In July, the Mars Pathfinder and the Sojourner rover revealed to us the Ares Vallis of Mars as if it were readily accessible, and not millions of miles away. The landscape looked eerily familiar. Calm. Meanwhile, somewhere in Earth's orbit three men were working around the clock to repair their damaged orbiting space station. The Space Shuttle Columbia was launched, completed its mission, and landed without much fanfare. A few days later the Pathfinder mission disappeared from the front pages of newspapers, and it seemed the situation aboard Mir had calmed down. As we go about our daily lives, scientists at JPL are processing reams of data that Pathfinder is sending. Few people follow shuttle missions anymore; they have become too commonplace. Mir orbits the Earth day after day, and no one asks anymore, "How did we accomplish such incredible feats? What are we going to do next, and where will it take us?"
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