美国航天局模拟"在火星上种土豆"
NASA to simulate growing potatoes on Mars in Peru
Do Peru's potatoes have the right stuff?
秘鲁的土豆能经受住考验吗？
That's the question scientists will be asking in Lima next month, when a selection of tubers will begin undergoing tests to determine whether they're fit to grow on Mars.
这是下个月科学家将要在秘鲁首都利马问的一个问题,届时,经过精心挑选的土豆块茎将接受测试,以确定它们能否在火星上种植.
NASA, the US space agency, is conducting the pioneering experiment together with Lima's International Potato Center (CIP).
美国航天局（NASA）将与利马国际马铃薯中心（CIP）联手,进行这一开创性实验.
They will cultivate a hundred selected varieties already subjected to rigorous evaluation in extreme, Mars-like conditions that could eventually pave the way to building a dome on the Red Planet for farming the vegetable.
他们将对100种精心挑选的、已在类火星极端环境下严格评估的品种进行培育,而这最终将为人们在这颗红色星球上建立蔬菜种植"大棚"铺平道路.
The selection was made from a total of 4,500 varieties registered at CIP, a nonprofit research facility that aims to reduce poverty and achieve food security.
国际马铃薯中心是一个致力于削减贫困、保证粮食安全的非营利研究机构.这些土豆是从在国际马铃薯中心登记注册的4500个品种中挑选出来的.
Of the selected candidates, 40 are native to the Andes Mountains, conditioned to grow in different ecological zones, withstand sudden climate changes and reproduce in rocky, arid terrain.
在获选土豆中,有40种是安第斯山脉土生土长的品种.这些品种可在不同生态地区生长、对气候的突然变化具有耐受性,并可在多岩石的干旱土壤中生长繁育.
The other 60 are genetically modified varieties able to survive with little water and salt. They are also immune to viruses.
另外60种土豆均为转基因品种,能够在缺水和低钠的环境中生存.此外,这些品种还对病毒免疫.
Those that pass the tests must meet a final criterion -- they must be able not only to grow well on Mars but also reproduce in large quantities.
这些品种最终必须达到一个标准：不仅能在火星上茁壮生长,而且还能被大量繁育.
"We're almost 100 percent certain that many of the selected potatoes will past the tests," said Julio Valdivia Silva, a Peruvian NASA astrobiologist who is taking part in the ambitious project.
参与美国航天局此项宏伟计划的秘鲁裔太空生物学家胡里奥·瓦尔迪维亚·席尔瓦说："精选出来的土豆中,将会有不少品种通过测试,对此我们有百分百的把握."
The scientists hope the experiment will also help address the earthly scourges of hunger and malnutrition by identifying varieties suited to growing in harsh conditions.
