Why Do We Need NASA and the Space Program?

NASA technology, developed directly by NASA or in conjunction with civilian companies under NASA-sponsored programs, affects our everyday lives in many more ways than most of us realize. Without the science and technology of NASA and our space program, we would be without some significant life saving knowledge and equipment that impacts us today.

Baby formula has a nutritional enrichment ingredient first developed by NASA-sponsored research into recycling agents needed for long duration space travel.

During the Apollo missions, NASA needed a small, portable, battery-powered drill to explore beneath the moon's surface. They contracted a company named Black and Decker. The subsequent technology and computer programs used to design both drill and battery technology have been used in everything from cordless drills and yard trimmers to the ever popular Dustbuster®.

Smoke and fire detectors were first conceptualized and designed by Honeywell, Inc. for Skylab in the 1970's.

Excimer laser surgery, approved by the FDA in 1992 and pioneered by a NASA technology used for remote sensing of earth's ozone layer, is now used to help thousands of patients during heart bypass surgery.

Goddard Space Flight Center headed the development of an advanced, super-sensitive CCD (Charged coupled devices) to be installed in the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997. These silicon chips convert light directly into electronic or digital images. The technology was originally conceived by Eugene Lally of the JPL in 1961, and later developed by Willard Boyle and George Smith of Bell Labs. The LORAD Corporation of Danbury, Connecticut used the new CCD to develop their breast biopsy system, avoiding the need to intrusive biopsy surgery.

Digital image processing was a technology developed by JPL in the 1960's and is used today by doctors and hospitals to image internal organs in the human body. The most common forms of digital image processing is the CATScan (computer-aided tomography) and the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

The Harshberger Prosthetic and Orthotic Center, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama asked NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, AL to help with a problem it was having with its artificial limbs. The MSFC shared technology it developed, along with the Lockheed-Martin Company, in building the space shuttle external tank. The foam insulation kept the liquid nitrogen inside the tank at the proper temperature and was both cheaper and better for use on machines than plaster. The resultant sharing of knowledge led to less expensive artificial limbs to patients and more stability in shipping both limbs and molds to limb makers throughout the world.

Infrared sensors were developed by NASA's JPL to measure temperatures of planets and stars. Diatek used this technology to develop its aural thermometers, which take a person's temperature in less than two seconds. By using a disposable probe tip, the risk of cross-contamination of patients is reduced to near zero. And the speed in which the thermometer works saves valuable life saving time.

Some farm related technology developed by NASA for use in agriculture and animal husbandry include: a Robotic Sow, which keeps piglet formula cool until it is needed (developed by the Farmatic company of London, Ontario, Canada with NASA's help); NASA working with Oklahoma State University (OSU) to develop a system for telling crop duster operators if their spray pattern is in good shape. And even a company called CROPIX, Inc. is using NASA Landsat information to determine the best time to harvest and sell potato crops.

Polarization and scratch resistant technology used for sunglasses were both developed by NaSA scientists. Explosive bolts used to separate booster rockets from the main body of the space shuttle are now used to power tools used by firefighters and emergency rescue personnel to aide in rescue of people trapped in cars (a method that could take ten times longer using traditional hydraulic technology). Firefighters also use breathing apparatus that was designed by NASA in the 1970's. In football, the padding in a player's helmet is made from aircraft seat padding, which is technology developed by NASA. Moonsuit fabric, developed by the Owens-Corning company for NASA, uses a glass fiber yarn (Fiberglas). This fabric now covers airports, malls and stadiums, such as the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA and the airport terminal in Denver, CO. Virtual reality and global communications are two major technologies developed by NASA. (The satellites used in global communications, wireless communications and GPS are in place and maintained due, in no small part, to NASA.)

Lightning Technologies, Inc. of Pittsfield, Mass., worked with NASA on the Storm Hazards Research Program, a seven year program to study the effect of lightning on aircraft systems. This led to FAA requiring lightning protection on all aircraft. The FAA and NASA worked together to develop a way to detect windshear and give pilots time to react. A new forward Doppler system was developed and it accurately warns pilots 20-40 seconds in advance.

Some minor developments that have a far-reaching impact on us include: Light emitting diodes (LED), built for Space Shuttle plant experiments, are being used to perform brain cancer surgery: material from NASA was used to create a new improved obstetrical "smart" forceps, with embedded fiber optics, that allow doctors to measure the amount of pressure being applied to an infant's head during delivery; doctors can also monitor fetal activity from inside the womb using a small pill-shaped transmitter developed at NASA's Ames Research Center in Field (developed for use in measuring blood pressure and temperature in astronauts aboard the International Space Station); technology used to study space probe photographs is now being used to analyze human chromosomes; other advances developed for monitoring changes in the Earth's atmosphere are now being used for the early detection of breast cancer.

"Camera-on-a-chip" technology developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory allow for all the controls, which normally needed multiple chips, to be consolidated onto one chip. This allows the smaller and lighter devices to use a fraction of the energy. This means smaller dosages of radiation (as little as 1 percent the dose of a normal x-ray) and lower costs.

Without a viable space program and the continued efforts of NASA, working with other government agencies and civilian contractors, there is no way to predict the loss of technology that could benefit mankind. Conversely, if NASA is allowed to continued and thrive, there is no way of telling how much it will enrich our daily lives and quality of life in the future.

Sources:

NASAsolutions: Benefits of the Space Program

http://www.nasasolutions.com/at_home.html

Tech Notes: Diatek's Aural Thermometer

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3DE163AF933A15752C0A967958260