| Scientists studying infrared and visible images taken by the Mars Odyssey orbiter have found what they believe are seven caves flanking a volcano known as Arsia Mons in the planet's equatorial region. |
在研究“火星奥德赛号”探测器拍到的红外与可见光图像时，科学家们发现：火星的赤道地区，有七个洞穴围绕在一座叫做阿尔西亚的火山一侧。 |
| The finding is significant because caves could have provided shelter for life forms needing protection from solar radiation, cosmic particle bombardments, dust storms and micrometeoroid impacts, says Glen Cushing, with the US Geological Survey. |
美国地质调查局的格伦·库欣表示：这个发现很重要，因为这些洞穴可能为某些需要保护的生命提供了庇护所，使它们不至于遭受太阳的辐射、宇宙粒子的袭击、尘暴的席卷和微流星体的碰撞。 |
| The caves could also be a starting point for future human habitats on Mars, particularly if they hold supplies of water ice, adds Cushing, who discussed the research at the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference in Houston last week. |
上周，库欣在休斯顿举行的月球与行星科学研讨会上论述了该项研究。他又指出，未来人类在火星上的居住也可能会从这些洞穴开始。 |
| "Subterranean void spaces may be the only natural structures on Mars capable of protecting life from a range of significant environmental hazards," Cushing and his colleagues wrote in an accompanying research paper announcing their finding. |
在有关这个发现的研究论文中，库欣和他的同事们写道：“地下空间可能是火星上唯一安全的天然构造，能够保护生命不受一系列恶劣环境因素的危害。” |
| "Preserved evidence of past or present life on Mars might only be found in caves, and such a discovery would be of unparalleled biological significance," the scientists say. |
“关于火星上过去或现在是否存在生命，或许只有在这些洞穴里才能找到完好无损的证据，因此这样一个发现将具有无比重大的生物意义，”科学家们说。 |
| The structures are deep enough that, for the most part, their floors are not visible. The giveaway, according to Cushing, is a series of what look like vertical skylights beneath the surface, which appear to be the caves' entrances. |
这些洞穴很深，多数地方深不见底。据库欣称，暴露出这些洞穴的标志物是地面上一系列看似洞顶天窗构造，这些构造又象是洞穴的入口。 |
| The openings range from about 100 to 250 metres wide. |
这些入口的宽度从大约100米到500米不等。 |
| Based on surrounding terrain, as well as a single visual image of one cave's floor, scientists estimate the caves extend at least between about 70 and 130 metres beneath the surface. |
根据周围的地形，还有看到的唯一一个洞底图象，科学家们估计这些洞穴的深度至少在约70米至130米之间。 |
| An instrument aboard Mars Odyssey that maps temperature differences found areas around the caves to be cooler during the day and warmer at night than surrounding areas.Temperatures in the caves themselves appear to be relatively constant, Cushing says, bolstering the theory that there are indeed caves. |
一个安装在“火星奥德赛号”上的勘测地域温差的仪器发现，洞穴周围白天较为凉爽，夜间却比较温暖。库欣说，洞穴本身内部的气温好象相对稳定，从而可以证明这个理论：那里确实存在洞穴。 |
| Scientists are calling the caves the 'seven sisters' and have named them Dena, Chloe, Wendy, Annie, Abbey, Nicki and Jeanne. |
科学家们管这些洞穴叫做“七姐妹”，分别将她们命名为：戴娜、克洛伊、温迪、安比、尼基和珍妮。 |
| Scientists hope to have more information about the caves when the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter passes over the region. The newer probe has an instrument that may be able to peek into the cave openings from an angle. |
当“火星探测轨道飞行器”飞越该区域上空时，科学家希望了解更多关于这些洞穴的信息。这个较新的探测器上装有一台仪器，或许能够从某个特定的角度探视洞内的情况。 |
| "It will be able to see how thick the ceiling of the cave is, and whether it's a hole at all," says Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter scientist Dr Randy Kirk, also with the US Geological Survey. |
“这台仪器将能够探测到洞顶有多厚，是否仅仅为一个直洞等情况，”美国地质调查局研究“火星探测轨道飞行器”的科学家兰迪·克尔克博士说。 |
