Alysaa Carson is a 17-year-old girl. She dreams of going to Mars. She was first interested in becoming an astronaut at the age of three. At that time, she was watching a cartoon called The Backyardigans. The characters in the cartoon went to Mars many times for different tasks. She also wanted to be one of them.

After knowing the serious pollution and the large population on Earth. Alyssa thinks people may look for another planet to live on in the future. She thinks humans may choose to live on Mars in the future. That’s because it’s a planet similar to the earth in some aspects (方面). What’s more, people will be able to use the technologies to get there at that time. Alyssa dreams of going to Mars and working in the field of astrobiology (天体生物学).

Her father believes that parents should help children achieve their dreams. He thinks that it doesn’t matter if the dreams change a lot or how crazy they are. And he doesn’t think it’s too young to get a pilot’s license (执照) for a 17-year-old girl. Perhaps it’s very dangerous for his daughter to go to Mars. But he believes that she can achieve her dream one day. What he can do is to let his daughter work hard for her dream.

We want to explore and try to better understand the world in which we live. Space exploration (探索) is one of the ways. Through the exploration of space, we can begin to unravel the mysteries of our universe and to better know our living environment.

Space exploration provides us with knowledge about the beginning of our solar system (太阳系), our own planet and ourselves. It also helps answer the questions that have puzzled us for many years. Solar system exploration is important because it is good for us.

Space technology has become an important part of our daily lives. Some technology uses satellites (卫星) to communicate. Satellites are also used to examine the changes in the Earth’s climate (气候) and seas, for weather report and for military (军事). We also use satellites in food production. Because of the use of space technology in crops, fewer and fewer people will suffer (受苦) hunger.

The space program provides a chance for nations to work together. The cooperation (合作) promotes (促进) peace and understanding between governments and their people. Many governments have taken part in the space technology, including the United States, Russia, Japan, the European nations and India. In the near future, other nations will take part in it. In fact, the United States remains the leader in new space technology.

One of the most detailed descriptions of a UFO was given by nine-year-old Gaynor Sunderland in July 1976. Gaynor lived in Oakenholt, a village in North Wales. On her way home from school, she saw a silver object shaped like a saucer (茶碟) in a field not far from her home.

The strange craft (飞行物) was about 30 feet long and 9 feet high. It had yellow windows along the side and on the top there was a light flashing in a kind of box. Although Gaynor was very frightened, she did not run away. Instead, she lay quietly in the long grass and watched the door of the strange craft open. She saw two people wearing silver suits come out of the craft. They were carrying some kind of equipment (设备) which they used to examine the ground. They were short and had large pink eyes, Gaynor reported.

After about half an hour, the two people went back into the craft. At once there was a loud noise and the UFO took off.

Although Gaynor told her mother what she had seen, her family decided to keep quiet about it. They did not want people to laugh at their daughter. However, 18 months later, Gaynor told her story to UFO experts. They hypnotized (使人进入睡眠状态) Gaynor so that they could be sure she was telling the truth.

Not only did she repeat her story, but also she was able to draw a picture of what she had seen!