(点击右边三个点，可调整速度，电脑上可下载)

The American space agency NASA had expected its rover called Opportunity to operate on Mars for just 90 days. But the vehicle kept exploring for 15 years after landing on the red planet.

美国宇航局（NASA）本来希望其机遇号探测器能在火星上运作仅90天的时间。但机遇号在火星着陆后却持续探索了15年的时间。

Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004. Scientists finally lost contact with the solar-powered vehicle in June 2018 during a severe dust storm on Mars. Engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) sent more than a thousand commands, trying to re-establish contact. But they did not have success.

机遇号是在2004年着陆在火星上的。科学家最终与机遇号这个由太阳能功能的探测器失去联系是在2018年6月，当时火星发生了严重的沙尘暴。NASA喷气推进实验室（JPL）的多位工程师发出了1000多次指令，试图重新与其建立联系，但都无果。

After one last attempt this week, NASA's head of science mission, Thomas Zurbuchen, declared Opportunity mission is completed.

在本周进行了最后一次尝试后，NASA科学任务的负责人托马斯·左布臣宣布机遇号任务已结束。

Zurbuchen said that, for many years, Opportunity has been teaching us about Mars' ancient past as a wet, potentially habitable planet, and revealing uncharted Martian landscapes.

左布臣表示，多年来，机遇号一直让我们了解火星的远古时期，那时候，火星还是一颗表面有水并且很有可能宜居的星球。此外，机遇号还揭示出许多此前未知的火星地貌。

It took Opportunity seven months to travel from Earth to the Meridiani Planum area on Mars. It landed on January 24, 2004. Its twin rover, Spirit, landed 20 days earlier on the other side of Mars. Spirit's mission ended in May 2011.

机遇号耗时7个月才从地球抵达火星的子午线高原，最后于2004年1月24日在火星着陆。机遇号的姊妹探测器勇气号比机遇号早20天抵达火星的另一面。勇气号的任务是在2011年5月结束的。

From the day that Opportunity landed, a team of mission engineers and scientists on Earth worked to move the explorer around -- and at times over -- rocks and boulders. It climbed huge hills, explored craters and traveled across dry riverbeds.

从机遇号着陆的那天起，地球上的一组太空任务工程师和科学家就一道努力，想让机遇号围绕着岩石四处转转，他们尝试了多次。机遇号爬过了许多高大的山脉，探索过陨石坑，也去过干燥的河床。

Along the way, Opportunity sent more than 217,000 images. It examined 52 rocks, found fresh minerals and discovered signs of water flowing at a place called Endeavour Crater. It was similar to a lake on Earth.

途中，机遇号发送过21.7万多张图片，检测过52个岩石，在奋斗撞击坑处发现过未风化的矿物和水流存在的迹象。奋斗撞击坑于地球上的一个湖泊很相似。

Steve Squyres of Cornell University works on the rovers' science payload. He said, From the get-go, Opportunity delivered on our search for evidence regarding water on Mars. He added, if you look to Mars ancient past, you find compelling evidence for liquid water below the surface and liquid water at the surface.

康乃尔大学的史蒂夫专攻探测器的有效载荷。他表示，从一开始，机遇号就在执行我们关于寻找火星存在水源的证据的任务。他补充表示，回顾火星的古代历史，就会发现有充分的证据表明液态水存在于火星地表以上和以下。

It was not always easy for Opportunity.

机遇号的探测之旅并不容易。

The rover lost the ability to fully control one of its front wheels in 2005. It was almost disabled in two sand storms. And in 2015, Opportunity lost the use of its flash memory. Two years later, the rover lost control of its other front wheel.

2005年，机遇号失去了完全操控其中一个前轮的能力。2场沙尘暴让机遇号近乎报废。随后，在2015年，机遇号又失去了使用闪速存储器的能力。2年后，机遇号无法控制另一个前轮。

Each time, Opportunity's team on Earth found a solution that let the rover keep going. However, last summer's dust storm proved to be too much. Opportunity's final resting place was in Perseverance Valley.

每一次，机遇号在地球上的科研组都找到了解决方案，让它可以再次运转起来。不过，去年夏天的沙尘暴似乎太过强劲。机遇号最后的休息地是在毅力谷。

Opportunity was the fifth NASA rover to successfully land on Mars. Only two are still operating. The Curiosity has been exploring Gale Crater since 2012. And the Insight just landed last November.

机遇号是第5个成功着陆在火星上的NASA探测器。目前，这样的探测器只剩下2个了。自2012年以来，机遇号一直在探索盖尔陨坑。而洞察号则刚于去年11月着陆。

The United States, China and Europe are planning to send three more rovers next year.

美国、中国、欧洲都在计划于明年发送3个探测器去火星。

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the goal is to search for evidence of life on Mars and, possibly, to send astronauts in the 2030s.

NASA局长吉姆·布里登斯廷表示，其目标是搜寻火星上存在生命的证据。另外，本世纪30年代很有可能要派宇航员去火星。

Bridenstine said, It is because of trailblazing missions such as Opportunity that there will come a day when our brave astronauts walk on the surface of Mars.

布里登斯廷表示，正是因为一些开拓性的任务，比如机遇号这样的任务，我们勇敢的宇航员们有朝一日才能登陆到火星表面。

I'm Jonathan Evans.

乔纳森·埃文斯为您播报。