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Benefits of space exploration

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Space was a high-tech arena where rival ideologies clashed, showcasing their technological prowess under the watchful eyes of the entire globe. The competition between the former USSR and the United States brought about a rapid succession of firsts – the first human in orbit, the first steps on the Moon, the first space station and the first reusable launch system. However, once the dust settled, and the eye-popping bill of the early space activities hit government coffers, a new rationale emerged: pragmatic use of space as the higher ground for improving life on Earth.[1] From satellite telecommunications to remote sensing from micro gravity research to satellite navigation government, space programs started investing in practical outcomes for the public good. Therefore, measuring the socio-economic benefits of space activities steadily gained importance throughout the 1970s and 1980s, an era defined as “Mission to Planet Earth.”[1]

Direct Benefits

Space programs have generated a wide range of hardware, software and processes that have made their way into a myriad of applications. The benefits of these applications are directly attributable to the original investments made by the space agencies and the private sector.[1]

Knowledge of Space

Since Sputnik 1 entered orbit in 1957 to perform Ionospheric experiments, the human understanding of earth and space have increased.[2] The list of missions to the moon begin as early as 1958 and continue into the current age. A few success lunar missions by the USSR include missions such as the Luna 1 space craft that completed the first flyby of the moon, the Luna 3 lunar probe that took the first pictures of the far side of the moon, the Luna 10 orbiter that was the first orbiter of the moon, and the Lunokhod 1 lunar rover, which was the first rover that explored the surface of a world beyond earth. The USA also added significant lunar first, such as Apollo 8 being the first to successful human mission to orbit the moon and the historic Apollo 11 when man first landed on the moon.[3] Missions to the moon have collected samples of Lunar materials and there are now multiple satellites such as ARTEMIS P1 that currently orbit the moon and collect data.[3]

Telescopic Satellites have captured millions of images of the universe since the introduction of satellites, such as the Mariner Space Satellites. The Mariner 4 space satellite in 1965 was the first successful satellite to capture up close images of the planet Mars. Mariner mission 6 and 7 additionally mapped the poles of the Red planet and relayed further images of the surface. By the end of the Mariner missions in 1972, Mariner 9 spent almost a year in Martian orbit, collected images of nearly 100% of the surface of the moon and observed notable discoveries including the humongous Olympus Mons volcano, more than 4000 km of Valles Marineris and dust storms lasting over a month.[4] Further missions since 1972, like the Viking project, Mars observer, Mars pathfinder, Mars climate orbiter, Deep Space 2, Mars Global surveyor, and Phoenix have obtained understandings of the climate, flood plains, and rock samples on mars.[4]

Hubble Deep Field

The Hubble space telescope has contributed more than a million observations of the universe that have been influential in understanding the magnitude of the universe since its introduction into orbit.[5] The intense focus of Hubble [is] for observation. For ten consecutive days the telescope was pointed towards a tiny speck in the sky. The resultant image revealed at least 1,500 galaxies. The sheer number of galaxies in this image is one of the visual landmarks of space exploration. Although we know how much the Hubble space telescope costs (about $12 billion over the last 30 years, including the cost of five shuttle servicing missions), it is almost impossible to attach a monetary figure to knowing our place in the universe[1]

Indirect benefits

Culture and Inspiration

Human culture exists as a social environment made up by traditions, norms, rules written or unwritten, and social practices. Cultures can be specific to groups of any size such as a family or group of friends but also as large as a state or nation. The range and diversity of human culture is markedly large. The collaboration of nations in the space age brought together different cultures an exchange and advancement of human culture. In the over fifty years of space travel the diversity of those working in space and the field has dramatically increased from the beginnings of space exploration. The advancement in diversity brought more cultures into close quarters and the result of that was the enrichment of human culture globally.[6]

A testament to space exploration advancing culture would be the International Space Station, a monstrous collaboration between nations to construct and continually man the station. Moreover, the station operates as a research facility working on cutting edge scientific work.

The innovation and exploration of the space age has served as an inspiration to humankind. Breaking through into space travel, man entering space and taking steps on the moon, and various other achievements were pivotal moments in human development. In particular the scientific and technological advancements stand as an inspiration to students, teachers, and researchers worldwide.

Space exploration has nearly no limit to how far humankind can adventure as our technology advances. This opportunity for human life in space will pose revolutionary philosophical, political, and scientific questions spurring debate.[7]

Global partnerships

International Space Station (ISS), space station assembled in low Earth orbit largely by the United States and Russia, with assistance and components from a multinational consortium. In 1993 the United States and Russia agreed to merge their separate space station plans into a single facility integrating their respective modules and incorporating contributions from the European Space Agency and Japan. [8]

Some African countries, including Nigeria and South Africa, have successfully employed space technology—specifically satellite-based disaster management, climate monitoring, and green systems—to tackle workforce development issues and launch new space activities.[9]

The United States collaborated for 20 years with the Soviet Union’s Cosmos/Bion missions and has worked with the Europe Space lab on multiple space life science experiments.[10]

Spinoffs

NASA reports that 444,000 lives have been saved, 14,000 jobs have been created, 5 billion dollars in revenue has been generated, and there has been 6.2 billion dollars in cost reduction due to Spin-off programs from NASA research.[11] Of the many beneficial NASA spinoff technologies there has been advancements in the fields of health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, energy and environment, information technology, and industrial productivity.[11] Multiple products and innovations used in the daily life are results of space generated research. Solar panels, water-purification systems, dietary formulas and supplements, space suit materials in clothing, global search and rescue systems are but a few examples of the beneficiary spinoffs that have been produced.[11][12]

International Space Station

The internationally unifying efforts to create the International Space Station took form in December of 1998 as the space shuttle Endeavor launched from the Kennedy Space Center.[13] Collectively, 18 nations took some part in the development and construction of space station and the five notable agencies that encompassed these 18 nations were NASA, the Roscomos, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space agency and the National Space Development Agency of Japan.[13] The international space station serves as a depot of collaboration across the world for innovative research, human health research, global education and earth observation. The international space station itself contains complex sensors including Light Detection and Ranging systems are influential in the understanding of sea surface winds and of atmospheric transportation patterns.[14] Additional astronaut observation from the station with powerful cameras provides detailed images of the earth and panoramic views of the atmosphere of the earth.[15]

Data collected from the space station complex orbital senor system have been a valuable tool in evaluating the extent of damage resulting from natural disaster. Real time mapping coupled with a human crew allows for space to ground collaboration.[15]

Communications

The first communication "satellite" was actually a balloon called Echo 1 it was launched on August 12, 1960 and stayed roughly 1000 miles (1,609 km) above the Earth and didn't come back down until May 24, 1968.[16] The first communication satellite that would be an actual satellite by modern standards was launched on July 10, 1962 and it was named Telstar. It allowed communication between the United States and Europe to occur almost instantaneously.[17] Telstar operated for approximately a year before it shutdown, but even with its rather short lifespan, it proved that the usage of satellites as a form of long distance communication was possible and better than forms of communication before it. Now, communications satellites have many different functions and are far more sophisticated than the original ones. They can be used to communicate long distances in remote areas with the use of satellite phones. Airlines use them to provide internet service on their flights. They are also starting to be used to deliver internet to areas that are unable to get internet in any other way due to their location.[18] The number of communication satellites has since expanded to about 2,000 in orbit that are able to provide continuous communication around the globe.[19]

Weather and Satellites

The first weather satellite named TIROS I (Television and InfraRed Observation Satellite) was launched on April 1, 1960.[20] The Satellite used Television cameras to take pictures of clouds as it orbited the Earth. The satellite only operated for 78 days, however during that time it was able to prove that using a satellite to observe weather conditions on Earth was not only possible, but that it could greatly increase the amount of data that meteorologists had to work with. The result was that more accurate weather forecasts were possible.[21]The use of satellites has since come a long way. The number of weather satellites has increased significantly, and the satellites themselves are now more sophisticated. In addition to taking pictures of clouds they can now observe weather patterns in the same area 24/7 because they are in geostationary orbit meaning that they move at the same speed as the Earths rotation thus they always see the same area. Even when it is dark in the part of the world that they are observing they can see through the use of Infrared technology. This allows meteorologists to monitor the development of weather in areas that are not covered by traditional means like Doppler radar, such as over the ocean. Which allows them to give advanced warnings for severe weather such as hurricanes thus saving lives. Weather satellites can also be used to observe the amount of ice at the poles, and where that ice may go if it breaks off. Also, the satellites are used to take pictures of the snow coverage in an area which can help determine the amount of water that will run when the snow eventually melts.[22] They are even being used to predict the amount of power that solar panels can make in certain areas by monitoring the cloud cover and weather patterns in the proposed solar panel site.[23]

Biomedical Research

Beginning in 1967, NASA successfully began its Biosatellite program that initially took frog eggs, amoeba, bacteria, planets and mice and studied the effects of zero gravity on these biological life forms.[10] Studies of human life in space have augmented the understanding of adaptive effects of adjusting to a space environment, such as alterations in body fluids, negative influences on the immune system and effects of space on sleep patterns.[24] Current space research pursuits are divided into the subjects of Space Biology, which studies the effects of space on smaller organisms such as cells, Space Physiology, which is the study of the effects of space on the human body and Space Medicine, which examines the possible dangers of space on the human body.[24] Discoveries concerning the human body and space, particularly the effects on the development of bones, may provide further understanding of biomineralization and the process of gene transcription.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Gurtuna, Ozgur (2013). Fundamentals of Space Business and Economics (PDF). Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London: Springer. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-4614-6695-6.
  2. ^ Kuznetsov, Sinelnikov, and Alpert (June 2015). "Yakov Alpert: Sputnik-1 and the first satellite ionospheric experiment". Advances in Space Research. 55: 2833–839.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b "Moon: NASA Science: Missions". Moon: NASA Science. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  4. ^ a b Greicius, Tony (2015-03-13). "Mars Exploration Past Missions". NASA. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  5. ^ NASA (Oct. 19, 2017). "Hubble Discoveries". Retrieved 8 April 2018. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ Harris, Philip R. (1986-01-01). "The influence of culture on space developments". Behavioral Science. 31 (1): 12–28. doi:10.1002/bs.3830310103. ISSN 1099-1743.
  7. ^ Benefits Stemming from Space Exploration. ISECG. 2013.
  8. ^ Harland, David (16 January, 2018). "International Space Station (ISS)". Retrieved 9 April 2018. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Global partnerships: Expanding the frontiers of space exploration education". Acta Astronautica. 80: 190–196. 2012-11-01. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.05.034. ISSN 0094-5765.
  10. ^ a b "NASA - 50 Years of NASA History". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  11. ^ a b c NASA. Spinoff. 2012, spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2012/pdf/Spinoff2012.pdf.
  12. ^ ISECG (September 2013). "Benefits Stemming from Space Exploration" (PDF). {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  13. ^ a b LINCOLN; LONDON (2017). Outposts on the Frontier: A Fifty-Year History of Space Stations. UNP - Nebraska. pp. 343–344.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Rainey, Kristine (2015-03-10). "ISS Benefits for Humanity". NASA. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  15. ^ a b Rainey, Kristine (2015-12-02). "Earth Observation and Disaster Response". NASA. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  16. ^ "1st Communication Satellite: A Giant Space Balloon 50 Years Ago". Space.com. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  17. ^ Stromberg, Joseph. "Fifty Years Ago Today, the First Communications Satellite Was Launched Into Space". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  18. ^ Whitwam, Ryan (March 1, 2016). "Connecting Remote Areas To the Internet-By Satellite". PC Magazine. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  19. ^ "Satellite communication". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  20. ^ "NOAASIS - NOAA Satellite Information System for NOAA Meteorological / Weather Satellites". noaasis.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-10. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 68 (help)
  21. ^ Administrator, NASA Content (2015-04-20). "TIROS, the Nation's First Weather Satellite". NASA. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  22. ^ "NOAA Satellite Information System (NOAASIS)". noaasis.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  23. ^ "Data-driven upscaling methods for regional photovoltaic power estimation and forecast using satellite and numerical weather prediction data". Solar Energy. 158: 1026–1038 – via Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals.
  24. ^ a b Clément, Gilles (2006). Fundamentals of Space Biology: Research on Cells, Animals, and Plants in Space. New York: NY: Springer New York.
  25. ^ Clément, Gilles (2005). "Fundamentals of Space Medicine". The Space Technology Library. 17: 3.
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