As humans, we challenge ourselves; we try to find and know everything there is.     

Whether it was the very first humans exploring beyond Africa, Christopher Columbus exploring unknown worlds, or the Apollo missions in the 60s, humans always challenge themselves by going beyond what is known; and with these expeditions into the unknown, we force ourselves to create better technology. But now we know practically every crack and crevice on Earth, and have been to the moon several times. We need to go even farther to reach the unknown, but to reach anything untouched by humans would cost billions of dollars, and could possibly even jeopardize the future of human exploration by creating space debris. 

So, how has the knowledge gained from NASA projects benefitted the general population?

Space technologies that have benefitted humanity's knowledge of space, space travel, and the sciences as a whole. An example of this would be the Apollo missions. The Apollo missions discovered many different important findings, and brought those findings to NASA, and eventually to the general population. By collecting samples from the moon’s surface they answered the long lasting question of, “Is there life on the moon?”, with a big no. The samples contained no organic material, proving that life on the moon was non-existent. With these samples, scientists also discovered that the moon was most likely 4.5 billion years old, and part of earth at one point. The Apollo missions also help us understand solar wind changes (Redd). Nola Redd writes on space.com that “foil sheets let scientists measure the isotopes of light noble gases in order to understand variations in the composition of the solar wind over the years of the Apollo missions. The variations corresponded to variations in the intensity of the solar wind.” 

    Another example of space technologies benefitting humanity’s knowledge of space would be the famous Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope has taken over a million observations, and has given important data to astronomers, who have used it to write more than 16,000 scientific publications on a broad range of topics, including planet formation and gigantic black holes. In fact, the observations and discoveries are so important that every astronomy book in use currently has information provided by the Hubble Space Telescope. One of the most important discoveries by the Hubble Space Telescope, is that the universe is not just expanding, but accelerating. This has led to many theories about “dark matter”, a non luminous material that scientists theorized, but have yet to prove the existence of in space. Some say that this discovery by the Hubble Space Telescope proves the existence of the material. Whether it proves the existence or not, this discovery still won the Nobel Prize in physics (Garner).

Space technology often leads to “spin off” technologies in the medical field. Spin off technologies are new innovations which use technology that was originally used for space travel and satellites. An example of a spinoff technology would be magnetic resonance imaging, more commonly known as MRI, which is used in the medical field to create detailed maps of the human body usually for the purpose of surgery. This technology was originally used to read Earth resources satellite photographs (“Made with Space Technology”).

John McCoy, a writer for space sciences, also says in his article, “The spacecraft and rockets used to take humans to the Moon were developed from new materials that were lightweight yet very strong. Engineers developed new methods of construction and new alloys and composite materials for these missions. Many of these new developments found use in everyday life here on Earth.” The light weight material he describes here is actually another example of a spinoff in the medical field. It is now being used in wheel chairs for the elderly and disabled (“Made with Space Technology”).

Finally, another example of a space spinoff technology is the braces used in orthodontics. Braces are made out of Nitinol, a metal arch-wire with the ability to return to its original shape even after being bent. Nitinol was originally invented in the 60’s and was first used in satellite antennas. The technology is also being used in catheters, stents, and superelastic needles (“Made with Space Technology”).

Space technologies are obviously made for improving satellites and rockets, but by just inventing this technology, it benefits the general population. The technologies originally used to improve our understanding of space often find their way into the medical field, whether it’s MRIs, wheelchairs, or braces, the general population is benefits.

Spinoffs don’t just occur in the medical field, however, they also occur in many other 5 fields. For example, in the early 1970s, NASA developed a Lunar Rover that enabled astronauts to drive on the moon's surface. This improved their mobility on the moon's surface, therefore improving their overall exploration on the moon. The lunar rover was designed so that an astronaut could be able to drive using only one hand. They did this by using a joystick to steer, speed up and slow down. (Made with Space Technology) This steering technology is now used to help people with no lower limbs drive cars.

McCoy gives another example of a space spinoff when he says“Anti Corrosion paints, developed for many structures at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, have found a market in an easily applied paint that incorporates a high ratio of potassium silicate, but which is water-based, nontoxic and nonflammable” (“Made with Space Technology”) These paints were made for rockets and satellites so they could withstand corrosion. Now this paint is being used on other buildings and important utilities such as bridges, pipelines, and ships to keep them from corroding. This technology has vastly increased the lifespan of these structures (“Made with Space Technology”).

Clearly, as I have shown there are many spinoffs from space technology. There are spinoffs in the medical field. There are spinoffs in the scientific field. NASA’s space programs are like mining for gold. The gold will eventually be mined out, but on the way, other important metals were found in the process. The gold being NASA’s main use of the technology they created, and the other metals being the spinoffs. NASA’s technology is just sitting back, and waiting to be turned into a spinoff. NASA has not only benefited our understanding of space, and its workings, but also the other sciences such as physics. In the end NASA’s space technology benefits us as a whole, not just in space, but also here on Earth.

Bibliography

Garner, Rob. “Highlights of Hubble's Exploration of the Universe.” NASA, NASA, 27 Jan. 2017, 

www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/2017/highlights-of-hubble-s-exploration-of-the-universe.

This article helped me, because it provided me facts about what the hubble space telescope discovered throughout the years. It also gave me other facts about it like how every astronomy book in use uses discoveries from the hubble space telescope. This article helped me inform the audience.

"Made with Space Technology." Space Sciences, edited by John F. McCoy, 2nd ed.,

 Macmillan Reference USA, 2012. Gale In Context: Science, 

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CV2643750043/SCIC?u=va_p_wakef_s&sid=SCIC&xid=

01b41dd7. 

This source Details specifically how space technology has been a applied elsewhere. It is based of NASA’s spinoff technologies book as well. This source talks about multiple different technologies made with space technologies. For example it shows me medical technologies like the MRI that have been made using space technology, it also gives examples of how a better breathing apparatus for firefighters was made. It shows many benefits to space travel, and I could use it to support why we should spend more on space.

Redd, Nola Taylor. “Apollo 11 Was a Voyage of Discovery About Our Solar System - Here's What We Learned.” Space.com, Space, 23 Jul. 2019,

www.space.com/apollo-11-moon-landing-science-legacy.html.

This article helped me because it gave me facts about what the Apollo missions discovered. These were when the moon was created, and how the moon is lifeless, and all the other facts I said in my speech. This article let me inform my audience more.