Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon, not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago.
科学家们已经证实月球上有一个洞穴，距离尼尔·阿姆斯特朗和巴兹·奥尔德林55年前着陆的地方不远。
They suspect there are hundreds more that could house future astronauts.
他们怀疑还有数百个洞穴，可以用来容纳未来的宇航员。
An Italian-led team reported recently that there is evidence of a large cave that can be entered from the deepest known pit on the moon. It is located at the Sea of Tranquility, just 400 kilometers from Apollo 11's landing site.
一个由意大利领导的团队最近报告说，有证据表明，从月球上已知最深的深坑可以进入一个大洞穴。它位于宁静海，距离阿波罗11号着陆点仅400公里。
The pit, like the more than 200 others discovered there, was created by the collapse of a lava tube.
这个深坑和月球上发现的另外200多个坑一样，是由熔岩管坍塌造成的。
Researchers examined radar measurements by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and compared the results with lava tubes on Earth. Their findings appeared in the scientific publication Nature Astronomy.
研究人员检查了美国宇航局月球勘测轨道器的雷达探测结果，并将其与地球上的熔岩管进行了比较。他们的发现发表在科学出版物《自然·天文学》上。
The radar data shows only the beginning part of the underground area, the scientists say. They estimate it is at least 40 meters wide and tens of meters long, probably more.
科学家们说，雷达数据只显示了这片地下区域的入口部分。他们估计它至少有40米宽，几十米长，也可能更长。
“Lunar caves have remained a mystery for over 50 years. So it was exciting to be able to finally prove the existence” of one, Leonardo Carrer and Lorenzo Bruzzone of Italy's University of Trento, wrote in an email.
意大利特伦托大学的莱昂纳多·卡雷尔和洛伦佐·布鲁佐内在一封电子邮件中写道：“月球洞穴50多年来一直是个谜。因此，能够最终证明其中一个洞穴的存在是令人兴奋的。”
Most of the pits seem to be in the moon's ancient lava plains, scientists say. There also could be some at the moon's south pole, the planned location of NASA's astronaut landings in the years to come. Permanently shadowed craters there are believed to hold frozen water that could provide drinking water and rocket fuel.
科学家说，大多数深坑似乎都位于月球古老的熔岩平原上。月球南极也可能有一些，这是美国宇航局规划的未来几年宇航员的着陆点。据信，那里的永久阴影陨石坑中有冷冻水，可以提供饮用水和火箭燃料。
During NASA's Apollo program, 12 astronauts landed on the moon, beginning with Armstrong and Aldrin on July 20, 1969.
在美国宇航局的阿波罗计划期间，有12名宇航员登上了月球，最开始是阿姆斯特朗和奥尔德林于1969年7月20日登月。
The findings suggest there could be hundreds of pits on the moon and thousands of lava tubes. Such places could serve as a natural shelter for astronauts, protecting them from cosmic rays and solar radiation as well as from very small meteorite strikes. The act of building living areas from nothing would be more difficult and take more time, even when including the possible need of strengthening the cave walls to prevent a collapse, the team said.
研究结果表明，月球上可能有数百个深坑和数千个熔岩管。这些地方可以作为宇航员的天然避难所，保护他们免受宇宙射线和太阳辐射的冲击，以及非常小的陨石的撞击。该团队表示，即使考虑到可能需要加强洞穴墙壁以防止坍塌，从零开始建造生活区的动作也会比这更加困难，也需要更多的时间。
Rocks and other material inside these caves — unchanged by the difficult surface conditions over the ages — also can help scientists better understand how the moon evolved, especially in terms of its volcanic activity.
这些洞穴内的岩石和其他物质——在艰苦的月表环境中多年来没有发生改变——也可以帮助科学家更好地了解月球是如何进化的，特别是在火山活动方面。
I'm John Russell.
我是约翰·拉塞尔。(21VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)
