中國"玉兔"號月球車發現月岩新品種

The Chinese moon rover Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, has identified a new type of moon rock, according to a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications.

據《自然·通訊》上發表的一項研究稱，中國的"玉兔"月球車已經發現了新的月球岩石品種。

The Yutu rover had poked around a region that's been reshaped by volcanic activity relatively recently. After analyzing the data from the Yutu rover, a group of Chinese and American scientists say in the paper that this region's composition differs from other mare sample-return sites and is a new type of mare basalt not previously sampled.

"玉兔"正在探索的區域在相對較近的歷史時期內曾被火山活動重塑。在分析“玉兔”月球車帶回的數據之後，由中國和美國科學家組成的科學小組在文章中表示，該地區的岩石成分不同於其他觀測點反饋的數據樣本，是一種以前沒有采樣過的、新型的玄武岩。

According to the Washington Post, until now, basalts sampled from the moon all had either very low or very high titanium content. By examining the comparatively young rocks uncovered by an impact crater, Yutu found basalts with intermediate levels of titanium and high iron levels.

據華盛頓郵報報道，迄今爲止，從月球採集的玄武岩樣本中的鈦元素含量要麼特別高，要麼特別低。但“玉兔”檢測了在一座環形山附近的“年輕”岩石樣本後發現，這裏玄武岩的鈦含量處於中游水平，鐵含量則相當高。

"The variable titanium distribution on the lunar surface suggests that the Moon's interior was not homogenized," Washington University's Bradley L. Jolliff, who collaborated with Chinese scientists to analyze the rover's data, said in a statement.

與中國科學家合作分析“玉兔”數據的美國華盛頓大學專家布拉德利·喬利夫說：“月面各處的鈦含量存在差異，說明月球內部物質的成分並不單一。”

The study is expected to throw new light on the origins of Earth's nearest neighbor. In addition to showing the unexpected diversity of the moon, the results could help scientists do a better job of studying its surface from orbiters.

這項發現將會爲研究地球最近的鄰居的起源帶來新的方向。除了展示月球未知的多樣性，這一結果可能也會幫助科學家更好的通過人造衛星來研究月球表面。