会讲笑话就能上火星？你准备好去应聘了吗？

长夜漫漫，无心睡眠，尤其是在茫茫太空中。是时候来点开心的事了！美国国家航空航天局正在寻找“幽默搞笑”的人担任宇航员，以在探测火星的漫漫旅途中保持士气。

Nasa has outlined its four stage plan (pictured) which it hopes will one day allow humans to visit Mars at he Humans to Mars Summit held in Washington DC yesterday. This will entail multiple missions to the moon over coming decades.

找那些能逗闷子的人，NASA你在逗我吗？NASA说，他们是认真的。

Astronauts have traditionally been serious, sensible types with the 'right stuff' who can be trusted to fly equipment worth billions of pounds.

传统的宇航员是严肃、理智的，具备“应有的素质”，可以信赖他们驾驶价值数十亿英镑的设备飞行。

But any mission to Mars will need a 'joker' or 'class clown' figure to be successful, according to NASA research.

但是据美国国家航空航天局（NASA）研究，任何去往火星的任务将需要一名“幽默搞笑的人”或“班级小丑”一样的人物才能获得成功。

A sense of humor will be vital for any team to keep morale high on a two-year trip to Mars which could happen in the 2030s.

去往火星需要耗时两年，幽默感对任何去往火星的团队保持士气高涨都至关重要。火星之旅可能在2030年左右出发。

morale [mə'rɑːl]：n.士气，斗志

The joker role will be tested in NASA's group mission simulations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

负责幽默搞笑的人将在NASA德克萨斯州休斯敦约翰逊航天中心的团队任务模拟小组接受测试。

Jeffrey Johnson, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida, Gainesville is advising NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog, a project which looks at how teams can cope with extreme periods of isolation.

位于盖恩斯维尔的佛罗里达大学人类学教授杰弗里·约翰逊是NASA人类探索研究模拟项目的顾问，该项目考察团队如何应对极端的孤独时期。

He addressed the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference on 'Building a Winning Team for Missions to Mars'.

他在美国科学促进会年度会议上发表了题为《打造火星任务胜利团队》的演讲。

Professor Johnson said: 'Groups work best when they have somebody who takes on the role of class clown.

约翰逊教授说：“当团队中有人扮演班级小丑的角色时，团队的工作表现最好。”

'These are people that have the ability to pull everyone together, bridge gaps when tensions appear and really boost morale.

“这些人有能力团结大家，当紧张关系出现时能弥合分歧，并真正鼓舞士气。

A handout of an artist's rendering of the Mars rover Opportunity on the surface of Mars. NASA has received only silence from the rover since contact was lost during a global dust storm on the red planet in June of 2018. [Photo/IC]

'We can all think of the person at work who fulfills this role, who makes us laugh and makes the job more enjoyable. People like being around them.

“我们都能想起担任了这个角色的成员，他让我们开怀大笑，让工作更享受，人们喜欢和他们一起工作。”

'When you're living with others in a confined space for a long period of time, such as on a mission to Mars, tensions are likely to fray.

“当你和其他人长时间生活在一个密闭空间里时，关系可能会更紧张，比如在执行火星任务的途中。”

'It's vital you have somebody who can help everyone get along, so they can do their jobs and get there and back safely. It's mission critical.

“有个成员能帮助大家和睦相处，这很重要，这样整个团队就能顺利完成任务，抵达火星，并安全返回。这是一项关键任务。”

历史研究证明，第一次南极探险的成功，最大的功臣是一名幽默的厨子。

Professor Johnson has studied isolated groups of people in extreme environments including Russian, Chinese, Indian and Polish explorers based in Antarctica.

约翰逊教授曾研究过在极端环境下几乎与世隔绝的团队成员，包括俄罗斯、中国、印度和波兰驻南极洲的探险家。

Photo taken by the rover Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2) on Jan 11, 2019 shows the lander of the Chang'e 4 probe. [Photo/Xinhua/China National Space Administration]

He has also looked at historical examples. Professor Johnson said that the reason Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen succeeded where Captain Scott failed in reaching the South Pole was because the Norwegians had a jolly 'clown' figure on their team.

他还查阅了历史范例。约翰逊教授说，挪威探险家罗尔德-阿蒙森之所以成功到达了南极，就是因为一位成员幽默搞笑，是团队中的“小丑”。而在此之前，斯科特船长的南极探险就失败了。

Professor Johnson said of Amundsen: 'He had a cook named Adolf Lindstrom. People described him as being someone who laughed and was very jovial and very happy, an entertainer, keeping up people's spirits.

约翰逊教授谈到阿蒙森时说：“他有一名叫阿道夫-林德斯特伦的厨师。人们说阿道夫风趣幽默，非常快活，是团队的开心果，让大家精神饱满。”

'In Amundsen's diary he said he had rendered greater service to the Norwegian polar expedition than any other man. He was the clown of that expedition. Scott's expedition was radically different. They broke into cliques; they didn't have a cohesive group.' 'Astronauts going to Mars need a Lindstrom,' he said.

他说：“阿蒙森在日记中写道，阿道夫对挪威探险队南极探险之旅的贡献比其他人都要大。他是探险队的‘小丑’。斯科特的探险队则完全不同。成员之间拉帮结派，不是紧密团结的群体。火星探险任务需要一位阿道夫。”

clique [kliːk]：n.派系；小圈子

当然，也不要以为有点才艺就可以大展身手了。

But he added: 'Being funny won't be enough to land somebody the job. They also need to be an excellent scientist and engineer and be able to pass a rigorous training regime.'

但他也补充说：“轻松搞笑并不足以让一个人胜任这个工作。他们还需要是出色的科学家和工程师，能够通过严格的训练项目。”

Previous missions, including the Apollo spacecraft with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (pictured), were very sensible. Future missions will require staff with a good sense of humour and NASA says it will be vital for any team to keep morale high on a two-year trip to Mars.

Clowns have to be positive, Professor Johnson said.

约翰逊教授说，幽默搞笑的宇航员必须是积极向上的。

'There are people who are loving and laughable and jovial and endearing, and therefore bring people together. But others who are cruel. When I worked at the South Pole station there was lots of cruel behavior. It's better to become a mascot - get taken in by the group and loved.

“有些人充满爱心，风趣幽默，天性快活，讨人喜欢，因此能把大家团结在一起。但也有人让人痛苦。我在南极科考站工作时，见到过很多粗鲁的行为。人们最好能成为团队的‘吉祥物’，融入团队中，受人喜爱。”

jovial ['dʒəʊvɪəl; -vj(ə)l]：adj.天性快活的

'It's pretty universal - it doesn't matter whether you are Russian, Polish, Chinese, Indian. Group dynamics happen in very similar ways across all human groups.'

“这是放之四海而皆准的道理，不管你来自俄罗斯、波兰、中国还是印度。在所有的人类群体中，团队动态的发生方式都是相似的。”