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National Geographic : 1964 Mar
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of getting to other planets. A round trip to Venus would require nearly a year and to Mars 11/2 years. For such long journeys we would need nuclear-powered upper stages or electrically powered engines that would spew a plasma of atomic particles from their exhaust nozzles to give thrust. It is very likely that men will reach Mars and Venus within the next 25 years. Before the year 2,000 unmanned probes will have scouted all the planets of the solar system. We have embarked upon a long, long road from which there can be no turning back. The stars beckon us, and a brilliant new era in man's progress unfolds. THE END RIDING A FIERY METEOR, TIRED LUNARNAUTS PLUMMET BACK TO THEIR HOME PLANET AS THE APOLLO SPACECRAFT slams into earth's atmosphere, the three astronauts in this cutaway painting look out viewing ports and see glowing ablation vapors in the wake of their ship. Flaming pieces of the specially designed heat shield melt and stream away. Converging gases form a golden trail. Between the capsule's heat shield and the shock wave, immediately ahead of the craft, temperatures reach a maximum of 100,0000 F., nearly ten times the temperature of the sun's surface. 401
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