Space Exploration?

Question

What benefits do we get form space exploration and why? I mean, austronauts go up to space do their thing and then what, what do we get from it? And if we do benefit somehow, how does it get implemented here on Earth?

Answer 1

Here are a few items developed from the space program:
Dustbuster, shock-absorbing helmets, home security systems, smoke detectors, flat panel televisions, high-density batteries, trash compactors, food packaging and freeze-dried technology, cool sportswear, sports bras, hair styling appliances, fogless ski goggles, self-adjusting sunglasses, composite golf clubs, hang gliders, art preservation, and quartz crystal timing equipment.
Gasoline vapor recovery, self-locking fasteners, machine tool software, laser wire stripper, lubricant coating process, wireless communications ,Storm warning services (Doppler radar), firefighters' radios, lead poison detection, fire detector, flame detector, corrosion protection coating, protective clothing, and robotic hands,water purification systems, scratch resistant lenses ,solar energy.

And the list goes on.

And let's not forget Velcro.

Answer 2

The number of technological advancements that can be directly attributed to the space program are staggering.

Almost every day you will take advantage of a large number of these without even knowing it. Computers, small electronics, wireless equipment - almost none of it would be nearly where it is today without the space program.

Materials science is another big area -due to the need for lightweight but strong materials by the space program. Kevlar, lexan, neoprene, and quite a few others were invented either by people working directly or indirectly with space programs. Metal has gone through unbelievable advances - aluminum, high carbon steel, etc.

Aeronautics, mathematics, engineering, physics, computer science, all have benefited by leaps and bounds.

A lot of people complain about the amount of money spent on space exploration, and aren't able to see the corellation between it and the technological advances of the last few decades. You probably wouldn't be posting questions on the internet right now if it wasn't for space and other related programs.

The next generation of space flight won't involve rockets - instead they are going to be developing a 'space plane' that will take off just like a regular airplane, and will use rocket boosters to provide the necessary speed to reach sufficient altitude to get into orbit.

Despite a number of extremely vocal 'anti-science' proponents who make absurd claims about the age of the earth, and attempt to try to put their ridiculous religious beliefs on the same solid footing as science - we can still see the almost limitless possibilities provided by space exploration and other fields of study.

Just remember - they used to say it was impossible for a man to fly.

Before that, the earth was the center of the universe (and there are still some whackjobs that think that it still is, not to mention a few that think its flat).

Answer 3

Velcro was developed as a means of keeping hand-held items from wafting about in zero gravity, without being locked down in place by some other, weightier, means. Now, we use velcro for all sorts of other purposes, from strapping on our sandals, to strappign in our cell phones.

Lots of food preservation techniques have been eiher developed or perfected due to space exploration where it is still highly impossible to grow food in space and on space trips.

That's how we got the famous oscar meyer weiner, and everybody's favorite Vitamin C supplement: Tang, which doesn't even USE oranges, but harvests Vitamin C from the Acerola berry in much higher quantities than any citrus fruit can produce it.

before Nasa, computers were considered an unnecessary luxury to most business endeavors. Because of Nasa, and Nasa's wide-range use for computers, computer manufacturers started building faster and higher-capacity computers for less and less cost, and the public responded by buying them up so fast that even the biggest computer manufacturer, IBM couldn't keep up, and had to farm a lot of its business out to other companies like Intel, and Microsoft, both of which were actually on the verge of going belly up.

In a nutshell, the greatest benefits we've reaped from Space exploration is better an less expensive commodities here on earth.

And that doesn't even take into consideration the hype it generates that feed the rumor mills that diminish the rumors about things like warfare. While most of the world's super powers over the previous few millenia have maintained their supremecy by means of warfare and conquest, the great Space Race and its competitive nature, have actually quelled more warfare than in any other age of the past.

Like atheletics, when you give the masses something other than international strive to focus upon, you divert their attention away from mongering warfare.

Answer 4

Space is the only place where we can carry out quality experiments without gravity. Gravity will influence the results or all experiments on Earth, by eliminating gravity different results can be obtained leading to a better understanding of things. Also, eventually mankind will take to the stars and if we never practice we'll never get there.

Answer 5

We must think beyond this life time. The steps we are taking now are the necessary steps for the next hundred generations. We are building the foundations for long term space exploration and understanding. While we may not have dollar for dollar return on space exploration now. It is necessary for mankind to always be advancing.
B

Answer 6

There are some research that are done out of curiosity and hope that eventually lead to great benefits to mankind. Several centuries ago when astronomers started to stare at the sky with strange instruments, nobody beleived that anything useful to the society will come out of it. But now we see lots of benefits of astronomy in our day to day life. We take these for granted! TV and Internet are not possible without man made satellites out there in space.
Space exploration is next step in astronomy. The curiosity is ... to find out how to get out of earth's pull and what happens there in space. The hopes are many. To carry out micro gravity experiments the results of which could be applied on several areas including surgery, to findout if there is life outside earth, to find out if it is possible for us to leave and live outside earth(when we spoiled the earth's environment enough) ... the possibilities are huge. Many of them are not directly or immediately understood and appreciated by all. Because it involves hi-technologies and higher science and mathematics, and of course huge money.
Space exploration is the natural evolution of human mind! You think more, you want to know more, you want to gain more, you want to live more luxuriously, you want to have better future for the next generations! And this is the root of all growth!

Answer 7

Every month I get a magazine called, "NASA Tech Briefs". It is chalk full of innovations from NASA and researchers working for contractors of NASA, in the areas of materials engineering, process engineering, software engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, etc.

Some of these innovations are small and obscure, but they can still be put into use in some things that you wouldn't even notice, and yet take for granted.

Your cell phone or i-pod would be *huge* if it weren't for some of the innovations from NASA research. That's just a small example.


.

Answer 8

I agree with you Ruthie, I think that the huge cost of Space Probes could well be spent on improving life here. After all, its our money being spent. But then, politicians will tell the public that there is a need for it, because they may have a business, that is in that field.

Answer 9

hi

Answer 10

Manned space flight is a huge waste of money. Sure, there are ancillary benefits (food preservation and so on) but we could see a much better return on investment if the billions of dollars were pumped into research rather than space flight.