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by Pinkie on November 28th, 2004

Pinkie

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Why is space travel important?

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  • by Jeremiah Britt on December 3rd, 2004

    Jeremiah Britt

    From my friend Mike's inciteful (sic) blog:

    What do we use today that is a result of the space program? Everything. GPS, Thermal Blankets, Cellphones, lightweight composites found in camping gear and vehicles, robotics that assemble our vehicles and handle hazardous materials, metal alloys, efficient automobiles resulting from NASA wind-tunnel exercises, hi-bandwidth optical communications (the future of telephony), smoke detectors, solar and wind power generators, zero-gravity protien crystals (used in hundreds of pharmaceuticals on the market), air and water purification systems, sunglasses, foam fire extinguishers, cordless tools, rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, disposable diapers, light-emitting diodes (LED), chemotherapy, artificial limbs (today's prosthetics), CAT scan and MRIs, blood monitors that do not require the old method of centrifiguation, infrared vision, optical/digital thermometers, land-mine removal technology, location beacons (used today in situations like OnStar), CO detectors, special devices used to extract accident victims, image-processing technology used by Police while examining security camera footage, virtually indestructable labels (used on pharmaceuticals, livestock, electronics), digital cameras, spray lube for rust prevention and lubrication, longe-range (worldwide) TV broadcasting, home insulation, laser technology for surgery, "smart" forceps with fiber optics used by neurosurgeons, CCD system for mammograms that is much more efficient than X-rays, "camera" pills that traverse your body to find internal problems, abnormality-detection and gene-analysis/chromosomal check machines to dectect and prevent abnormalities in infants, new roofing technology, Landsat imagery (to discover unknown archaeological sites, reveal ancient coastlines, monitor crops), anti-collision technology used by every American passenger aircraft, lightning protection, better sports protection, virtual reality, satellite radio and DirectTV, oil spill cleanup devices, hydroponics, flourometers, firefighting gear, pacemakers, insulin implants for diabetics....

    The point is that the world we live in has been shaped by our advances into space. There is absolutely no reason why we should not move out and establish colonies in our solar system. We have never lost a man in space; in fact all of the program's catastrophes have been the result of damage sustained while still in the Earth's atmosphere. Others protest the cost of such "extravagant flights of fancy" (- J. Kaminski), when in reality NASA accomplishes a hell of a lot with a budget of just 5 billion. To put things in perspective, a single F-22 Raptor costs about 13 billion dollars. We can send two rovers that transmit streaming data and images in high-resolution onto an alien surface and back for a mere 840 million dollars. That is a drop in the bucket. "

    More can be found here:
    http://www.livejournal.com/users/the_red_boyar/1271.html

    Comments

    • Amazing answer!

      karma police

      by karma police on January 3rd, 2005

    • Why did they wasnt to travel to space in the first place then when they didnt have or know there was ever going to be GPS?

      Ausgirl

      by Ausgirl on January 15th, 2005

    • F-22s don't cost 13 billion dollars, they cost about 100 million dollars. NASA's budget is 15 billion, not 5 billion dollars

      doggerd

      by doggerd on June 29th, 2005

    • Like
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