Columbia was lost with seven brave astronauts on board. This terrible disaster has brought us in focus with the space program and NASA’s priorities. We have become accustomed to the smooth sailing of the shuttle program, and this complacency is an excellent indicator of the success of the program.
Some scientists and politicians are now questioning the meaning of the space program and the validity of our continuing investments in space exploration. One argument is that the science produced by this program is not up to par with the investments. Nothing can be further from the truth. The space program is not a laboratory for exploratory research, where breakthrough inventions are produced. Rather, it is a medium where technological and biological theories and innovations are tested, perfected, and put to suffer the rigors of the extreme conditions of space flight.
The results from the space program, or “spin-offs” as they are sometimes called, have been much more than a handful of moon “rocks” or Tang powdered drink. To simply count these very tangible outputs from space exploration is a gross underestimation of what our “space dollars” have produced for us over the years. Consider, for example, the progress in telecommunications, which was, and is, a true revolution in how we live our lives. The space program largely contributed to the existence of the Global Positioning Satellites– at first a marvelous intelligence tool, now a standard fixture in new cars. The technologies prevalent in cellular transmission and data compression had their origins, or were perfected, in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s space effort. Similarly, we gained extensive knowledge on new materials and their behavior in extreme conditions, avionics, telemetry, sensor technology and even innovative large-scale project management techniques.
But much of the immense volume of benefits to our daily lives came not from specific devices generated by the space program, but from applications of the knowledge and technologies–after they were tested and modified in space travel–to common devices such as our automobiles, telephones and satellite television. In medicine we gained much knowledge on transmission of data on human vital signs and functions. We made important strides in tele-radiology, where X-ray pictures are transmitted over large distances, giving birth to telemedicine–the application of medical diagnostics and treatment thousands of miles away.
Your car today may look like the same metal box produced by Henry Ford in his model-T, but the controls of the car can be called “space-age technology” for a good reason. Today, you have sensors that control your engine’s function, monitor the terrain you drive on, your wheels and your brakes. Many parts in your car are made of ceramics–tested in space flights, and the list goes on and on. Most of these devices owe their existence to the space program.
Among the intangible benefits from the space program are the idealism and vision upheld by all astronauts and the thousands of engineers, scientists, technicians and managers who work for NASA. The nation needs a vision such as the one that space exploration provides. We gain not only knowledge and technological innovations, but also the pride and the thrill of the human experience at its best–exploring the heavens in search of a better understanding of our universe.
True, there are many problems here on Earth, as there were many problems inside the dark and cold cave of our ancestors, when one night a few courageous individuals stepped out into the darkness to explore their surroundings. They brought back the knowledge and technology of making fire, and with it warmth, cooked food, and a superior ability of survival. Without their perilous mission, we would not be here. Drastically cutting resources for the space program will not add much to solutions to our current social and economic problems, and will painfully deprive us of the many benefits this program has bestowed upon us.
Any time a terrible misfortune occurs it is perhaps appropriate to question the specifics of a vast program such as space exploration. However, it would be wrong to underestimate the immense benefits and long-term value this program has given us over the years, and continues to give. The question should not be whether we should continue our space program, but how to strengthen it with renewed focus and direction. My generation witnessed the first walk on the moon, the space station, the space shuttle, and the probes sent to our neighboring planets Mars, Jupiter and Pluto. My generation, and those to come, also benefited from the technologies and the knowledge that NASA has given us. We are today a technologically advanced society partly because 45 years ago President Dwight Eisenhower established the space agency and 40 years ago President John. F. Kennedy launched the program to reach for the stars. It’s our duty to keep the flame and to pass it to our children, better and with an even more challenging promise.
