A.  Space Shuttle -- reusable spacecraft for transporting people, satellites, and other material to and from space.

      1.  Launched standing on end

      2.  Glides back to Earth like an airplane

 B.  Space Stations -- permanent places in space for humans to live and work

       1.  U.S.  SkyLab orbited Earth from 1973 to 1979.

            a.   Crews performed experiments and collected data on the effects of living in space

            b.  Fell out of orbit and burned up as it entered the Earth's atmosphere.

       2.  Former Soviet Union Mir housed cosmonauts for more than a year at a time aboard the Mir.

            a.  Crews from the former Soviet Union and American crews worked together aboard the Mir.

            b.  Crews from the former Soviet Union spent more time aboard Mir than crews from any other country

C.  The United States and Russia have cooperated in eight joint space missions

       1.  International Space Station (ISS) -- cooperation and resources of 16 countries

       2.  ISS to be ready for permanent crew in 2005.

D.  Several missions explore Mars.

      1.  Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Pathfinder -- scientists learned water may have covered the planet in the past.

       2.  Some Mars missions, such as Mars Climate Orbiter, were unsuccessful.

E.  New Millennium Program (NMP)-- purpose is to create advanced technology that will let NASA send smart spacecraft into the solar system.

F.  Moon Exploration -- Lunar Prospector photographed that Moon's surface for mapping

     1.  Scientists wanted to know if water existed in craters at the Moon's poles.

     2.  Because no material was thrown up when Lunar Prospector was ordered to crash, more studies needed.

G.  Space probe Cassini will explore Saturn and its largest moon Titan.

H.  The Next Generation Space Telescope will study star and galaxy processes.

I.  Items developed for space are used on Earth such as safety equipment.