NASA in the Desert?

I want to go back a couple of weeks and tell you what I found out about next week's expedition. As I began to read about the scientists who would be conducting the research, I began to wonder why NASA is interested in the desert. After all, NASA does things like fly in space and build space stations, right?

And a long time ago, NASA was the agency that sent men to the moon and returned them safely to the Earth, right?

So why does NASA want scientists and teachers and polar bears to study the desert?

I found out that NASA has BIG plans to go back to the moon in about seven years. When astronauts get back to the moon, they are going to stay longer than they did in the 1970's. NASA wants the astronauts to learn how to live for many months on the moon.

Once NASA learns how to keep astronauts living on the moon for a few months at a time, then they want to send astronauts to live and work on Mars!

As you might imagine, it is too hard and too expensive to practice living on the moon or on Mars by going there. NASA needs a place closer to home to practice how they will live on other moons and planets. If you look closely, you will see that the surface of Mars and the surface of the moon look kind of like the desert. So NASA has decided to practice their space techniques in the desert. Someday soon they will send astronauts to start practicing in the desert, but for now, NASA is sending about 50 scientists and teachers (and one polar bear) to study the possibilities for living on the moon (and then Mars!).

Tomorrow, I will try to tell you some of the things we will be practicing and studying.