Read the passage from The Race to Space: Countdown to Liftoff.
NASA absorbed the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, the guys behind Chuck Yeager’s historic flight), along with resources from Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Langley Research Center, and the army’s rocket-research team.
What is most likely the author’s purpose in this passage?
to explain what the story is about
to ask a question that the author will answer later
to add supplemental information that explains the situation
to help the reader draw a conclusion based on the evidence