TED2006
Penelope Boston: There might just be life on Mars
潘妮洛普‧波士頓表示火星可能有生命存在
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雖然火星探測漫遊者沒有發現任何外星生命，科學家潘妮洛普‧波士頓認為火星上有生命存在的機率很高——百分之25到百分之50的高——尤其在火星洞穴的深處。她詳細的解釋我們應該如何尋找和這樣尋找的原因。
Penelope Boston - Cave scientist
Penelope Boston studies caves and karst formations, and the special biology that lives in them -- both here on Earth and possibly on other planets. Full bio
Penelope Boston studies caves and karst formations, and the special biology that lives in them -- both here on Earth and possibly on other planets. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:18
The career that I started early on in my life
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我在我人生早年開始的工作
00:21
was looking for exotic life forms in exotic places,
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是在奇特的環境裡尋找奇特的生命形式，
00:25
and at that time I was working in the Antarctic and the Arctic,
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而在那個時候我工作的地方包括南極和北極，
00:28
and high deserts and low deserts.
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還有美西的高地沙漠和低地沙漠。
00:30
Until about a dozen years ago, when I was really captured by caves,
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直到大約十幾年前，當我真正深深的被洞穴的魅力所吸引，
00:33
and I really re-focused most of my research in that direction.
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我才真正的重新調整我大部分的研究往這個方向。
00:37
So I have a really cool day job-- I get to do some really amazing stuff.
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於是我有個酷極了的日常工作——我能夠做一些驚人的事情。
00:40
I work in some of the most extreme cave environments on the planet.
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我在這個星球上最極端的一些洞穴環境裡工作。
00:44
Many of them are trying to kill us from the minute we go into them,
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其中很多在我們進入的那一刻就試著要殺死我們，
00:46
but nevertheless, they're absolutely gripping,
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但儘管如此，它們相當的引人入勝，
00:49
and contain unbelievable biological wonders
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而且有著令人難以致信的生物奇蹟。
00:51
that are very, very different from those that we have on the planet.
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這些生命和我們所知的地球上的生物相當不同。
00:54
Apart from the intrinsic value
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我們除了學習到
00:56
of the biology and mineralogy and geo-microbiology that we do there,
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生物學、礦物學、和地質微生物學方面的本質以外，
00:59
we're also using these as templates
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我們也利用這些環境來當做
01:01
for figuring out how to go look
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如何找出在其他星球上
01:03
for life on other planets.
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尋找生命的模板。
01:05
Particularly Mars, but also Europa,
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其中特別是火星，但也包括歐羅巴(木衛二)，
01:07
the small, icy moon around Jupiter.
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木星小而覆冰的衛星之一。
01:10
And perhaps, someday, far beyond our solar system itself.
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甚至，有一天也有可能到我們的太陽系之外去尋找生命。
01:13
I'm very passionately interested in the human future,
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我對於人類的未來有著極為濃厚的興趣，
01:16
on the Moon and Mars particularly,
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尤其是在月亮和火星上，
01:18
and elsewhere in the solar system.
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及在太陽系裡的其他地方。
01:20
I think it's time that we transitioned
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我認為我們轉變為
01:22
to a solar system-going civilization and species.
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一個太陽系橫越文明和種族的時候到了。
01:25
And, as an outgrowth of all of this then,
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而這些推測的發展後果
01:28
I wonder about whether we can, and whether we even should,
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令我思考我能究竟能不能和應不應該
01:31
think about transporting Earth-type life to other planets.
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考慮把地球上的生命傳送到別的星球去。
01:35
Notably Mars, as a first example.
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打比方來說：火星。
01:37
Something I never talk about in scientific meetings
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我在科學學術會議上從來不提的
01:39
is how I actually got to this state
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是我是如何到現在的情況
01:41
and why I do the work that I do.
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和我為什麼選擇做我在做的工作。
01:43
Why don't I have a normal job, a sensible job?
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我為什麼沒有一個正常的工作，一個合乎邏輯的工作?
01:46
And then of course, I blame the Soviet Union.
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而當然，我歸咎於蘇聯。
01:49
Because in the mid-1950s,
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因為在1950年代中期，
01:51
when I was a tiny child,
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當我還是個小孩的時候，
01:53
they had the audacity to launch
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他們膽大的發射了
01:55
a very primitive little satellite called Sputnik,
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一顆非常原始的小人造衛星-旅行者(史普尼克1號)，
01:58
which sent the Western world into a hysterical tailspin.
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這壯舉把西方世界送入了歇斯底里的混亂。
02:02
And a tremendous amount of money
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於是大筆的資金
02:04
went into the funding of science
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被投入到提升學童的自然
02:06
and mathematics skills for kids.
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與數學能力的教育中。
02:08
And I'm a product of that generation,
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而我就是那個時代的產物，
02:10
like so many other of my peers.
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我許多的同事亦然
02:12
It really caught hold of us, and caught fire,
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這不但啟發了我們，更點燃了我們對科學的熱情。
02:14
and it would be lovely if we could reproduce that again now.
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如果我們能在現在再重新經歷一次那就太完美了。
02:17
Of course, refusing to grow up --
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當然，拒絕長大——
02:19
-- even though I impersonate a grown-up in daily life,
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雖然說我在日常生活扮演著一個成人，
02:22
but I do a fairly good job of that --
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而我在那方面上還蠻成功的——
02:24
but really retaining that childlike quality
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而真正的保持兒童般的特性
02:26
of not caring what other people think
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去不在乎別人對於
02:28
about what you're interested in, is really critical.
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你有興趣的事情的想法是非常關鍵的。
02:31
The next element is the fact that
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另一個元素則是
02:33
I have applied a value judgment
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我自己有一個價值觀
02:35
and my value judgment is that the presence of life
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而我的價值判斷是有生命的存在
02:37
is better than no life.
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比沒有生命的存在好。
02:39
And so, life is more valuable than no life.
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所以，有生命比無生命來的珍貴。
02:41
And so I think that that holds together
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所以我認為我的價值判斷
02:44
a great deal of the work
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把坐在觀眾裡的各為所接觸
02:46
that people in this audience approach.
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的大量的工作結合連接在一起。
02:50
I'm very interested in Mars, of course,
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理所當然的，我對火星非常的感興趣。
02:53
and that was a product of my being a young undergraduate
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那是維京探測號在我還是個年輕大學生的時候
02:57
when the Viking Landers landed on Mars.
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降落在火星上的產物。
03:00
And that took what had been
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而那把原來在天際裡
03:02
a tiny little astronomical object in the sky,
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你只看的到一個點的
03:05
that you would see as a dot,
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小小的天文物體，
03:07
and turned it completely into a landscape,
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藉由那第一張
03:11
as that very first primitive picture
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播放在螢幕上的圖像
03:13
came rastering across the screen.
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完全轉變成一塊實體有景有物的地。
03:15
And when it became a landscape,
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而當它轉變成了一塊實體的地，
03:17
it also became a destination,
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火星也同時變成了一個目的地，
03:19
and altered, really, the course of my life.
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同時，真正的改變了我的人生軌道。
03:23
In my graduate years I worked with
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在我畢業後，我和我的
03:25
my colleague and mentor and friend, Steve Schneider,
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同事、導師、和朋友，史蒂夫‧史耐德一起
03:27
at the National Center for Atmospheric Research,
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在國家大氣研究中心
03:29
working on global change issues.
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做關於全球變遷的研究。
03:32
We've written a number of things on
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我們寫了一些關於
03:34
the role of Gaia hypothesis --
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蓋亞假說——
03:35
whether or not you could consider Earth as a single entity
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你是否能在任何科學的意義上
03:38
in any meaningful scientific sense,
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將地球看成一個獨立存在的實體——的著作
03:40
and then, as an outgrowth of that,
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然後，進一步從那裡的延伸，
03:42
I worked on the environmental consequences of nuclear war.
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我又做了核子戰爭的環境影響的研究。
03:46
So, wonderful things and grim things.
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整體而言，完美但又令人生畏的東西。
03:48
But what it taught me was to look at Earth as a planet
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但這些研究讓我用外部的視角來看地球，一個星球，
03:51
with external eyes, not just as our home.
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而不只是我們的家。
03:54
And that is a wonderful stepping away in perspective,
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而那讓我在思考方式上
03:58
to try to then think about the way
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有了完美的進步。
04:00
our planet behaves, as a planet,
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我能夠思考我們行星，作為一顆星球，
04:03
and with the life that's on it.
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作為上面住有生命的行星，的行為。
04:05
And all of this seems to me to be
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而這一切對我來說
04:08
a salient point in history.
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都是歷史中的轉折點。
04:10
We're getting ready to begin to go
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我們已經準備好來開始
04:12
through the process of leaving our planet of origin
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離開我們起源的星球
04:15
and out into the wider solar system and beyond.
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而出發到太陽系及其之外的過程了。
04:19
So, back to Mars.
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所以，回到火星。
04:21
How hard is it going to be to find life on Mars?
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在火星上找到生命有多難?
04:23
Well, sometimes it's really very hard for us to find each other,
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有時候我們覺得找到彼此就是一件非常難的事情，
04:25
even on this planet.
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就同在一個星球上。
04:27
So, finding life on another planet
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所以在別的星球尋找生命
04:29
is a non-trivial occupation
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的難度可想而知。
04:31
and we spend a lot of time trying to think about that.
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而我們花了很多時間來思考這個問題。
04:34
Whether or not you think it's likely to be successful
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你是否覺得這有可能成功，
04:36
sort of depends on what you think about
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在某些程度上取決於你認為
04:38
the chances of life in the universe.
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生命在宇宙中存在的機率。
04:40
I think, myself,
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我個人認為，
04:42
that life is a natural outgrowth
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生命是物質隨著時間逐漸
04:45
of the increasing complexification of matter over time.
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增加複雜程度的自然現象。
04:48
So, you start with the Big Bang and you get hydrogen,
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我們從大爆炸到氫原子的產生，
04:50
and then you get helium, and then you get more complicated stuff,
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然後到氦原子以及之後更複雜的東西，
04:52
and you get planets forming --
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一直到星球的形成，
04:54
and life is a common, planetary-based phenomenon, in my view.
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在我看來，生命是一個普遍而已行星為基礎的現象。
04:58
Certainly, in the last 15 years,
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沒錯，在過去十五年，
05:00
we've seen increasing numbers of planets
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確認在我們的太陽系之外的行星
05:03
outside of our solar system being confirmed,
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的數字不斷的增加，
05:06
and just last month, a couple of weeks ago,
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而就在上個月，幾個星期以前，
05:09
a planet in the size-class of Earth
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人類其實找到了
05:11
has actually been found.
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一個地球大小的行星。
05:13
And so this is very exciting news.
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這是非常令人興奮的消息。
05:15
So, my first bold prediction is that,
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所以，我第一個大膽的預測是，
05:17
is that in the universe, life is going to be everywhere.
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在宇宙裡，生命將無所不在。
05:20
It's going to be everywhere we look --
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在我們所尋找的每個地方，
05:22
where there are planetary systems that can possibly support it.
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行星系統都有可能足夠的支持生命的。存在
05:25
And those planetary systems are going to be very common.
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而那些行星系統將會非常的普遍。
05:28
So, what about life on Mars?
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那麼火星上的生命呢?
05:30
Well, if somebody had asked me about a dozen years ago
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如果有人在十幾年前
05:32
what I thought the chances of life on Mars would be,
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問我火星上生命存在的可能性，
05:35
I would've probably said, a couple of percent.
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我大概會回答說，百分之幾，
05:38
And even that was considered outrageous at the time.
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儘管在那個時候這種預測是很令人驚訝而嚇人的。
05:41
I was once sneeringly introduced
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我曾經有一次
05:43
by a former NASA official,
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被一位前美國航太總署的官員輕蔑的介紹為
05:45
as the only person on the planet
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地球上唯一一個
05:47
who still thought there was life on Mars.
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還相信火星上有生命的人。
05:49
Of course, that official is now dead, and I'm not,
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當然，那位官員現在已經過世了，而我還沒有，
05:51
so there's a certain amount of glory
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所以在比對手活得長命來說，
05:54
in outliving your adversaries.
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我有些許的驕傲。
05:56
But things have changed greatly
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但在過去的十幾年
05:58
over the last dozen years.
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很多東西都有了巨大的變化。
06:01
And the reason that they have changed
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而這些變化
06:03
is because we now have new information.
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是因為我們現在有了新的資訊。
06:05
The amazing Pathfinder mission that went in '97,
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1997年發射的火星探路者任務
06:08
and the MER Rover missions
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和現在在火星上的
06:10
that are on Mars as we speak now
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火星探測漫遊者任務
06:12
and the European Space Agency's Mars Express,
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以及歐洲太空總署的火星特快車
06:15
has taught us a number of amazing things.
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提供我們許多驚人的資訊。
06:17
There is sub-surface ice on that planet.
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火星地表下有冰。
06:20
And so where there is water,
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而有水的地方
06:22
there is a very high chance of our kind of life.
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有非常高的機率存在我們所定義的生命。
06:24
There's clearly sedimentary rocks all over the place –
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火星很明顯的到處都是沉積岩——
06:26
one of the landers is sitting in the middle of an ancient seabed,
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有一個登陸者在一個古老的海床降落，
06:29
and there are these amazing structures called blueberries,
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而那裡有這些令人驚人被我們稱為藍苺的
06:33
which are these little, rocky concretions
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小而硬的凝結物。
06:35
that we are busy making biologically
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我的實驗室正在緊鑼密鼓
06:37
in my lab right now.
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生物性合成的東西也是如此。
06:39
So, with all of these things put together,
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將所有這些證據放在一起，
06:41
I think that the chances of life
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我想生命存在的可能性
06:43
are much greater than I would've ever thought.
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比我想像中的還要大很多很多。
06:45
I think that the chance of life having arisen on Mars, sometime in its past,
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我認為在過去某個時期火星上產生過生命的機率
06:49
is maybe one in four to maybe even half and half.
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大概在百分之25到50之間。
06:52
So this is a very bold statement.
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這是個非常大膽的聲明。
06:54
I think it's there, and I think we need
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我認為生命的確在那裡，
06:56
to go look for it, and I think it's underground.
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我們需要去尋找它，而它們住在地下。
06:58
So the game's afoot, and this is the game that we play in astro-biology.
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好戲正在上演，而舞台就是天體生物學。
07:02
How do you try to get a handle on extraterrestrial life?
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接下來的問題是我們該如何駕馭外星生命？
07:05
How do you plan to look for it?
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我們該如何去計畫尋找他們的過程？
07:07
How do you know it when you find it?
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當我們如何才能得知發現了生命？
07:09
Because if it's big and obvious, we would've already found it --
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因為如果生命夠大夠明顯的的話，我們早就該發現它了——
07:11
it would've already bitten us on the foot, and it hasn't.
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它大概早就在咬我們的腳了，但它並沒有。
07:14
So, we know that it's probably quite cryptic.
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所以我們知道那裡的生物大概很隱秘。
07:16
Very critically, how do we protect it,
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非常關鍵的一點是，當我們發現生命了之後，
07:18
if we find it, and not contaminate it?
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應該要怎樣保護它並使它免於污染？
07:21
And also, even perhaps more critically, because
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也許更關鍵的一點是，
07:24
this is the only home planet we have,
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由於地球是我們唯一的家園，
07:26
how do we protect us from it, while we study it?
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我們該怎樣在研究外星生命的同時保護自己?
07:30
So why might it be hard to find?
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那麼為什麼那裡的生命很難被發現？
07:32
Well, it's probably microscopic, and it's never easy
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當然，這種生命大概是顯微鏡尺度的，
07:34
to study microscopic things,
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想要研究這種生命也絕非易事，
07:36
although the amazing tools that we now have to do that
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即使我們現在有先進的工具
07:39
allow us to study things in much greater depth,
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讓我們能比以前更加深入得
07:41
at much smaller scales than ever before.
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研究尺寸異常微小的生物。
07:44
But it's probably hiding, because if you are out
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但這些生命大概隱藏在暗處，因為如果你
07:47
sequestering resources from your environment, that makes you yummy,
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出外從環境搜尋可用的資源與營養，你是個很可口的目標，
07:50
and other things might want to eat you, or consume you.
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別的生物可能會想要吃你或消化你。
07:52
And so, there's a game of predator-prey
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這種掠食與被掠食的關係
07:55
that's going to be, essentially, universal, really,
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在任何生物系統中
08:00
in any kind of biological system.
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都是存在的。
08:02
It also may be very, very different in its fundamental properties –
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這種生命也許與我們有非常不同的本質區別，
08:05
its chemistry, or its size.
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無論是化學結構還是體積大小。
08:07
We say small, but what does that mean?
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我們說它小，但具體有多小？
08:09
Is it virus-sized? Is it smaller than that?
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跟病毒差不多大？還是比病毒更小？
08:11
Is it bigger than the biggest bacterium? We don't know.
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有可能比最大的細菌還大?我們不知道。
08:13
And speed of activity, which is something that we face
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還有它們的活動力，這是我們在研究
08:16
in our work with sub-surface organisms,
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地下生物時所遇到的問題之一，
08:18
because they grow very, very slowly.
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因為它們的生長速度是異常之慢。
08:20
If I were to take a swab off your teeth
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如果我從你的牙齒上擦下來點東西
08:23
and plate it on a Petri plate,
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並放在培養皿上，
08:25
within about four or five hours, I would have to see growth.
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大概過四五個小時我們就會看到這些生物的生長。
08:28
But the organisms that we work with,
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但對我們研究的
08:30
from the sub-surface of Earth,
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地下生物來說，
08:31
very often it's months -- and in many cases, years --
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我們經常要等待數月甚至數年，
08:34
before we see any growth whatsoever.
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才能觀察到生長現象。
08:36
So they are, intrinsically, a slower life-form.
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所以他們從本質上說，是一種慢速生命形式。
08:39
But the real issue is that we are guided by
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但其實真正的問題在於我們都習慣於
08:42
our limited experience,
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被自己有限的經驗所引導，
08:44
and until we can think out of the box of our cranium and what we know,
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直到我們能衝破思想的樊籬後，我們才會意識到
08:48
then we can't recognize what to look for,
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我們無法辨識要找的是什麼
08:50
or how to plan for it.
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或者怎樣為其制定計劃。
08:53
So, perspective is everything
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所以，觀點，是一切的前提，
08:55
and, because of the history that I've just briefly talked to you about,
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並且，正如我之前簡介的自己的那段經歷，
08:58
I have learned to think about Earth
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我已經學會在思考問題的時候將地球
09:00
as an extraterrestrial planet.
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看做一個普通的地外行星。
09:02
And this has been invaluable in our approach to try to study these things.
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這已經成為我們研究相關問題的一個非常寶貴的手段。
09:06
This is my favorite game on airplanes:
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我搭飛機時喜歡的的一個遊戲
09:08
where you're in an airplane and you look out the window,
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是在飛機上，從機窗眺望，
09:10
you see the horizon.
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你可以看到地平線。
09:11
I always turn my head on the side,
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這時候我總是將頭靠在一邊，
09:13
and that simple change makes me go from
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這一小小的改變會讓我看地球的角度
09:16
seeing this planet as home,
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從自己的家
09:18
to seeing it as a planet.
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換到一個行星。
09:20
It's a very simple trick, and I never fail to do it
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這是個非常簡單的把戲，而當我坐在靠窗的座位的時候
09:22
when I'm sitting in a window seat.
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我樂此不疲。
09:24
Well, this is what we apply to our work.
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當然我們也把這應用在我們的工作上。
09:26
This shows one of the most extreme caves that we work in.
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這幅照片展示的是我們工作過的洞穴裡最極端的。
09:29
This is Cueva de Villa Luz in Tabasco, in Mexico,
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這是位於墨西哥塔巴斯科州的明屋之洞，
09:33
and this cave is saturated with sulfuric acid.
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洞內飽和著了氣態硫酸。
09:36
There is tremendous amounts of hydrogen sulfide
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它同時也有
09:38
coming into this cave from volcanic sources
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大量來自火山源
09:41
and from the breakdown of evaporite --
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以及分解的蒸發石——
09:43
minerals below the carbonates in which this cave is formed --
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這個洞穴產生的碳酸鹽之下的礦物——
09:47
and it is a completely hostile environment for us.
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的硫化氫，這使洞穴環境變得對人類極為不友善。
09:49
We have to go in with protective suits and breathing gear,
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要想進入洞穴，我們必須穿著保護服裝以及呼吸裝備。
09:53
and 30 parts per million of H2S will kill you.
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百萬分之三十的硫化氫就會要了你的命，
09:58
This is regularly several hundred parts per million.
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而洞穴裡的硫化氫濃度高達百萬分之幾百。
10:00
So, it's a very hazardous environment,
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除此之外那裡還有一氧化碳等氣體，
10:02
with CO as well, and many other gases.
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使得環境異常的危險。
10:04
These extreme physical and chemical parameters
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這些極端的物理和化學因素
10:07
make the biology that grows in these places very special.
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使得生長在這裡的生物變得非常特殊。
10:11
Because contrary to what you might think, this is not devoid of life.
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因為正好與你們可能想像的相反，那裡不是生命的禁區。
10:14
This is one of the richest caves
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這是我們發現的地球上
10:16
that we have found on the planet, anywhere.
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生命種類最豐富的洞穴之一。
10:18
It's bursting with life.
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簡直可以說是生機勃勃到了極點。
10:20
The extremes on Earth are interesting in their own right,
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地球上的各種極端本身就是很吸引人的，
10:22
but one of the reasons that we're interested in them
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但我們之所以對它們感興趣的原因之一，
10:24
is because they represent, really,
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是因為這些環境極端惡劣的洞穴
10:26
the average conditions that we may expect on other planets.
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可以為我們呈現我們想像中的其他星球的普通環境。
10:29
So, this is part of the ability that we have,
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這使我們具有
10:31
to try to stretch our imagination,
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部分擴展自我想像力
10:33
in terms of what we may find in the future.
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來預測未來可能的發現的能力
10:36
There's so much life in this cave,
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太多太多的生命生存在這個洞穴裡，
10:38
and I can't even begin
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覆蓋了整個洞穴以至於
10:40
to scratch the surface of it with you.
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我甚至不知道要從哪裡開始向你們介紹。
10:42
But one of the most famous objects out of this
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其中一種著名的物體
10:44
are what we call Snottites, for obvious reasons.
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因為明顯的原因，我們叫它「鼻涕 」。
10:47
This stuff looks like what comes out of your two-year-old's nose when he has a cold.
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因為這玩意兒看起來像是從你感冒的兩歲小孩的鼻子裡流出來的東西。
10:51
And this is produced by bacteria who are actually
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這其實是一種細菌的產物。
10:54
making more sulfuric acid,
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這些細菌生產硫酸
10:56
and living at pHs right around zero.
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並且生活在pH為零左右的環境中。
10:59
And so, this stuff is like battery acid.
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所以這些「鼻涕 」其實類似電池裡的酸液。
11:01
And yet, everything in this cave has adapted to it.
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但這裡所有的生物都已經適應了環境。
11:04
In fact, there's so much energy available
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事實上，這裡有大量的能量
11:06
for biology in this cave,
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足夠滿足各種生物的需求，
11:08
that there's actually a huge number of cavefish.
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甚至可以養活許多的洞穴魚類。
11:10
And the local Zoque Indians
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當地的索克印地安人
11:12
harvest this twice a year,
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每年捕捉兩次這些魚
11:14
as part of their Easter week celebration and Holy Week celebration.
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來作為復活節週和聖週慶祝活動的一部分。
11:16
This is very unusual for caves.
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這在洞穴來說是非常不尋常的。
11:18
In some of the other amazing caves that we work in --
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我們也在其他一些令人驚奇的洞穴裡工作過——
11:21
this is in Lechuguilla cave in New Mexico near Carlsbad,
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這是新墨西哥州卡爾斯巴德附近的墨西哥龍舌蘭洞，
11:25
and this is one of the most famous caves in the world.
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而這是世界上最著名的洞穴之一。
11:28
It's 115 miles of mapped passage,
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它有著115英里長的通道，
11:30
it's pristine, it has no natural opening
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完全保持著原始的面貌，它沒有天然洞口
11:33
and it's a gigantic biological,
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而且是是一個巨大的生物
11:35
geo-microbiological laboratory.
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及地質微生物實驗室。
11:38
In this cave, great areas are covered by
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在這個洞穴中，一種淡紅色的物質
11:41
this reddish material that you see here,
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覆蓋了你可以看到的大片區域，
11:43
and also these enormous crystals
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你還可以在這裡看到
11:45
of selenite that you can see dangling down.
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懸掛著的亞硒酸鹽的巨大晶體。
11:47
This stuff is produced biologically.
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這種東西是由生物合成的。
11:50
This is the breakdown product of the bedrock,
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這是床岩分解後的產物，
11:53
that organisms are busy munching their way through.
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上面有生物在忙著大快朵頤。
11:56
They take iron and manganese minerals
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它們從床岩攝取鐵和錳
11:59
within the bedrock and they oxidize them.
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並將氧化它們。
12:01
And every time they do that, they get a tiny little packet of energy.
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每當它們這樣做的時候，它們都會得到一點點能量。
12:05
And that tiny little packet of energy is what they use, then,
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這些能量就是它們所用來
12:08
to run their life processes.
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維持自己的生命活動。
12:10
Interestingly enough, they also do this
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有趣的是，它們還會利用鈾和鉻
12:12
with uranium and chromium, and various other toxic metals.
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或其他一些毒性金屬來完成相同的過程。
12:15
And so, the obvious avenue
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因此，生物復育
12:18
for bio-remediation
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這樣重要的淨化環境的手段
12:20
comes from organisms like this.
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便需要依賴類似這樣的生物來進行
12:22
These organisms we now bring into the lab,
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我們現在將這些生物帶進了實驗室，
12:24
and you can see some of them growing on Petri plates,
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而你可以看到它們有些在培養皿上生長，
12:26
and get them to reproduce the precise biominerals
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我們在引導它們生產我們在洞穴壁上
12:29
that we find on the walls of these caves.
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找到的正確的生物礦物質。
12:31
So, these are signals that they leave in the rock record.
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這些是它們留在岩石紀錄上的信號。
12:34
Well, even in basalt surfaces in lava-tube caves,
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即使是在由火山活動形成的
12:37
which are a by-product of volcanic activity,
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熔岩管洞穴內的玄武岩的表面，
12:39
we find these walls totally covered,
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在很多情況下，
12:41
in many cases,
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我們都可以發現
12:43
by these beautiful, glistening silver walls,
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有漂亮閃耀的銀色、
12:45
or shiny pink or shiny red or shiny gold.
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亮粉亮紅、兩金色的物質覆蓋。
12:48
And these are mineral deposits
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這些都是由細菌產生的礦物質
12:50
that are also made by bacteria.
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堆積沉澱形成的。
12:52
And you can see in these central images here,
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你們可以看到中間的這些圖片，
12:54
scanning electron micrographs of some of these guys --
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這些是通過掃描電子顯微得到的圖像，
12:57
these are gardens of these bacteria.
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這裡簡直就是細菌的花園。
12:59
One of the interesting things about these particular guys
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這些特別的小傢伙們的有意思的是
13:02
is that they're in the actinomycete
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它們屬於放線菌
13:04
and streptomycete groups of the bacteria,
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和鏈黴菌類。
13:06
which is where we get most of our antibiotics.
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我們就是從它們得到身體裡面大部分的抗生素。
13:09
The sub-surface of Earth
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地球的表面之下
13:11
contains a vast biodiversity.
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存在著驚人的生物多樣性。
13:13
And these organisms,
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由於這些生物
13:15
because they're very separate from the surface,
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與地球表面隔離的非常徹底，
13:17
make a vast array of novel compounds.
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所以它們生產的化合物都是新的系列。
13:21
And so, the potential for exploiting this
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利用這些化合物
13:23
for pharmaceutical and industrial chemical uses
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來發展製藥和工業化學的潛力
13:26
is completely untapped,
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還完全沒有被開發出來，
13:28
but probably exceeds most of the rest
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也許它們在這方面的潛力
13:30
of the biodiversity of the planet.
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超出地球上其他生物的總和。
13:32
So, lava-tube caves--
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熔岩管洞穴——
13:34
I've just told you about organisms that live here on this planet.
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我剛才剛告訴你們微生物在這顆星球上所存在的地方。
13:37
We know that on Mars and the Moon
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我們知道在火星和月球上
13:39
there are tons of these structures.
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有很多這樣的結構。
13:41
We can see them.
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我們看得到它們。
13:42
On the left you can see a lava tube forming
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在左邊你可以看到熔岩管道正在形成
13:44
at a recent eruption -- Mount Etna in Sicily --
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於西西里島上的埃特納火山最近的一次噴發，
13:47
and this is the way these tubes form.
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而這是這些熔岩管形成的方式。
13:49
And when they hollow out,
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當它們變得中空時，
13:50
then they become habitats for organisms.
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它們也變成生物的棲息地。
13:53
These are all over the planet Mars,
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這些熔岩管在火星隨處可見，
13:55
and we're busy cataloguing them now.
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我們現在正忙著對它們進行編目。
13:57
And so, there's very interesting cave real estate
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所以火星上有著，
13:59
on Mars, at least of that type.
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或至少是這種的有趣的洞穴房地產。
14:02
In order to access
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為了能夠進入
14:04
these sub-surface environments that we're interested in,
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這些我們所感興趣的地下環境，
14:07
we're very interested in developing the tools to do this.
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我們對於開發相關的工具非常的有興趣。
14:10
You know, it's not easy to get into these caves.
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要知道，想要進入這些洞穴可不是易事。
14:12
It requires crawling, climbing,
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這需要進行爬行、攀爬
14:14
rope-work, technical rope-work
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纜繩作業、技術性纜繩作業
14:17
and many other complex human motions
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以及其他一些複雜的人類運作
14:21
in order to access these.
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才可以到達這樣的地方。
14:23
We face the problem of, how can we do this robotically?
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我們面臨的問題是怎樣，才能利用機器人完成？
14:26
Why would we want to do it robotically?
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我們為什麼要使用機器人呢?
14:28
Well, we're going to be sending
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那是因為我們將機器人
14:30
robotic missions to Mars
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送上火星的任務
14:32
long in advance of human missions.
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將遠進階於載人的任務。
14:34
And then, secondly, getting back to that earlier point that I made
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而另一點則是，回到前面我所提到的
14:37
about the preciousness of any life that we may find
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珍惜我們在火星上
14:41
on Mars, we don't want to contaminate it.
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可能發現的任何生命，我們不要去污染它們。
14:43
And one of the best ways to study something without contaminating it
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而最好的避免污染同時又對其進行研究的辦法
14:46
is to have an intermediary.
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就是有個中間人或媒介。
14:48
And in this case, we're imagining
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而在這個情況裡，我們認為
14:50
intermediary robotic devices
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一個中間的機械設備
14:52
that can actually do some of that
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可以為我們完成一些
14:54
front-end work for us,
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前端的工作，
14:56
to protect any potential life that we find.
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來保護可能找到的潛在生命。
14:58
I'm not going to go through all of these projects now,
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我不會一一介紹所有這些計畫，
15:01
but we're involved in about half-a-dozen robotic development projects,
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但是我們現在跟其他很多組織
15:04
in collaboration with a number of different groups.
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一起合作在數個機器人的開發計畫中。
15:07
I want to talk specifically about the
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我想向你們詳細介紹
15:09
array that you see on the top.
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最上面的這一系列。
15:11
These are hopping microbot swarms.
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這些是微型機器人群。
15:14
I'm working on this with the Field and Space Robotics Laboratory
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我和我在麻省理工學院的朋友史蒂夫‧杜保斯基
15:16
and my friend Steve Dubowsky at MIT,
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及地表和太空機器人實驗室一起在做這方面的工作，
15:19
and we have come up with the idea
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我們想出了
15:21
of having little, jumping bean-like
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去製造一種由人造肌肉驅動的
15:24
robots
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可跳躍的
15:26
that are propelled by artificial muscle,
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豆型小機器人。
15:29
which is one of the Dubowsky Lab's specialties --
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這是杜保斯基的實驗室的專長之一——
15:32
are the EPAMs, or artificial muscles.
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EPAM，或人造肌肉。
15:34
And these allow them to hop.
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EPAM使這些機器人具有跳躍的能力。
15:36
They behave with
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它們表現出
15:38
a swarm behavior,
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如同蟲群的行為，
15:40
where they relate to each other,
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尤其再和其他機器人連結的時候。
15:42
modeled after insect swarm behavior,
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我們仿照蜂群的行為來打造這些機器人，
15:44
and they could be made very numerous.
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而且它們可以被無數地製造出來，
15:47
And so, one can send a thousand of them,
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所以我們可以將一千個這樣的機器人送上火星，
15:49
as you can see in this upper left-hand picture,
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如同你們在左上方這張圖上看到的，
15:52
a thousand of them could fit into the payload bay
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一千個機器人可以被放在
15:55
that was used for one of the current MER Rovers.
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現在用來載火星探測漫遊者之一太空梭的貨艙部份。
15:58
And these little guys -- you could lose many of them.
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可能很多個小傢伙會消失。
16:01
If you send a thousand of them,
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如果你送了一千個到火星，
16:03
you could probably get rid of 90 percent of them and still have a mission.
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就算失去其中的百分之九十也依然可以完成任務。
16:05
And so, that allows you the flexibility
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這樣就可以允許有彈性去
16:08
to go into very challenging terrain
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進入富有挑戰性的地形
16:11
and actually make your way where you want to go.
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並且正確地到達我們想要去的地方。
16:13
Now, to wrap this up, I want to talk for two seconds
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現在來總結一下，我想花兩秒鐘
16:16
about caves and the human expansion beyond Earth
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來講一下洞穴和人類在地球外的擴張之間的關係，
16:19
as a natural outgrowth of the work that we do in caves.
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即算是我們在洞穴方面工作的延伸。
16:22
It occurred to us a number of years ago
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若干年前我們就想到，
16:24
that caves have many properties
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洞穴有很多特性，
16:26
that people have used
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它在過去作為人類
16:28
and other organisms have used as habitat in the past.
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及其它一些生物的棲息地。
16:30
And perhaps it's time we started to explore those,
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而或許現在是我們開始探索這些特性的時候了，
16:34
in the context of future Mars and the Moon exploration.
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特別是在未來火星和月球探索的背景下。
16:37
So, we have just finished a NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts Phase II study,
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我們剛完成了一個美國航太總署進階觀念研究所的階段二研究，
16:42
looking at the irreducible set of technologies
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著眼於不可或缺的技術
16:44
that you would need in order to
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來讓你可以在
16:46
actually allow people to inhabit lava tubes
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月球或火星上的
16:49
on the Moon or Mars.
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熔岩管內生活。
16:51
It turns out to be a fairly simple and small list,
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這是項比較簡單、工作量小的研究，
16:54
and we have gone
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而我們已經
16:56
in the relatively primitive technology direction.
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在相對原始的科技方向上有所進展。
16:58
So, we're talking about things like inflatable liners
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我們在討論的是可充氣的襯層
17:01
that can conform to the complex topological shape
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可以和洞內複雜的地質形狀
17:04
on the inside of a cave,
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相互吻合；
17:06
foamed-in-place airlocks to deal with this complex topology,
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發泡氣鎖可以用來解決複雜的地質形狀；
17:10
various ways of getting breathing gases
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太空服的內部材料
17:13
made from the intrinsic materials of these bodies.
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可以採用多種方法取得供人呼吸的氣體。
17:16
And the future is there for us
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未來在等著我們
17:18
to use these lava-tube caves on Mars.
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去利用這些火星上的熔岩洞。
17:21
And right now we're in caves, and we're doing science and recreation,
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而這是我們在洞穴裡，做科學研究和休閒活動，
17:25
but I think in the future we'll be using them
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但我認為在未來我們會穿著太空服
17:27
for habitat and science on these other bodies.
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在其他行星居住和做科學研究。
17:29
Now, my view of what the current status
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現在，我對於火星
17:32
of potential life on Mars is
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目前潛在生命的狀況的看法是
17:34
that it's probably been on the planet,
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生命可能已經存在於那個星球上，
17:37
maybe one in two chances.
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百分之五十的機率。
17:40
The question as to whether
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火星的生命
17:43
there is life on Mars that is related to life on Earth
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是否與地球上的生命有連結
17:47
has now been very muddied,
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現在還是很模糊的一個問題。
17:49
because we now know,
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因為現在我們
17:50
from Mars meteorites that have made it to Earth,
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從到達地球的火星隕石得知
17:53
that there's material that can be exchanged between those two planets.
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這兩個星球上的物質是可以進行交換的。
17:57
One of the burning questions, of course, is
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一個急待解決的問題是，
17:59
if we go there and find life in the sub-surface,
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如果我們到了火星，並如同我全心預期的
18:02
as I fully expect that we will,
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在地下發現了生命，
18:04
is that a second genesis of life?
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那麼這會是生命的第二個起源嗎？
18:06
Did life start here
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生命是在地球發源
18:08
and was it transported there?
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然後被傳播到達火星嗎?
18:10
Did it start there and get transported here?
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還是生命是在火星發源然後傳播來地球的?
18:13
This will be a fascinating puzzle as we go into the next half-century,
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這將是在進入下半個世紀後一個引人注目的難題，
18:17
and where I expect that we will
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而我希望我們會有
18:19
have more and more Mars missions to answer these questions.
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越來越多的火星探索任務來解答這些問題。
18:22
Thank you.
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謝謝你們。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Penelope Boston - Cave scientistPenelope Boston studies caves and karst formations, and the special biology that lives in them -- both here on Earth and possibly on other planets.
Why you should listen
Penelope Boston is fascinated by caves -- secret, mineral environments that shelter mysteries in beguiling darkness and stillness. She's spent most of her career studying caves and karst formations (karst is a formation where a bedrock, such as limestone, is eaten away by water to form underground voids), and is the cofounder of the new National Cave and Karst Research Institute, based in New Mexico.
Deep inside caves, there's a biology that is like no other on Earth, protected from surface stress and dependent on cave conditions for its survival. As part of her work with caves, Boston studies this life -- and has made the very sensible suggestion that, if odd forms of life lie quietly undiscovered in Earth's caves, there's a good chance it might also have arisen in caves and karst on other planets. Now, she's working on some new ways to look for it
Penelope Boston | Speaker | TED.com