Space efforts aid Earth technology

The Akron Beacon ^ | January 20, 2004 | Paula Schleis, staff writer

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Maybe someday we'll really establish a permanent base on the moon and send astronauts to Mars.

Maybe we won't.

But history tells us that the mere act of trying will dramatically affect life on Earth.

Whenever mankind reaches for the stars, technology leaps forward, propelled by a unique motivation.

As Julian Earls, director of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Brook Park, put it, achieving the vision outlined by President Bush last week means we'll need to ``open doors we can't even imagine were there.''

And achievements made in the name of space exploration will probably find a way into your very home.

Consider that breast cancer is being detected with sensors created for measuring black holes in space, and that the microchip in your desktop computer holds more information because of knowledge shared by the Hubble Space Telescope team.

``What you get is a tremendous discovery pace, and then that spins off to what you can do on Earth,'' Frank Cepollina, Hubble's project manager, said from his office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Cepollina, who was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame last year for his 14-year effort to keep Hubble on the cutting edge, said Bush's announcement also has the power to shape the future of a generation.Already it is shaping the future of Hubble, which is being abandoned for the new programs.

As youngsters watch the nation strive to do what many believe impossible, they will learn about shattering the boundaries of imagination.

``What you'll probably see is a significant rise in students taking math and science at high school level, with kids getting interested in engineering and science.

``It really stirs enthusiasm in our young,'' said Cepollina, who was a college student in the 1950s when he was lured into the field by the drama of the U.S.-Soviet space race.

Fascination still there

It doesn't appear our culture has lost its fascination with the final frontier. We seem to be enamored of Spirit -- the robotic rover currently exploring Mars -- as evidenced by the 500 million hits to the NASA Web site the day Spirit landed.

But Bush's announcement last week was met with much skepticism. An Associated Press poll indicated half of us would rather see the money go toward domestic programs.

What the public often overlooks is how the billions spent on space exploration do double duty in the business world, said Richard Baggot, a vice president with Diebold Inc. in Canton.

``It always gives me a good feeling that our dollars are getting additional benefits other than the actual exploration,'' he said.

Diebold obtained the exclusive rights to a patent NASA received for special video observation technology.

The company used NASAs invention to create a security product called AccuTrack, a digital video recording system that is triggered by motion. The technology is intelligent enough to learn, for instance, that shadows on a wall created by the moving sun aren't worthy of being recorded.

Diebold is getting ready to release a new version of AccuTrack, but Baggot said it will use the same technology it obtained from NASA six years ago because there's still nothing better.

That tells him that NASA is light-years ahead on many technological fronts.

According to NASA's Spinoff publication:

• Goodyear is using its micromechanics technology to help it reduce the time spent on building, testing and adjusting tires.

• Moen Inc. of North Olmsted is using its surface coating techniques for brass plumbing fixtures that resist scratches and routine deterioration.

• HyComp Inc. of Cleveland tapped a high-temperature carbon fiber composite for use in the harsh environment of steel and aluminum mills.

• And Ohio State University is using a NASA software program to determine solid waste disposal sites to assist in historic preservation.

Benefits may be ahead

How might mankind benefit from going back to the moon and beyond? It's fun to speculate.

We'll need a breakthrough in communications, Cepollina said. Currently it takes about 12 hours to send a picture the 250 million miles between Mars and Earth. Laser technology could eventually help us do that in less than one minute.

The field of robotics will be revolutionized, and new power tools invented -- things that could lead to big changes in, for instance, automobile manufacturing.

We'll have to learn how to liquefy the atmosphere on Mars, separating hydrogen and oxygen for use as fuels. ``That would be a big leap, a big push,'' Cepollina said.

And the medical knowledge to be gained is limitless. We'll have to learn much more about ourselves before we can send someone into an environment with severe radiation, extreme temperatures and low gravity exposure.

``There's no telling what might develop as we study what the human body can withstand,'' Cepollina said.

Earls said he doesn't know what role the Glenn Research Center will have in this new endeavor, but he said the center is equipped to help with everything from propulsion and power to experiments related to astronaut health.

He's also confident that Northeast Ohio businesses and universities will be pulled into the collaboration.

Although it may be a while before the public warms up to the idea of humans on Mars, enthusiasm at Glenn is high.

``I sense real excitement among employees,'' Earls said, ``that we have a national vision that goes beyond lower orbit.''

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Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com

[Cincinatus' Wife]

SPACE MISSIONS: Trek into the universe will transform life on Earth

What Have We Done For You Lately? NASA Connections to Everyday Life

NASA's Commercial Technology Network

[demlosers]

Here come the naysayers who don't believe in space technology benefiting mankind...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Their cries are getting shriller and laughable.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The Startracker imaged this spectacular shot of the sunrise, planets, and Moon. This color-enhanced image shows, from right to left, the Moon lit by the Earth, the terminator - or boundary between light and dark - into the dark side with the solar corona just rising over the limb, and the bright planets Saturn, Mars, and Mercury. Several dimmer stars can also be seen. The Startracker algorithm achieved a star match, realizing that the Sun and planets were not in the correct position to be stars, and ignored them. Source

[RAY]

Mankind must continue to move forward - continue to explore - continue to grow. The spin off from such efforts as space exploration have impacted our lives much more than many know. This is a task for the joint effort of government and our commercial industry.

If the U.S. doesn't get there first, someone else will. If for no other reason, the U.S. must be first and "control" for our own security what goes on in outer space. We will be much more benevolent and sharing than other nations, for example, China -- for the benefit of all mankind.

[Dog Anchor]

Why don't we somehow integrate the President's Moon-Mars platform with his immigration initiative.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Hopefully, your undestanding of the issues will spread.

[Paul Ross]

Bump!

[Professional Engineer]

bump