It's about searching for life in the universe,
这关乎在宇宙之中寻找其他的生命
it's about asking this profound question of whether we're alone,
关乎一个深刻的问题 我们是否孤独
whether we're all that there is.
是否是仅有的生命
And the only way we can do that,
而唯一的办法
even in this technological age,
即便在科技发达的今天
is just by stepping out to our nearest neighbour planet,
就是向这个离我们最近的行星
the one next furthest out from the Sun,
太阳系中的第四颗行星迈进
and asking the question there.
并在那里寻求解答
But really,
但是
it's going to tell us this profound reality,
它将为我们揭示最深刻的事实
whether we're alone
我们是孤独的吗
or we're not.
或者不是
NASA's Viking mission was hugely ambitious.
美国宇航局的海盗号任务颇具雄心
It was their first ever attempt to land robotic probes
那是他们第一次尝试将机械火星车
on the surface of Mars.
降落到火星表面
And it was going to search for life itself.
让它自己寻找生命迹象
It has an arm, so it can extend out into the area around it
它有一只机械臂 所以能探索周围地面
and pick up sand to bring back to the other laboratories
收集土壤样本 送到火星车上的仪器中
which are on board the lander.
进行检测
The Viking landers were equipped with these
海盗号装备有
state-of-the-art biological laboratories
最为先进的生物检测设备
and they scooped up soil and analysed it.
它们取出土壤样本 进行分析
They tried to feed any microbes that would be in the soil
试图培养土壤中任何可能存在的微生物
and do very sophisticated experiments to detect life.
并进行复杂的实验来检测是否有生命存在

重点解释：

1.searching for 搜寻； 寻找

例句：He searched for work at various stores.　　 　
他在各家商店寻找工作。

2.step out 走出去

例句：They stepped out of the sun into the coolness.
他们到阴凉处躲避烈日。

3.extend out 伸出

例句：Fruit trees extended out over the fences.
果树枝伸出墙外。