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Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm Neil and with me today is Chris.
Chris: Hello there.
Neil: Now Chris, are you fan of driving?
Chris: Erm not really. I do have a driving licence but I don’t actually drive that often.
Neil: OK then, so how do you think you would you like to try driving on Mars?
Chris: On Mars? Wow, yes, I suppose that would be even more challenging than the London rush hour.
Neil: Well, our story today is about driving on Mars, though the vehicle which has been sent up there is remotely controlled. It means there isn’t a person driving it. It’s controlled using a machine back on Earth.
Chris: Wow, it sounds just like the best Christmas present I ever got as a child!
Neil: Well, you’re going to like this programme then today! But before we get into the details, though, let’s have our quiz question. It’s Mars-related, of course. I want to know how long a Mars year is. So, how long does it take Mars to go around, or orbit, the Sun? Is it:
a) 152 days
b) 687 days
c) 2024 days
Chris: That’s quite a tricky one. I will say b) 687 days.
Neil: OK, we will find out if you are right at the end of the programme. Now, some more information about this vehicle on Mars.
Chris: Yes, this isn’t the first rover – or driverless car - to drive on the surface of the red planet.
Neil: No, there have been plenty of others but this is by far the most sophisticated. It’s called the Curiosity rover and was made by NASA, the American Space Agency.
Vocabulary
- remotely controlled
- operated by a device not connected to the machine
- orbit
- the circular path a planet makes around another planet
- rover
- a car-like vehicle with no driver
- searing
- intense
- seismometers
- machines to measure movement under the surface of planets
- earthquake
- a sudden and violent movement in the ground
- core
- centre
- molten
- liquid rock or metal
- obsessed
- not able to stop thinking about something
- diverse
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