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August 2012

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Features

the rover Curiosity

Emissary

Never send a man to do a robot's mission.

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If Spirit Had Gone to Disney World

For all its traveling, NASA's last Mars rover only covered about the same ground as a familiar theme park.

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Invaders From Earth

Will any of these robots win a trip to Mars?

Will Wright

First Neighborhood on Mars

The creator of The Sims imagines us on the Red Planet.

Pesek painting of Mars

Why Earthlings Are Attracted to Mars

How science fiction and history keep pulling us to the Red Planet.

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Martians Among Us

In this rowdy assembly, you'll find at least one you know.

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Mars Mike

An elder statesman of space exploration wants pieces of Mars brought here.

Tracks left by the Opportunity rover

Mars Journal

From the people who know Mars best, a collection of close encounters.

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Orville, Wilbur and Me

You too can fly a Wright aircraft.

An-2

Antonovs in America

Where the world’s biggest biplane is under-employed.

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Steinbeck’s Dispatches From Vietnam

In 1966, the author of The Grapes of Wrath met a new working class: Hueys, Hercs, and Spooky.

Departments

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Viewport: New Studies of an Ancient World

Viewport: New Studies of an Ancient World

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The Archives’ Big Move

Fifty-four truckloads of irreplaceable aviation history make the 35-mile trek to the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center.

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Solar System Detective

As a planetary geologist, I search for clues to what happened on faraway worlds.

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The Original Men in Black?

UFO investigations may have been the least exciting duty for the Air Intelligence Service Squadron.

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The First Autolanding

Two pilots won a trophy in 1937 for keeping their hands off the controls.