Establishing a human colony on the Moon and travelling to Mars has been the stuff of dreams since the dawn of the space age.
在月球上建個人類的殖民地，去火星旅行是人類自太空時代開啟之初一直以來的夢想。

But these visions face many hurdles. How can humans survive for months or years in the ultra-hostile environment of space? What, for instance, will they eat?
但是這些愿景面臨著許多阻礙。人們怎么才能在極端不利的太空環境下生存幾個月甚至數年？舉個例子來說，他們吃什么呢？

Agricultural researchers at a Dutch university say they are taking the first steps towards providing an answer.
荷蘭一所大學的農業研究員說，為了找到答案，他們正在邁出第一步。

They are growing vegetables in soils similar to those found on the Moon and Mars, looking for ways of helping space pioneers grow their own crops.
他們在與月球和火星相似的土壤中種上蔬菜，試圖尋找幫助太空開拓者自己種莊稼的方法。

"When people go to the Moon and Mars they also have to eat, and it's easiest for them to grow their own food," said Wieger Wamelink, surrounded by several dozen plants in a special greenhouse at Wageningen, an agricultural university in central Netherlands.
瓦格寧根是荷蘭中部一所農業大學，里面一間特殊溫室種了幾十株植物。在這些植物的環繞中，韋格?沃姆林克說：“即使去了月球和火星，人也得吃飯，而自己種食物最方便?！?

"We wanted to use real Martian and lunar soil," to see if plants would actually grow in it, Wamelink told reporters.
沃姆林克對記者說：“我們想用真正的火星和月球上的土，”看看植物會不會在里面生長。

Of course, getting real lunar and Martian potting soil is an impossible ask. But an Internet search revealed an unlikely supplier: NASA.
當然，拿到真正的月球和火星土來盆栽是不可能的要求。但是網絡搜索顯示，美國國家航空航天局（NASA）可能會滿足這個看似不可能的要求。

The US space agency makes ground similar to that on the Moon from sand found in an Arizona desert, while Mars' crimson "soil" is scooped from a volcano in Hawaii, Wamelink told reporters.
沃姆林克告訴記者，美國航天局在亞利桑那的沙漠中找到一種和月球土壤類似的沙子用做試驗田，而火星紅“土”采自夏威夷的一座火山。

The first experiments started in 2013 after Wageningen received an order of 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of NASA's imitation "space soil"—at a hefty price of 2,000 euros ($2,285).
瓦格寧根大學以2000歐元（2285美元）的高價從NASA訂購了100千克（220磅）的模擬“太空土”，于2013年開始進行第一次試驗。

Wamelink stuck tomatoes, peas, cress and other plants in pots containing the simulated soil... and crossed his fingers.
沃姆林克把西紅柿、豌豆、水芹和其它植物種在盛有模擬土的盆子里……然后期盼好運。

To work in this soil "was very special. Nobody, not even NASA, could tell us what would happen," even just by simply adding water, he said.
在這樣的土壤里耕種“非常特殊。沒有人，甚至NASA，也不能告訴我們將會發生什么，”即使只是簡單地澆水，他說。

The imitation ground at first was a little "reluctant" to absorb water, but soon turned out to be good potting soil.
起初，模擬實驗田有點“不愿”吸水，但是很快就變成了很好的盆栽土。

Like the actor Matt Damon in the science fiction movie "The Martian", Wamelink watched with amazement as his "space veggies" grew bigger day-by-day.
就像科幻電影《火星救援》里的演員馬特?達蒙一樣，沃姆林克也驚奇地看著他的“太空蔬菜”一天天地長大。

"Especially in the Martian soil, plants were growing very fast and very good. They even started to flower, something that we never anticipated," Wamelink said.
“特別是火星土種植的植物長勢又快又好。甚至還開始開花了，我們從來沒有期望過它們能開花，”沃姆林克說。

Vocabulary:

crimson: 深紅色
scoop: 掘；舀
hefty: 異常大的

來源：雅虎新聞

實習生孫美真

編審：yaning