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[ Music ]

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>> This is Gene, and
I'm on the surface.

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And as I take man's last step
from the surface back home

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for some time to come but
we believe not too long

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into the future, I'd like to
just let what I believe history

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will record that
America's challenge

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of today has forged man's
destiny of tomorrow.

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And as we leave the
moon at Taurus-Littrow,

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we leave as we came and, God
willing, as we shall return:

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With peace and hope
for all mankind.

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>> With those words, humans
left the moon for last time.

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In fact, it was the time

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that humans have
left low-earth orbit.

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That was Apollo 17
in December of 1972.

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Space exploration is hard.

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It was hard when the goal
was to walk on the moon.

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It's even harder
now that the goal is

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to put footprints on Mars.

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Here's a typical
picture of the night sky.

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The moon is pretty easy to find.

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It's relatively close to us.

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It's a journey of
about three days.

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Can you find Mars?

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If you're looking
at the bright spot

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on the lower right-hand
corner, you've found Venus.

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Mars is actually here.

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It's a small speck
in the night sky.

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It's a journey of
about six months.

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It's a pretty difficult
target to get to,

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especially when you want
to send people there,

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but that's exactly what
we're planning to do.

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There are many barriers
in getting there,

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including technical,
physiological, and political.

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But NASA has a plan for human
exploration comprising the

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world's largest and
most powerful rocket,

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the most capable
human spacecraft,

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an upgraded launch facility, and
a mission plan that culminates

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in a crewed journey to Mars.

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We will, for the first time
since the end of Apollo,

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send people away from the
relative safety of Earth

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to explore a foreign world.

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Apollo launched on the
top of a Saturn V rocket.

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And the Saturn V
remains the largest

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and most powerful
rocket ever launched.

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The rocket that NASA
is currently developing

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to launch the Orion
spacecraft is referred

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to as the Space Launch
System or the SLS.

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To give you an idea of
the size of these rockets,

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if you were to put the first
SLS down on a football field,

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the bottom of the rocket would
be in one end zone and the top

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of the rocket would stretch
someplace the Cleveland Browns

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often have trouble finding

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[ Laughter ]

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-- the other end zone.

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The SLS is being developed

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through a block upgrade
approach.

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The first SLS for Exploration
Mission 1 is referred

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to as Block 1.

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The Block 1 rocket will
be able to deliver more

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than double the payload

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of current launch vehicles
to low-earth orbit.

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And it's this first rocket

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that will deliver an uncrewed
Orion spacecraft around the moon

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and back again for
Exploration Mission 1,

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which will be the
furthest we've ever tested

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human-rated spacecraft.

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Rockets are typically staged to
reduce weight as they burn fuel,

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and the SLS is no different.

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The core stage is the
main body of the rocket

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and houses the fuel for
its four main engines

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and the avionics for the rocket.

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The core stage will be the
tallest rocket stage ever built.

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The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion
Stage is the upper stage

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for the Block 1 rocket, and
it will provide the thrust

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to lift Orion out
of low-earth orbit

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onto its historic first
journey to the moon.

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The solid rocket boosters
are heritage technology

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from the Space Shuttle era
with a little extra kick.

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These boosters are each
taller in size than the Statue

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of Liberty, and they
will provide the majority

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of the thrust for the
rocket at liftoff.

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Two full-scale tests of these
boosters have already occurred,

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paving the way for
the first flight.

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For the first crewed mission

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of the Orion spacecraft
NASA will upgrade the rocket

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to what is referred
to as Block 1B.

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The primary difference
between the Block 1

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and Block 1B vehicles
is the addition

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of the exploration upper stage.

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With this enhanced upper
stage, the SLS will be able

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to deliver more than
triple the payload

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of current launch vehicles
to low-earth orbit.

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And it's with this enhanced
upper stage that we will be able

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to carry not just people
on the Orion spacecraft,

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but NASA's also planning
a series of payloads

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that we will deliver to
the area around the moon.

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These payloads make up what
we're calling the Deep Space

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Gateway, a kind of mini
space station around the moon

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that will be our jumping
off point to go to Mars.

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The NASA Glenn Research Center
is playing a critical role

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in all this.

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We are tasked with managing
and developing the structures

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at the top of the rocket,
whether it's carrying crew

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or cargo off the planet.

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Earlier this year we awarded
a contract to Dynetics

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with their partners
RUAG, Systima,

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and local Cleveland companies
in technologies to develop

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and build the Universal
Stage Adapter or the USA.

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Its primary function is to
adapt the larger diameter

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of the SLS upper stage

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to the smaller diameter
Orion spacecraft.

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It provides the structure

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to safely carry the Orion
from ground to orbit.

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In addition to carrying
the Orion,

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the USA will also house
the payloads that make

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up the Deep Space Gateway.

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As you can imagine, a rocket
of this size produces a lot

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of heat, noise, and vibration.

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And the USA will provide
a reasonable environment

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for those payloads to
survive their trip to orbit.

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In addition to the
Universal Stage Adapter,

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which will be used on
crewed missions of the SLS,

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the Glenn Research Center
also leads the development

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of payload fairings,
which will be used

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on planned cargo
missions of the SLS.

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Fairings are used
to house spacecraft

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when the crewed Orion
capsule isn't riding on top.

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The SLS will allow us
the opportunity to dream

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of large space telescopes
and planetary explorers

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that wouldn't be possible
on other launch vehicles.

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It could also cut the transit
time to distant locations.

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It could cut the time to travel
to the Jovian moon Europa

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from around seven and a
half years to a little

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over two and a half years.

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This reduction in time is
important to both the robustness

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of the probes that have to
survive the harsh environments

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of space and to the researchers

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who traditionally
have long wait times

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from launching their
science instruments

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to actually collecting
science data.

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Let me transition a little
bit to talk about how we plan

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to use the SLS and Orion

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to build the capability
to go to Mars.

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Earlier I touched on what we're
calling the Deep Space Gateway.

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It will be a structure around
the moon with power, propulsion,

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a docking capability,
and a small place

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for the crew to live in.

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It will allow astronauts
to begin building

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and testing the systems
needed for critical missions

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to deep space destinations.

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In addition to activities
around the moon,

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the gateway can also be used
as a jumping off point to go

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to other destinations,
like Mars.

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The Glenn Research Center
is leading the development

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of the first element of the Deep
Space Gateway, which will launch

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on Exploration Mission 2 and
begin this exciting new chapter

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of deep space exploration.

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And all of the gateway elements
will launch underneath either a

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USA or a payload fairing lead
out of Glenn out of Glenn.

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So it's a very exciting time

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for space flight
development at the center.

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I'd like to leave you
with what I think is one

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of the most important
impact of the SLS and Orion.

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This is my son with
Peggy Whitson

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at the Neutral Buoyancy
Lab in Houston.

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My kids are lucky to be exposed

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to the work that
we do every day.

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But each one of us here
has the ability to inspire

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and educate future generations.

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No matter what you do and
for whatever reason you're

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in attendance tonight,
we all have the ability

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and the responsibility to
inspire the imagination

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and creativity of young
people in this country.

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Apollo 17, that last
mission to the moon

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that I began this
presentation with,

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gave us this iconic picture.

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It was a picture that showed
everyone how beautiful

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and fragile our planet is.

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Apollo inspired a generation
of entrepreneurs and inventors.

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I grew up in the
Space Shuttle era,

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and that's what inspired me.

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Much like Apollo,
the Space Shuttle,

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and the Space Station
have inspired kids

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from around the world to pursue
science and technical careers,

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the SLS and Orion have the
opportunity to do the same.

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This is a picture of people

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in Times Square watching the
landing of the Curiosity rover.

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These are the faces of people
inspired by the landing

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of a robot on Mars -- a robot.

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Imagine what these
faces will look

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like when we land
people on Mars.

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NASA and the work that
we do is inspiring.

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And I hope that our work
will inspire my children