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2035 A bright light streaks across an orange sky. It looks like a meteor during a beautiful sunset on Earth. Yet it isn’t a meteor. It isn’t sunset. And it’s nowhere near Earth. Te flash of light is a spaceship. It’s zipping through the atmosphere above Mars. Inside the spaceship, eight crew members


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are strapped in their seats. Even with their helmets on, the sound is deafening. Te ship roars toward the surface of Mars below. Te crew hears a muff led explosion. A light


blinks on the control panel. “Heat shield away,” the commander announces to the crew. “Stand by for the parachutes.” Everyone is nervous. Maybe the parachutes


won’t open. Tat would be a disaster. Te ship would smash into the planet’s surface. Te crew hears a second small explosion. A


second light on the panel comes on. It signals that the parachutes have opened successfully. Te crew feels a sharp tug on their spaceship. Tat means the parachutes are doing their job. Tey slow the spaceship down. Te changing motion of the ship makes some astronauts feel a little queasy. Everyone is excited, though. Aſter a long


journey through space, they’re about to become the first humans to land on Mars!


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FIRE!” ...


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Today Flames and smoke shoot out of a huge rocket engine. It works! Tat’s good. Someday this engine may help power people to Mars. For now, a trip to Mars is a dream. Space


agencies and private companies want to make it a reality. Tey’re hard at work. Building a rocket is just the first of many challenges. Aſter all, a trip to Mars isn’t like a trip across town. It isn’t even like a trip to the moon. At its closest, Mars is 150 times farther away from Earth than our moon is. Using today’s technology, it would take about six months to reach Mars. Tat long a trip through space could be


dangerous. It could make Mars astronauts weak and sick. Once they reach Mars, these astronauts could face even more health problems. Scientists need to know what these problems are before any rockets blast off to Mars. Ten they need to solve them.


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