SARASOTA, Fla.- 2014 was a monumental year for NASA, launching the nation into a new era of space exploration. With Kennedy Space Center, just a couple hours from the Suncoast, many locals are excited to be so close to history in the making.
"Before I die, I hope to be in Mars, says Sarasota resident, Stuart Cassell.
NASA may be one step closer to making that dream come true. 2014 proving to be a breakthrough year, as NASA achieved a 4 and a half hour test flight to Mars via the Orion spacecraft.
Orion is a part of NASA's plan to develop new technologies and capabilities to send astronauts farther than ever before-- first to an asteroid, and onward to the red planet.
"We conquered the moon decades ago, and here we are about to land on Mars and determine whether there is indeed life on it. So it's a true development and something we should be truly grateful to NASA for," says Fred Filman, a resident of Canada, visiting family in Sarasota.
This month, data from the Mars Curiosity Rover suggests there could be signs of life, discovering mysterious spikes of methane gas-- possibly meaning there could be small bacteria like living organisms.
The agency took another giant step in September, granting contracts to American companies in order to re-launch human crewed space missions in the U.S. It's United States explorers will restart to set out to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
Many millenials are confident about the space program heading into 20-15.
20 year old, Sarah Tedesco says, "Maybe, you know, someday they talk about like having hotels on Mars... people going to vacation on different planets."
