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Do Perus potatoes have the right stuff?秘鲁的土豆能遭受寄居考验吗？Thats the question scientists will be asking in Lima next month, when a selection of tubers will begin undergoing tests to determine whether theyre fit to grow on Mars.这是下个月科学家即将在秘鲁大城利马回答的一个问题，预计，经过精心挑选出的土豆块茎将拒绝接受测试，以确认它们能否在火星上栽种。NASA, the US space agency, is conducting the pioneering experiment together with Limas International Potato Center (CIP).美国航天局（NASA）将与利马国际马铃薯中心（CIP）合力，展开这一开创性实验。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种精心挑选出的、已在类火星极端环境下严苛评估的品种展开培育，而这最后将为人们在这颗红色星球上创建蔬菜栽种“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缩减贫穷、确保粮食安全的非营利研究机构。这些土豆就是指在国际马铃薯中心登记注册的4500个品种中挑选出出来的。

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.在被选为土豆中，有40种是安第斯山脉土生土长的品种。这些品种可在有所不同生态地区生长、对气候的忽然变化具备耐受性，并可在多岩石的旱季土壤中生长繁殖。The other 60 are genetically modified varieties able to survive with little water and salt. They are also immune to viruses.另外60种土豆皆为转基因品种，需要在缺水和较低钠的环境中存活。此外，这些品种还对病毒免疫系统。

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.这些品种最后必需超过一个标准：不仅能在火星上蓬勃生长，而且还能被大量繁殖。Were 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.参予美国航天局此项宏大计划的秘鲁裔太空生物学家胡里奥·瓦尔迪维亚·席尔瓦说道：“精选辑出来的土豆中，将不会有不少品种通过测试，回应我们有百分百的做到。”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.科学家还期望通过该实验找到合适在严苛环境下生长的土豆种类，来协助解决问题地球人口饥饿和营养不良的难题。

We must be prepared for the future, said virologist Jan Kreuze, a scientist at CIP. To respond to desertification, rising temperature and high salt content in the soil.“我们必需为未来做到打算”，国际马铃薯中心的科学家扬·克鲁兹说道。“打算应付沙漠化、气候逆温暖低盐分的土壤。”Vegetable of the future未来的蔬菜The soil in La Joya Pampas—a sector of the Atacama Desert in southern Peru thats considered one of the driest places on earth—is very similar to that found on the Red Planet.坐落于秘鲁南部阿塔卡马沙漠的潘帕斯德拉霍亚地区被指出是地球上最旱季的地方之一，那里的土壤与人们在火星上找到的十分相近。

The scientists plan to transport 200 pounds (100 kilos) of it to a CIP laboratory in Lima that will simulate the complex Martian atmosphere -- which contains mostly carbon dioxide—and expose it to extreme ultraviolet radiation.科学家计划将约200磅（100千克）土壤载运到利马国际马铃薯中心的实验室中。在那里，他们将仿真火星上二氧化碳为主的简单大气环境，并将土壤曝露在极端紫外线照射中。

Well have more concrete results in one or two years, Valdivia said, adding that it will take more than five years to launch an unmanned mission to Mars.瓦尔迪维亚说道：“未来一两年内，我们不会得出结论实验的明确结果。我们还将花上最少五年的时间向火星升空无人探测器。”The potential future space crop is also one of the oldest.土豆这种未来近于有可能攻占太空的作物，也是地球上最古老的作物之一。

Records of potato cultivation date back to 2500 BC, when the indigenous Aymara Indians farmed it in modern-day Peru and Bolivia.栽种土豆的记述可以追溯到公元前2500年，那时勤俭的艾马拉族印第安人就在现在的秘鲁和玻利维亚栽种土豆了。If the varieties selected for next months experiment dont adapt to the desert soil, the researchers will introduce nutrients and subject them to radiation.下个月，这些投票决定的土豆品种将参予实验。如果这些土豆无法适应环境沙漠土壤，那么研究人员将对它们施予养分并将其置放紫外线照射下。

If that doesnt work, Valdivia said, well administer a new method the CIP is using called aeroponics.瓦尔迪维亚说道：“如果还是敢的话，我们不会使用国际马铃薯中心用于的一种名为‘气植’的新方法。”The technique, used for cultivating plants without soil, would expose roots inside a sphere or cube that is sprayed with nutrients and contains a system for removing toxins.这是一种无土栽种技术：将植物的根部置放球体或立方体容器中。容器中原本已倾倒了营养剂，并内置了一套除去毒素的机制。

In future years, NASA plans to build a Mars research center in the Peruvian desert.未来，美国航天局还计划在秘鲁沙漠中修建一座火星研究中心。It would create a perfect replica of the Martian landscape and atmosphere for future research into space farming that could serve manned missions to Mars and other planets in the solar system.该研究中心将细致还原成火星的地貌和大气状况，以供未来太空栽种研究之用。

太空栽种将为观测火星等其他太阳系行星的载人任务获取给养。

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