is what many believe will be the world's deepest natural abyss.

我要帶大家去的第一個地方

And I say believe because this process is still ongoing.

很多人相信是世界最深的天然地穴。

Right now there are major expeditions being planned for next year

之所以說“相信”是因為這還是一個不斷發展探索的過程。

that I'll talk a little bit about.

目前我正為下一年籌畫幾次重要的考察，

One of the things that's changed here,

後面我會談到。

in the last 150 years since Jules Verne

在這個領域發生的一個變化就是，

had great science-fiction concepts of what the underworld was like,

過去的150年裏，自從儒勒•凡爾納

is that technology has enabled us to go to these places

提出了關於地底世界的偉大科幻理念以來，

that were previously completely unknown and speculated about.

科技已經能夠使我們到達這些地方，

We can now descend thousands of meters into the Earth with relative impunity.

這些地方以前完全無法瞭解而只能靠估測。

Along the way we've discovered fantastic abysses and chambers so large

現在我們能夠下到地下幾千米的地方，而且毫髮無傷。

that you can see for hundreds of meters

一路以來我們已經發現了很多了不起的地穴和巨大的洞窟，

without a break in the line of sight.

這些洞窟大到連綿數百米，

When you go on a thing like this, we can usually be in the field

中間看不到任何阻斷。

for anywhere from two to four months,

當去考察這類地方時，我們常常在荒郊野外

with a team as small as 20 or 30, to as big as 150.

天涯海角的一呆就是2到4個月，

And a lot of people ask me, you know,

團隊人數小到二三十人，大到150個人。

what kind of people do you get for a project like this?

好多人都問我，

While our selection process

你需要找些什麽樣的人完成這樣的探險計畫？

is not as rigorous as NASA, it's nonetheless thorough.

雖然我們選人的過程

We're looking for competence, discipline, endurance, and strength.

沒有NASA那麽嚴格，但是也是非常全面的。

In case you're wondering, this is our strength test.

我們要求有專業能力、守紀律、耐力強，有力量。

(Laughter)

如果你好奇的話，可以看看我們的力量測試。

But we also value esprit de corps

（觀衆笑聲）

and the ability to diplomatically resolve inter-personal conflict

但是我們也很重視團隊精神

while under great stress in remote locations.

以及得體地解決人際衝突的能力。

We have already gone far beyond the limits of human endurance.

尤其是在野外面對巨大壓力的情況下。

From the entrance, this is nothing like a commercial cave.

我們早已遠遠超過了人類忍耐力的極限。

You're looking at Camp Two in a place called J2, not K2, but J2.

從入口看，這就像個適合商業旅遊的洞穴。

We're roughly two days from the entrance at that point.

你現在看到的是位于J2地點的2號營地，不是K2，而是J2。

And it's kind of like a high altitude mountaineering trip in reverse,

從這點到洞口大約有兩天的路程。

except that you're now running a string of these things down.

這就像反方向的高海拔登山，

The idea is to try to provide some measure of physical comfort

除了你是吊在這些繩索上向下墜。

while you're down there, otherwise in damp, moist, cold conditions in utterly dark places.

關鍵在於當人在下面時能獲得某程度的舒適感，

I should mention that everything you're seeing here, by the way,

否則當我們在那裡時，就只有潮濕，沉悶，寒冷，一片漆黑。

is artificially illuminated at great effort.

另外我還應該提一下，你們現在看到的所有東西，

Otherwise it is completely dark in these places.

都是費了九牛二虎之力人工照明的結果。

The deeper you go, the more you run into a conflict with water.

否則在這些地方就是漆黑一團。

It's basically like a tree collecting water coming down.

下得越深，遇到的水的問題就越嚴重。

And eventually you get to places where it is formidable and dangerous

基本上就像一棵樹向下收集水分。

and unfortunately slides just don't do justice.

然後慢慢你就到達一些非常可怕和危險的地方，

So I've got a very brief clip here that was taken in the late 1980s.

不幸的是，這些幻燈並不能把這些都展現出來。

So descend into Huautla Plateau in Mexico.

這裡有一個很短的短片，拍攝於20世紀80年代。

(Video)

這裏所深入的是墨西哥的瓦烏特拉高原。

Now I have to tell you that the techniques being shown here

（視頻）

are obsolete and dangerous.

現在我必須要告訴你們，這裡所看到的技術

We would not do this today unless we were doing it for film.

都是過時而且危險的。

(Laughter)

我們今天是不會這樣做的，除非我們是在拍電影。

Along that same line, I have to tell you

（觀衆笑聲）

that with the spate of Hollywood movies that came out last year,

還有，我必須要告訴大家，

we have never seen monsters underground --

像去年好萊塢拍的那堆電影裏出現的怪物

at least the kind that eat you.

我們在地底從來沒見過。

If there is a monster underground,

至少沒見過會吃人的那種。

it is the crushing psychological remoteness

如果地底真有怪物的話，

that begins to hit every member of the team

那就是心理上的極度疏離

once you cross about three days inbound from the nearest entrance.

開始衝擊到每個隊員，

Next year I'll be leading an international team to J2.

一旦你離開最近的入口大約三天的路程後。

We're going to be shooting from minus 2,600 meters --

明年我將帶領一個國際小隊前往J2。

that's a little over 8,600 feet down --

我們將從地下2600米的深處開始拍攝——

at 30 kilometers from the entrance.

也就是地下8600英尺多深的地方——

The lead crews will be underground for pushing 30 days straight.

距離洞口30公里。

I don't think there's been a mission like that in a long time.

先遣隊員將在地下連續停留30天。

Eventually, if you keep going down in these things,

我想已經有很長時間沒有這樣的考察活動了。

probability says that you're going to run into a place like this.

如果你不斷進入這類地方，最終

It's a place where there's a fold in the geologic stratum

你會有機會碰見這樣的地方。

that collects water and fills to the roof.

這個地方是地質岩層上的一個褶皺，

And when you used to find these things,

匯集了大量的水，直沒到頂。

they would put a label on a map that said terminal siphon.

以前當發現這种地方時，

Now I remember that term really well for two reasons.

他們會在地圖上標識出來，寫上：末端虹吸管。

Number one, it's the name of my rock band, and second,

我之所以能清楚地記得這個詞有兩個原因。

is because the confrontation of these things

第一，這是我的搖滾樂隊的名字，第二，

forced me to become an inventor.

因爲踫到這種地形，

And we've since gone on to develop

迫使我成爲一個發明家。

many generations of gadgets for exploring places like this.

迄今爲止，我們已經發展出

This is some life-support equipment closed-cycle.

很多代的小機械，用以探索這類地方。

And you can use that now to go for many kilometers horizontally

這是某种閉合的維生裝備——

underwater and to depths of 200 meters straight down underwater.

使用它可以讓你在水下方圓幾公里

When you do this kind of stuff it's like doing EVA.

及水下200米的深度活動。

It's like doing extra-vehicular activity in space,

干這個就好像EVA，

but at much greater distances, and at much greater physical peril.

就是太空中的艙外活動，

So it makes you think about how to design your equipment

但活動的距離更長，所冒的生命危險更大。

for long range, away from a safe haven.

所以這會令你思考如何設計裝備

Here's a clip from a National Geographic movie

使人能夠離開安全艙更遠。

that came out in 1999.

這是國際地理電影的片斷，

(Video) Narrator: Exploration is a physical process

拍攝於1999年。

of putting your foot in places where humans have never stepped before.

（視頻講解）：探險是一個實實在在的歷程，

This is where the last little nugget of totally unknown territory remains on this planet.

踏足在人類從未到達的地方。

To experience it is a privilege.

這是這個星球上僅剩的最後一小片完全不為人知的地方。

Bill Stone: That was taken in Wakulla Springs, Florida.

探索它是一種特權。

Couple of things to note about that movie. Every piece of equipment

這個拍攝於佛羅里達的瓦庫拉泉。

that you saw in there did not exist before 1999.

這個電影裏有這麽幾件事要注意：這裡你所看到的每一件裝備

It was developed within a two-year period and used on actual exploratory projects.

是1999年以後才有的。

This gadget you see right here was called the digital wall mapper,

它們是在兩年内設計並使用於實際的探險活動。

and it produced the first three-dimensional map anybody has ever done

你看到的這裡這個小機器叫數字繪圖儀——

of a cave, and it happened to be underwater in Wakulla Springs.

它繪製出有史以來的第一張地洞的三維地圖，

It was that gadget that serendipitously opened a door

正好就是在瓦庫拉泉的水下。

to another unexplored world.

正是這個小東西偶然地打開了

This is Europa.

通往一個全然陌生世界的大門。

Carolyn Porco mentioned another one called Enceladus the other day.

這是木衛二。

This is one of the places where planetary scientists

Carolyn Porco 之前提到過土衛二。

believe there is a highest probability of the detection

行星天文學家認為

of the first life off earth in the ocean that exists below there.

最有可能探測到

For those who have never seen this story,

地球之外初級生命的地方之一，就是木衛二的海洋。

Jim Cameron produced a really wonderful IMAX movie

爲了那些從未親眼目睹這一切的人們

couple of years ago, called "Aliens of the Deep."

Jim Cameron在兩年前製作了一個非常棒的IMAX電影

There was a brief clip --

叫“深海異形”。

(Video) Narrator: A mission to explore under the ice of Europa

這是一個片段——

would be the ultimate robotic challenge.

（視頻）解說：探索木衛二冰下世界的任務

Europa is so far away that even at the speed of light,

將是對機器人的終極挑戰。

it would take more than an hour for the command just to reach the vehicle.

木衛二非常遙遠，即便用光速

It has to be smart enough to avoid terrain hazards

也要花上一個小時才能使指令到達飛行器。

and to find a good landing site on the ice.

必須非常靈敏才能避開危險地帶

Now we have to get through the ice.

在冰面上找到一個良好的著陸點。

You need a melt probe.

現在我們必須穿過冰層。

It's basically a nuclear-heated torpedo.

你需要一個可以融化冰層的探頭。

The ice could be anywhere from three to 16 miles deep.

基本上就是一個核熱能的魚雷。

Week after week, the melt probe will sink of its own weight

任何一個地方的冰層就可能厚達3到16英里。

through the ancient ice, until finally --

一個星期接著一個星期，融化探頭靠著自重下沉

Now, what are you going to do when you reach the surface of that ocean?

穿透古老的冰層，直至最終……

You need an AUV, an autonomous underwater vehicle.

現在，當你到達海洋表面時，你該怎麼辦？

It needs to be one smart puppy, able to navigate

你需要一個AUV，自動水下作業車

and make decisions on its own in an alien ocean.

它要像一條機靈的小狗，能夠四處探索，

BS: What Jim didn't know when he released that movie

而且能在外星海洋裡獨立作業。

was that six months earlier NASA had funded a team I assembled

吉姆這部電影上映時，他并不知道

to develop a prototype for the Europa AUV.

就在六個月前，NASA已經為我組建的一個小組撥款，

I mean, I cut through three years of engineering meetings, design

研發用於木衛二的自動水下作業車的原型機。

and system integration, and introduced DEPTHX --

就是說，我跳過三年的工程會議，設計

Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer.

和系統集成的過程，直接給大家介紹DEPTHX——

And as the movie says, this is one smart puppy.

深水熱能勘探機。

It's got 96 sensors, 36 onboard computers,

正如電影所說的，這是一個機靈的小狗。

100,000 lines of behavioral autonomy code,

它有96個傳感器，36個機載運算器，

packs more than 10 kilos of TNT in electrical onboard equivalent.

十萬條行為自控代碼，

This is the target site,

裝備的電能當量超過10公斤TNT。

the world's deepest hydrothermal spring at Cenote Zacaton in northern Mexico.

這就是目的地，

It's been explored to a depth of 292 meters

世界上最深的溫泉，位於墨西哥北部的薩卡通石灰岩洞。

and beyond that nobody knows anything.

迄今已探索到292米的深度，

This is part of DEPTHX's mission.

再往下是怎樣的尚無人知。

There are two primary targets we're doing here.

這也是DEPTHX的一部份任務。

One is, how do you do science autonomy underground?

這裡我們有兩個主要目標。

How do you take a robot and turn it into a field microbiologist?

一個是當深入地下時，如何實現自主的科學研究？

There are more stages involved here

如何能派出一個機器人并把它變成一個野外微生物學家？

than I've got time to tell you about, but basically we drive

這中間包含了很多步驟

through the space, we populate it with environmental variables --

但我沒有時間一一盡述，但是基本上，我們駕駛機器人

sulphide, halide, things like that.

去各種地方，讓它適應不同的環境變數——

We calculate gradient surfaces, and drive the bot over to a wall

硫化物，鹵化物之類的東西。

where there's a high probability of life.

我們計算斜坡表面，然後駕駛機器人爬上一面峭壁，

We move along the wall, in what's called proximity operations,

在那裡很可能找到生命。

looking for changes in color.

我們沿著峭壁移動，也就是所謂的近距離操控，

If we see something that looks interesting, we pull it into a microscope.

尋找顏色上的變化。

If it passes the microscopic test, we go for a collection.

如果我們發現一些有趣的東西，就把它拖到顯微鏡下面。

We either draw in a liquid sample,

如果它通過了顯微測試，我們就進行採集。

or we can actually take a solid core from the wall.

或是抽取一些液體樣品，

No hands at the wheel.

或者我們從石壁上採集一個實體的岩芯樣品。

This is all behavioral autonomy here

無須全程地人手操作。

that's being conducted by the robot on its own.

全是機器人的自主行為。

The real hat trick for this vehicle, though,

由機器人自己獨立完成。

is a disruptive new navigation system we've developed,

但是這部機器真正厲害的地方

known as 3D SLAM, for simultaneous localization and mapping.

在於我們開發的一種顛覆性的最新巡航系統，

DEPTHX is an all-seeing eyeball.

叫作3D SLAM，用於同時定位和繪圖。

Its sensor beams look both forward and backward at the same time,

DEPTHX是一個全視角的眼球。

allowing it to do new exploration

它的感應光線可以同時向前和向後看，

while it's still achieving geometric sensor-lock

使它可以一邊進行新的探索，

on what it's gone through already.

同時可以將幾何感應器鎖定在

What I'm going to show you next

它已經通過的地方。

is the first fully autonomous robotic exploration underground

下面我給大家看的

that's ever been done.

是首次全自主機器人的地下探索，

This May, we're going to go from minus 1,000 meters in Zacaton,

這是史無前例的。

and if we're very lucky, DEPTHX will bring back the first

今年5月，我們將從薩卡通地下1000米的地方開始，

robotically-discovered division of bacteria.

如果夠幸運，DEPTHX將帶回第一個

The next step after that is to test it in Antartica and then,

由機器人發現的細菌種類。

if the funding continues and NASA has the resolution to go,

下一步就是要在南極進行測試，然後

we could potentially launch by 2016, and by 2019

如果仍有撥款，而且NASA下定決心，

we may have the first evidence of life off this planet.

我們極有可能於2016年發射，到2019年，

What then of manned space exploration?

就可能獲得第一個存在地外生命的證據。

The government recently announced plans to return to the moon by 2024.

那麼載人的空間探索呢？

The successful conclusion of that mission will result

政府最近宣佈計畫於2024年重返 月球。

in infrequent visitation of the moon by a small number

這一任務的勝利完成就是

of government scientists and pilots.

少數政府科學家和宇航員

It will leave us no further along in the general expansion

偶爾探訪月球。

of humanity into space than we were 50 years ago.

它對於人類探索宇宙空間的貢獻

Something fundamental has to change

與50年前沒什麽不同。

if we are to see common access to space in our lifetime.

必須有更為根本的變革，

What I'm going to show you next are a couple of controversial ideas.

才能讓我們在有生之年看到對宇宙的更普遍的接觸。

And I hope you'll bear with me and have some faith

下面將給大家看一些極富爭議的觀點。

that there's credibility behind what we're going to say here.

希望你們耐心聽下去，並且相信

There are three underpinnings of working in space privately.

我們這裡所說的都是有可信度的。

One of them is the requirement

私人進行宇宙探索事業有三大支柱。

for economical earth-to-space transport.

其一是需要

The Bert Rutans and Richard Bransons of this world

地球—宇宙之間經濟節約的交通。

have got this in their sights and I salute them.

在這方面，Bert Rutans 和Richard Bransons

Go, go, go.

已經看到了這點，我向他們致敬，

The next thing we need are places to stay on orbit.

加油！加油！

Orbital hotels to start with, but workshops for the rest of us later on.

其次我們需要可以在軌道上停留的地方。

The final missing piece, the real paradigm-buster, is this:

從軌道酒店開始，之後才輪到我們的工作站。

a gas station on orbit.

最後一個環節，真正扭轉乾坤的是

It's not going to look like that.

軌道加油站。

If it existed, it would change all future spacecraft design and space mission planning.

當然不會是這樣的。

Now, to give you a chance to understand

如果這能成為現實，它將改變未來所有航天器的設計，以及太空探索計畫。

why there is power in that statement,

現在，爲了讓你們有機會理解

I've got to give you the basics of Space 101.

這個前景的魅力何在，

And the first thing is everything you do in space you pay by the kilogram.

我要給你們上一堂太空基礎理論。

Anybody drink one of these here this week?

你要知道的第一件事就是，在太空中做任何事都要按千克計算費用。

You'd pay 10,000 dollars for that in orbit.

這星期有人喝過這東西么？

That's more than you pay for TED,

在軌道上，你想喝瓶水要花一萬美元。

if Google dropped their sponsorship.

這比你付給TED的還要多，

(Laughter)

如果GOOGLE停止他們的贊助的話。

The second is more than 90 percent of the weight of a vehicle is in propellant.

（笑聲）

Thus, every time you'd want to do anything in space,

第二，一個航天器超過90%的重量都在於推進燃料。

you are literally blowing away enormous sums of money

因此，任何時候你想在太空中干點什麽的話，

every time you hit the accelerator.

你的的確確是在大把大把地燒錢，

Not even the guys at Tesla can fight that physics.

只要你按一下加速器。

So, what if you could get your gas at a 10th the price?

即便是Telsa(極品電動跑車)的傢伙們也貴不過這條物理定律。

There is a place where you can.

因此，如果你能夠只用十分之一的價格就能獲得燃料呢？

In fact, you can get it better -- you can get it at 14 times lower

有個地方能讓你如願以償。

if you can find propellant on the moon.

事實上，更便宜——只需十四分之一的價格。

There is a little-known mission that was launched

如果你能在月球上找到燃料。

by the Pentagon, 13 years ago now, called Clementine.

有一個鮮為人知的任務，

And the most amazing thing that came out of that mission

早在13年前五角大樓就開始啟動了，叫作橘子計畫。

was a strong hydrogen signature at Shackleton crater

這項任務最令人驚異的發現就是