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>> SO YOU WANT TO GO TO MARS?
HOW DOES NASA'S HISTORY
PREPARE US FOR
FUTURE EXPLORATION?
NASA HAS BEEN EXPLORING SPACE
FOR 60 YEARS.
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IN THAT TIME, WE'VE LEARNED
A LOT THAT WILL HELP US
WITH FUTURE MISSIONS.
FIRST, NASA LEARNED
HOW TO BUILD AND LAUNCH ROCKETS
INTO SPACE.
THEN NASA LEARNED
HOW TO SEND ASTRONAUTS,
WHO PERFORM SPACEWALKS,
RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING MANEUVERS
AND TESTED NEW TECHNOLOGIES
TO PREPARE US TO GO TO THE MOON.
DURING THE APOLLO MISSIONS,
HUMANKIND EXPLORED
THE LUNAR SURFACE AND PROVED
THAT WE CAN WALK ON
OTHER WORLDS.
>> ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN--
>> AFTER THE APOLLO PROGRAM
ENDED, NASA RETURNED TO
LOW-EARTH ORBIT, BUT WITH
LONGER, MORE COMPLEX MISSIONS.
SKYLAB, AMERICA'S FIRST
SPACE STATION, TAUGHT US
IMPORTANT LESSONS ABOUT
LIVING IN SPACE.
THE SPACE SHUTTLE KICKED OFF
A SERIES OF REGULAR MISSIONS,
ADVANCING ASTRONAUT TRAINING,
LAUNCH CAPABILITIES,
AND ON-ORBIT OPERATIONS.
THE SPACE SHUTTLE ENABLED US
TO BUILD THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION, EXPANDING
OUR ABILITY TO USE SPACE
FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH,
AND TEACHING US HOW TO MAKE
A PERMANENT HOME
AWAY FROM EARTH.
ASTRONAUTS STILL
LIVE THERE TODAY.
BUILDING ON 60 YEARS
OF KNOWLEDGE AND DISCOVERY
PREPARES US TO GO FARTHER THAN
HUMANITY HAS EVER GONE BEFORE.
TO FIND OUT MORE, GO TO
THIS NASA WEBSITE.
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