Reading Comprehension
(閱讀理解)
Houston, Texas(June 8,2002)-In 2004, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)(美國(guó)航空航天局)will send two robots to separate places of Mars(火星)to seek(尋找)out past or present signs of water.It is an exciting idea to send two robots driving over very different places of Mars at the same time, to be able to see what is on the other side of the hill.
Last month, NASA announced it was sending one robot to Mars, but after two weeks, it decided there was enough money for two.The robots will be sent up within two weeks of each other in May and June of 2003 from Kennedy Space Center.If all goes well, the two spacecraft(宇宙飛船)will touch down on Mars, after a seve-and-a-half-month space flight, on January 2 and 20,2004.
The robots, each weighing 150 kilograms, can cover 100 meters per day.They are designed to be able to examine the mineral content(礦物質(zhì))of the soil, and their special camera will take pictures of the lands and hills.Although they will be under control from Earth, the robots, are able to move more freely compared to those sent up before them.
The actual landing points have not been determined yet, but the scientists say it will be in areas where they hope to find water.
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