The advantages of space travel
Space has contributed many things to the world we all know today, because by going to space it has forced us to learn more and invent better things to suit the conditions of space, such as velcro, GPS navigation systems, and much more things. By now scientists have invented thousands of things to make space travel easier and more efficient
For the first one I will start with Velcro. Velcro was originally invented by a man named Gearges de Mestral, who was a swiss engineer. He invented velcro with the idea that small hooks could grab onto barbs and that could fasten things easier. The entire marketing process took 8 years, but it eventually became a success. The applications in space are many: NASA uses a lot of velcro on almost every single spaceship of theirs. 10,000 inches of velcro are used on every Nasa space shuttle for astronauts suits, anchoring equipment, holding objects so that they don’t float away, fastening food trays to the thighs of astronauts while eating in space. The astronauts even use one small patch of hook velcro as a nose scratcher in their helmets! The outcomes of this are even more significant: Velcro was actually used as a fastener for the first artificial heart surgery, is used in nuclear power plants and army tanks to fasten flashlights onto walls! Cars use it the most, for bonding headliners, floor mats, and speaker covers. There are so much more examples of how Velcro has made all of our lives so much easier.
In space scientists might find potentially extreme elements such as new materials and gases, and even though the chances of finding “kryptonite” in a comet is extremely low, the potential of a completely new element is extremely promising. Think about the potential an entirely new element would have! Because the elements on the lower end of the periodic table have a longer life, and uranium and the heavier elements already have a reasonably short half life of around 60-70 years until it is unusable, the even HEAVIER elements must have extremely short half lives, which would make them a great element to study more in depth:
“The island of stability in nuclear physics describes a set of as-yet undiscovered isotopes of transuranium elements which are theorized to be much more stable than others. Specifically, they are expected to have radioactive decay half-lives of at least minutes or days as compared to seconds, with some expecting half-lives of millions of years.” says Glen T. (discoverer of the island of stability)
This basically means that humans will have a higher chance of discovering isotopes instead of entirely new elements, but even that would be a significant discovery, discovering an all new element or isotope in space!
Space exploration also helped us understand more about our own bodies. In space we experience something called a fluid shift. This causes all of the water in our bodies to move around more freely in space because our bodies are not accustomed to microgravity and are more used to the constant pull of gravity on our bodies. Symptoms include a more puffy face, a stuffy nose, and the occasional headache. In space, muscles also rapidly weaken because of the little strength needed in space to propel yourself around the capsule. After a few hours in space astronauts start experiencing motion sickness. This is fairly common occurrence and it happens to almost every astronaut. Signs are nausea, vomiting, headaches, and malaise. Around 70 percent of all astronauts experience or have experienced before motion sickness. An even stranger occurrence is how an astronaut's blood cells change from their “biconcave discoid shape” (donut with no hole and concave faces) to a more spherical shape. This is only temporary and has small effects.
In studying space, we have gained lots of knowledge about future space colonization. As you may well know earth is doomed in about 4 billion years and all we are really doing is speeding it up. At this rate we will need a new earth soon, because our own has been polluted so much. Space travel allows us to improve our technology and search for new planets at the same time because of how searching for new planets requires better technology. Just last year a NASA scientist invented a continuous ion drive engine that is powered by ions and hydrogen. This ion drive can take us to mars in literally 39 days. Even less than a year before the ion drive was invented, it would’ve taken us 6 months, which would’ve been impossible because a spacecraft cannot carry that much food. With space travel, there really is no limit to what we can do and get out of it.
Space exploration helps us discover potential risks in space that might damage earth as we know it (asteroids, solar flares etc.). With space exploration, we can sight asteroids and other potential threats much more easily than if we used a telescope. Also, with the increments of space technology, it is now possible to land astronauts and rovers on comets or send satellites to orbit comets such as Halley's comet and other recurring comets, and if there is a threateningly close comet that’s bound to hit earth but is reasonably small, then scientists can use a device to “push” the comet out of the way of earth. In truth it is just a small nudge from an auxiliary rocket, but that is normally enough to push a comet out of its predetermined trajectory enough so that it doesn’t hit earth.
Space exploration has also created many things that are used in real life. Here is a list:
- In 1978 Teflon coated fiberglass used as a new fabric for spacesuits became a type of permanent roofing for stadiums worldwide, such as Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.
- In 1982 the water cooled clothing astronauts wore on the moon so that they would not overheat was used as a treatment for several medical ailments such as burning limb syndrome, M.S., spinal injuries and sports injuries.
- In 1986 A NASA spacesuit concept resulted in a breathing system for firefighters. Now the technology is widely used in almost all breathing apparatuses and it is much safer than the technology used before it, which had a risk of the user inhaling small bits and pieces of “stuff”
- In 1994 using NASA spacearm technology, a Santa Barbara based company made a mechanical arm that allows surgeons to use 3 tools at once, operate it through remote control, while performing laparoscopic surgery. This was proven in 2001, when the arm was used successfully when a team of doctors in New York used the arm to remove the Gall Bladder of a woman in france.
- In 1995 Dr. Michael Debakey teamed up with the Johnson Space center engineer David Saucier to create a completely artificial Heart pump based on a design for one of NASA’s space shuttle main engine fuel pumps!
- In 2000, a NASA developed ballistic missile parachute is implemented into all aircraft because it ensures a stable landing.
There are many more notable things that space travel has done for society in indirect and direct ways, as I have just listed, and most of the benefits that have been caused because of the fact that space exploration required it. Because of these clearly stated reasons, space exploration is obviously a bonus to mankind and its development. As Neil Armstrong said “This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind!”
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