy of the Curiosity vehicle of 2012, its goals take a decisive turn towards answering the most fundamental of questions: is there – or has there ever been – life on the Red Planet?
虽然火星号2020看起来像2012年好奇号的复制品，但其目标却朝着最根本的问题迈出了决定性的转折：火星是否现今，或曾经存在过生命。
Recent investigations have concentrated on characterising the “habitability” of Mars.
最近的调查集中于表征火星的“可居住性”。
That’s to say, these prior missions asked only if past conditions were conducive to biology. A less direct approach.
也就是说，这些先前的任务进询问火星过去的条件是否有利于生物学。一种不太直接的方法。
Mars 2020, on the other hand, will be engaged in an explicit hunt for life’s traces.
另一方面，火星2020将明确寻找生物的踪迹。
Satellite image: Jezero shows strong evidence of the past presence of a lake and delta
卫星图片，Jexero有力的证明了过去存在湖泊和三角洲
Undeniably it’ll be a difficult quest. Evidence for life on the early Earth always attracts a degree of scepticism, even controversy, and laboratory equipment the size of a large room is often required to back up a claim.
不可否认，这是一个艰巨的任务。早期地球上存在生命的证据总是引起一定程度上的怀疑，甚至引起争议，并且经常需要像大房间一样的实验设备来支持所宣称的结果。
So how will people react if a rover finds something intriguing imprinted in billions-of-years-old rock on another planet?
那么，如果探测车发现另一颗星球上数十亿年的岩石上留下的深刻的印记，人们该如何反应？
2020 mission scientist Jim Bell from Arizona State University is candid in his response: “We can make a claim about a biosignature, but it’s not clear to me anyone would believe us,” he said.
亚利桑那州立大学火星2020任务的科学家吉姆贝尔坦率地回答：“我们可以声称具有生物特征，但是我不清楚是否有人相信我们”。
“So, let’s bring the samples back. So if those extraordinary claims are made, they can be verified.”
“所以我们把样品带回来。因此，如果那些要求得到满足，则可以对其进行验证。”
This then is the strategy for Mars 2020: Find something remarkable and cache it for later return to one of those big Earth laboratories.
这就是火星2020的策略：找到非同寻常的东西并将其缓存起来，供地球上的大型实验室使用。
Artwork: Mars 2020 looks the same as Curiosity but it represents a step-up in capability
艺术品：火星2020看起来像好奇者，但是代表了能力提升