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Her first encounter with the space trip was to make a cardboard rocket at school to mark the first lunar landings when she was seven years old.
Helen Sharman knew that 20 years later, she would follow the footsteps of NASA's heroes.
She was a chemist working for Mars confectionery when she was selected from 13,000 candidates for the Juno project.
It was a British private mission to put a Briton in space by paying the Soviet Union for a seat on one of his flights to Mir Station.
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After 18 months of training she became the first woman to visit Mir, 27, May 1991.
During her eight days in orbit, she photographed Britain and performed medical and agricultural tests.
As the US Space Agency marks its 60th birthday, Helen, 55, proudly returns to her story and how she helped pave the way for her journey into space.
She said, "It's important that people go further than ever. We always need to push our limits as human beings.
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(Image: PA)
NASA has come a long way. Their main role is to explore, not only to send things or people in the space, but also to discover the universe. "And while their goals are similar to those of other space agencies around the world, their communications about space travel in general are the best in the world."
Since its inception in 1958, NASA – # 39; National Administration of Aeronautics and Space – has brought to light the wonders of the universe.
The world has been impressed by his achievements – from the first steps of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969 to the incredible images of the red planet issued by the rovers of Mars in recent years
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(19659021) He found evidence of water on Mars, studied supernovas, explosive stars and black holes, and even tried to look beneath the surface. ;a comet.
The Hubble Space Telescope that stands out as one of the most remarkable achievements of NASA
Launched in 1990, a year before Helen's own mission, the telescope position of the # 1 39; other side of the earth atmosphere gave us the first views of the universe. "Hubble is an absolutely fabulous technical company," said Helen, a native of Yorkshire, who now works as operations director for the chemistry department at Imperial College London.
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(Image: Getty)
"The things we've seen through this telescope are incredible. open what is there.
"And to this day, it still captures the imagination because the quality of these images is beautiful."
Helen, who was made CMG by the Queen at Windsor Castle earlier this year for its services to science and technology, believes that NASA will continue to explore beyond our planet for the next 60 years.
She points out that NASA should honoring his own strengths and aiming for more collaborative projects such as the International Space Station and the Hubble telescope.
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(Image: Getty)
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" They can do things on a daily basis – from supplying the ISS, as they do now, to space hotels.
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(Image: Getty)
"This frees funds from NASA to make a real serious exploration, like sending humans to Mars and carrying out projects of international collaboration that will tell us so much about the universe. "
NASA has achieved these six decades since the launch of its first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958, and Helen encourages future generations to look to the stars and dream about what they too can achieve.
. an astronaut, "she said.
"I have lived a very normal life.
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(Image: Getty)
" Now that I have it Do it myself, I realize just because no one else has done it. That does not mean you can not do it.
"You can be the first."
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