It�s been 30 years since the last moonwalk. Back then, the sky was not the limit. NASA hatched a grandiose plan to reach Mars by the mid-�80s. But appalled at the huge price tag, President Nixon nixed everything but the space shuttle. NASA was stuck with an interstellar moving van. Even with its wings clipped, the space agency kept planning. Here�s a look at what it�s accomplished � and what might have been.
| NASA�s Reality | NASA�s Fantasy (Based on planning documents 1967-1996)
| 1979 � Skylab burns up due to delays launching the space shuttle. Voyager probes reach Jupiter.
1976 � Unmanned Viking 1 probe lands on Mars.
1973 � Apollo 17 final human mission to moon in 20th century, reaches lunar surface. Skylab, first US space station, launched.
1972 � After 11 years in the planning, Nerva (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications) canceled.
1976 � Permanently manned Earth-orbiting space station established.
1975 � First space shuttle flight. First space station orbital module launched on modified Saturn V.
1974 � Begin development of Mars Lander (MEM).
1973 � Nerva gets go-ahead.
1984 � President Reagan approves space station Freedom.
1981 � First launch of space shuttle Columbia. Voyager 2 reaches Saturn.
1980 � Voyager 1 reaches Saturn.
1983 � Mars mission swings by Venus to drop automated probes, returns to Earth�s orbit. Second manned Mars mission leaves Earth.
1982 � First human landing on Mars.
1981 � Manned Mars mission launched.
1980 � Earth-orbiting space station holds 50 people. Permanently manned moon base established.
1998 � First shuttle flight to International Space Station.
1997 � Pathfinder lands on Mars. Sojourner rover explores planet surface.
1993 � Contact lost with unmanned Mars Observer probe before it reaches Mars. Hubble telescope�s flawed mirror repaired in space.
1990 � Space station Freedom canceled.
1997 � Cargo vehicle lands on Mars, begins to manufacture oxygen and methane from Martian atmosphere. Aerobraking X-Project tested.
1994 � Earth-orbiting space station Freedom completed.
2005 � Eight proposed shuttle missions, all ISS construction flights.
2001 � Unmanned Mars Odyssey probe begins orbiting Mars.
2000 � Four construction flights to ISS.
2006 � Full-scale lunar oxygen plant in operation.
2004 � Automated plant capable of producing oxygen from lunar soil in operation.
2003 � Human lunar outpost completed.
2011 � Lunar spaceport and orbiting space station operational.
| 1970 | 1978 � Test flight for Mars Lander with stops on Earth and moon. First space shuttle flight boosts Skylab to higher orbit.
| 1989 � Voyager 2 reaches Neptune. 1986 � Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch. Hubble Space Telescope postponed. Voyager 2 reaches Uranus.
| 1980 | 1989 � Fifty-person Mars base established.
| 1999 � Unmanned Mars Polar Lander launched. Mars Climate Orbiter lost in space. Mars Polar Lander lost during atmospheric entry.
| 1990 | 1999 � First lunar outpost established.
| 2006 � International Space Station completed. Two proposed shuttle missions.
| 2000 | 2007 � Pressurized lunar rover operational.
| 2010 | 2016 � Lunar manufacturing established.
| 2020 | 2026 � Fully populated base on Mars.
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