The first of NASA s rovers, Sojourner, which reached Mars in 1997, was 65cm long andweighed 10kg. Spirit andOpportunity, its twin successors, were larger, at 1.6 metres and 170kg. Curiosity, bycomparison, is a monster. At 3 metres and 900kg it is the size of a small car. It also usesdifferent technology. The other three rovers were powered by solar panels. Curiosity ispowered by plutonium. This brings three advantages. First, it allowsCuriosity to carry more power-hungry scientific instruments than previous rovers. Second, itpermits the rover to work through the Martian winter. Third, it avoids the problem of dustaccumulating on the solar panels, which gradually sapped the strength of its predecessors.

　　1997年，NASA的火星漫游者 旅居者 到达火星，它长65厘米，重10千克。其继任者，双胞胎 勇气和机遇号 比它更大。相比之下， 好奇号 就是个怪物。其3米长、900公斤重的尺寸就像一部小汽车。它也有不同的技术，之前漫游者由太阳能面板提供能量， 好奇号 由钚驱动。这有三点好处：1、比起之前的漫游者，它能让 好奇号 带上更多的能耗大的科学仪器;2、它允许漫游者在火星冬季保持运转。3、它能避免让前几个漫游者的能量逐渐损耗的太阳能面板积土问题。

　　Curiosity s size makes getting it safely onto the Martian surface tricky. Previous rovers havedeployed parachutes to slow their descents, and have then crashed into the ground usingairbags to cushion their impacts. Curiosity is too massive for that approach to work.Instead, NASA hopes to deposit it on Mars using a contraption it has dubbed a skycrane.

【2015考研英语阅读探测火星】相关文章：

★ 2007年12月英语六级考试阅读冲刺的模拟训练8

★ 英语六级阅读模拟练习2011.5.3

★ 2014年6月英语六级阅读理解的预测题及答案2

★ 2015年6月英语四级阅读必备词汇：医学类

★ 2010年6月英语六级仔细阅读的答案

★ 2013年大学英语六级考试阅读的训练题1

★ 2014年12月英语六级仔细阅读练习题汇总

★ 2013年最新的英语六级阅读练习题及答案3

★ 2013年大学英语六级考试阅读的训练题18

★ 2014年6月英语六级阅读理解的预测题及答案1