The SpaceX cargo resupply launch for the International Space Station set for April 8 will have something more than the usual scientific experiments, food and replacement parts for the orbiter.

The spacecraft will be carrying the BEAM space habitat made by Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace that will be attached to the outside of the space station for a two-year test.

NASA scientists expect that inflatable habitats, also known as expandables, will eventually house astronauts when they land on Mars.

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