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A Year in Review...
News story originally written on December 30, 1997

1997 was a great year in space. Let's journey back and look at the top discoveries and missions that took place in 1997!

To start off with, there were eight successful shuttle missions launched by NASA. These missions did microgravity research and fixed the Hubble Space Telescope.

The new and improved Hubble telescope sure had a fantastic year! The astronomers kept the telescope busy photographing Mars.

Possibly the most successful mission of the year was the Mars Pathfinder mission. Did you watch the Mars rover cross the surface of Mars? Did you buy a Mattel Hot Wheels JPL Sojourner Rover action pack?

The Cassini satellite was also launched. It is on its way to Saturn, a 2.2 billion-mile journey!

This year, the Mir space station seemed to have its share of trouble. The most biggest event was the day a cargo ship crashed into the Mir station. The crew members lost their power and their life support systems!

1997 is certainly a year to be remembered!

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