_Benefits Of Space Exploration _
By: Shaggy McGee
Outline I. Introduction A. Critics point to waste and lack of direct impact
on individuals II. Benefits A. Environmental 1. Ocean example 2. Ozone
depletion a. TOMS and phase-out of harmful chemicals b. Anarctic hole in the
ozone layer B. Medical 1. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) a. Diagnoses
b. Phase-out of exploratory surgery 2. Telemedicine 3. Digital breast
Biopsy system C. Consumer and other products 1. Robotics 2. Cable
television industry 3. Teflon a. Cookware b. Carpets c. Clothing
D. Congressional Mandate 1. mandating NASA to share with the private sector
E. Conclusion 1. Critics will remain negative Kenneth Taylor Taylor 1 Mr.
Joyner English 1102 9 April 1998 The Benefits of Space Exploration There are
critics from many corners who condemn the amounts of money spent in the
pursuit of space. Some say there is no need to “waste” money playing around in
space when there are so many people right here on earth who need help and
could better use that money that now goes for space exploration and
experimentation. Morton says, “The huge increase in government-financed
research and development that came with Apollo did not increase America's
overall technological lead. It may even reduced it, by drawing scientific and
commercial talent into heroic fields and away from prosaic ones…People who
would scorn to put extra dollars into welfare payments are happy to recommend
that scientific explorers be given billions, bewitched by the frontier dreams
of manifest destiny” (Morton 18)What Morton and others who hold with his
views fail to take into account, however, are the vast benefits that we have
already realized from space exploration. If we never gained any more benefits
from our own space program than we have already seen, attaining them was well
worth the cost in terms of the monies spent We haven’t heard much
environmental comment in the past ten years from environmentalist actors on
television Taylor 2 commercials claiming that the ocean would be dead within
seven years. Trained in acting rather than in oceanography or marine biology,
some of these outspoken, visible souls were misled by other environmentalists
in their claims of the proximity of catastrophe, and lacked either the ability
or desire to educate themselves on their subjects of interest before speaking
out so publicly The earth’s ozone layer is another “dying ocean” topic.
Unlike the uneducated actors, however, “scientists around the world are
working to determine how much of the ozone related change in the atmosphere is
caused by humans, and how much is attributed to natural processes” (Kenitzer
1996). Of the several NASA space labs scattered across the country, Goddard
Space Flight Center is the one most focused on environmental matters. As such,
Goddard teams are responsible for measuring and monitoring ozone levels found
in the earth’s atmosphere Launched in 1978 aboard the Nimbus 7 polar
orbiting satellite, NASA’s “most visible and best-known ozone research
instrument is the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS)” (Kenitzer 1996) is
managed by Goddard and provides high-resolution maps of global ozone levels.
Ozone depletion data supplied from TOMS has been instrumental in global
agreements to phase out the use of ozone-depleting chemicals worldwide. The
Antarctic ozone hole is seasonal and cyclical, being most prominent between
August and Taylor 3 October of each year. Though we don’t yet know how much of
the witnessed ozone depletion is natural and how much is man-made, TOMS data
shows that the seasonal depletion grew every year between its discovery in
1979 and 1994, when the depletion was the most dramatic ever recorded. Since
then, however, the seasonal depletion has been shown to be much less severe
than in the past (Kenitzer 1996) Goddard manages other environmental survey
systems using data collected from satellite-mounted mechanisms. TOMS is simply
the most visible because of the popular interest in the topic of ozone
depletion, to the point that its discussion among the most ill-informed of the
staunch environmentalists has replaced the death of the ocean that didn’t
happen as predicted Other benefits of the space program concern diagnostic
and monitoring techniques and devices used in the medical field. Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a direct outgrowth of the system developed for use
on manned space missions, and today is a standard diagnostic tool in every
major hospital in the country (Cone 18). Since it reveals the structures of
the soft tissues within the body, radiologists no longer are forced to rely
solely on X-rays in order to make a “best guess” about what might be happening
within an individual’s body. No longer relegated to dealing with visual
shadows on X-rays, radiologists can Taylor 4 attain perfect views of internal
systems from any perspective they wish (Cone 18) MRI has also moved
exploratory surgery closer and closer to the realm of obsolescence. That in
itself is a major benefit—there is growing concern and potential evidence that
cancerous growths only begin their rampant runs after exposure to the
atmosphere. If that theory does indeed prove to be true, then MRI has already
saved lives in numbers of which no one can measure Another medical benefit
resulting from the necessary monitoring of manned space expeditions is that of
telemedicine. “Telemedicine is the interactive transmission of medical images
and data to provide better health care for people in remote or ‘medically
underserved’ locations. The concept has been around since the 1920s and its
general viability has been demonstrated since the 1950s, but wide adoption was
slowed by high costs and technological shortcomings” (www.sti.nasa.gov).
Though the first reasons for the idea of telemedicine had more to do with
providing services for those in remote areas, the entire focus has changed in
light of the burgeoning cost of health care in this country in recent years.
The transmission of a heart rate and pattern over phone lines is much more
convenient for the patient with such ailments, and it holds down the costs of
health care without decreasing the quality of care nor reducing the attention
of maintenance procedures. There Taylor 5 are serious questions about the
viability of Medicare programs; this can be a useful cost-saving measure.
Another benefit derived from the space program is the digital imaging breast
biopsy system. This system images breast tissue more clearly and efficiently
that earlier methods. Known as stereotactic large-core needle biopsy, this
nonsurgical system was derived from Space Telescope Technology. The beauty of
the new method is that it is less intrusive, reduces the pain, scarring,
radiation exposure, time, and money associated with surgical biopsies
(www.thespaceplace.com) The nay-sayers frequently concede that there have
been benefits, but none that affect the population as a whole, choosing to
view improved health care and diagnosis as areas that affect only those
experiencing immediate problems and totally divorcing themselves from military
advantages. Many of them maintain that there is no practical application in
the lives of people in general, but they neglect to consider such routine,
mundane items as cookware and cable television There may be some households
in this country that do not have at least one Teflon–coated skillet, but there
cannot possibly be many of them. DuPont, the company that developed Teflon
under contract to NASA for use in space exploration, has gained much in sales
and royalties of their product. Teflon has been used as carpet finishes for
Taylor 6 several years, and now clothing manufacturers are even joining in
(Lord and Brindley 72). This one product has direct, daily impact on the
people of the country, and the effects on DuPont’s bottom line serves to
ever-strengthen the economy, in whatever percentage The cable television
industry alone is one of billions, and is now totally dependent on satellite
transmission. It also has the attention of millions of viewers each and every
day of the week. Again, the percentage of contribution to the nation’s economy
may not in itself be exceedingly impressive, though that same contribution
determines the fortunes of the businesses involved in it. It is strengthening,
nonetheless NASA is mandated by Congress to “promote the transfer to the
private sector of technologies developed in the course of aerospace research,
and many of the technologies that make telemedicine possible were originally
developed for acquiring visual information from lunar and planetary
spacecraft” (www.sti.nasa.gov) Though NASA might not be so willing to share
with private industry all the technological advances their budgets allow them
to achieve without the Congressional mandate, the fact is that that mandate
does exist, and NASA does comply. In addition, many of the NASA scientists are
the foremost in their fields of expertise and have a high level of interest in
contributing the most good for the most Taylor 7 people. Of course NASA’s
primary interest is a successful space program, but the technological strides
they make are available for all of us who pay their bills The nay-sayers are
always with us, but they consistently refuse to examine the benefits we have
already gained from this country’s space program. Those benefits have hardly
been touched on in a paper of this length: a study of the robotics advances
that prevent workers from having to be exposed to hazardous environments or
relieve human counterparts from mindless, repetitious manufacturing processes
has not even been addressed here. Neither has been the invaluable military
uses afforded by some of the many satellites now orbiting the earth (Anderson
19) There are more (and more) examples of the benefits we as a nation have
realized from advances made by means of the space program. All the benefits
addressed here are literally down-to-earth; not one mention has been made of
the potentials we have reached in the actual environment of space itself.
Taylor 8 Works Cited Anderson, Douglas. “A Military Look Into Space: the
Ultimate High Ground.,” Army Lawyer, (1995) : November, p. 19. Cone, Robert J.
“Medical Imaging.,” How the New Technology Works: A Guide to High-tech
Concepts (1991) :Vol. 1, Sept., p. 18-26.
http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinoff1996/27.html http://www.thesapceplace.com
Kenitzer, Allen. “Expanding Horizons with Science and Discovery.,” Goddard
Space Flight Center, http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/, (1996) : May 20. Lord, Mary
and Brindley, David. “You Can be Dressed to Spill.,” U.S. News &World Report,
(1997) : May 19, p. 72. Morton, O. “To Boldly Go…,” Economist, (1991) : June
15, p. 18.
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