Costs and Benefits
EXPLORING THE COSMOS
It's too expensive to explore space and it's not worth it!
While it is very expensive to explore space, many scientists and companies are in the process of finding cheaper methods to travel to space. Just recently, SpaceX managed to recover a fired rocket and were able to re-fire it, proving, a recovered rocket can be reused with little maintenance.
Are there any benefits? Numerous hospitals in Canada have closed because of a lack of funding. Wouldn't the money be put to better use there?
Space exploration has benefited humans in numerous ways. Red LEDs are used in space to grow plants, and they have been adapted to heal humans on Earth. The "WARP 10" is a device which can offer temporary pain relief from joint pain, arthritis, stiffness, etc. Inventions created by NASA have also allowed companies to make better prosthetics through the use of shock-absorption materials used and invented by NASA.
Doesn't it cause many pollutants to build everything needed to go to space?
NASA has created a microencapsulating technology (tiny balls of beeswax with hollow centres which captures oil and not water), which can be utilized to remove petroleum-based pollutants from water (e.g. during an oil spill).
Freeze-dried meals were invented by NASA scientists since there was no way to store regular food - it was too big, bulky, and it would spoil. Freeze-dried meals were originally made for the Apollo missions, so that the astronauts would have enough food to travel long distances through space. Freeze-dried meals are now sold around the world, which can be bought in large containers (see image below). Freeze-dried food can retain up to 98% of its nutritional value while weighing 80% less.
In order to take away the moisture of food, it undergoes a process called lyophilization though this process is somewhat expensive and complex. However, in order to achieve a similar effect, to store their food people in war-torn areas, farmers, etc., can dehydrate their food. In this process food is dried, or"smoked" by circulating hot and dry air over the food. Finally, the moist air is dried to remove any water that is left. This process can remove 95% of the food's mooisture.
The benefits of freeze-dried meals include: they are much lighter when their water content has been removed, the cost of transportation is much cheaper (you can carry more food per trip, they do not need to be refrigerated, and unlike dehydrated foods, freeze-dried foods can be quicly rehydrated (allows for faster consumption).
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FREEZE-DRIED MEALS
The original Canadarm along with Canada's second Canadarm, is arguably one of Canada's greatest technological achievements. Though the original Canadarm cost over $100 million dollars, NASA ordered four additional unit for $600 million.
In 1974, NASA asked Canada if they would help them develop their space shuttles for their space shuttle program. NASA's wanted to create a new space transportation system (STS) that could be reused. Canada decided to design and construct the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, which would become the Canadarm. Though the cost was great, Canadians received many benefits in their agreement straight away: Canada would be given access to Shuttle launches, which would allow them to develop their own space program, and Canada (if they succeeded) would be able to generate national pride and prove to the world Canada was a capable nation.
In space, the Canadarm performed flawlessly. It could support astronauts during space walks, and repair and maintain the Shuttle it was on (e.g. loosening a jammed solar panel). On Earth, Canada has been able to apply the technologies they have developed in many fields, including the medical field, and Canada is now a world leader in robotic surgery. With help from robotic technologies, surgeries utilizing these technologies are more accurate and efficient. Surgery can now also be done from a remote location because of this technology. According to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), a surgeon was able to use a "high technology, operating console" to conduct surgery on a patient in North Bay, Ontario. With further development, army doctors may eventually be able to operate on injured soldiers right on the front lines while they are safe behind the lines.
CANADARM1
The Canadarm, located on the shuttle Discovery.
The Canadarm2, located on the International Space Station, holding an astronaut up.
Commercial freeze-dried food. While it can be expensive, it is a viable option for campers and hikers who plan to travel on long expeditions.
CURIOSITY
Freeze-dried meals were invented by NASA scientists since there was no way to store regular food - it was too big, bulky, and it would spoil. Freeze-dried meals were originally made for the Apollo missions so that the astronauts would have enough food to travel long distances through space. Freeze-dried meals are now sold around the world, which can be bought in large containers (see image below). Freeze-dried food can retain up to 98% of its nutritional value while weighing 80% less.
In order to take away the moisture of food, it undergoes a process called lyophilization, though this process is somewhat expensive and complex. However, in order to achieve a similar effect, to store their food people in war-torn areas, farmers, etc., can dehydrate their food. In this process food is dried, or"smoked" by circulating hot and dry air over the food. Finally, the moist air is dried to remove any water that is left. This process can remove 95% of the food's mooisture.
The benefits of freeze-dried meals include: they are much lighter when their water content has been removed, the cost of transportation is much cheaper (you can carry more food per trip, they do not need to be refrigerated, and unlike dehydrated foods, freeze-dried foods can be quicly rehydrated (allows for faster consumption).
While many excitedly watched Curiosity's landing on Mars, others were decidedly less pleased. They questioned the reasoning behind NASA's spending of 2.5 billion on a space rover while that money could've been put to better use on Earth (healthcare and education).
NASA scientists argue that to learn more about Earth, we can no longer think of Earth by itself, and that we must look at Earth as part of the Solar System. Essam Heggy, a NASA planetary scientists stated, "[Mars] appears as Earth's twin planet... You can't learn much about the Earth unless you approach it as part of the Solar System, and learn about its position among the other planets, rather than an isolated entity." On Mars, one of Curiosity's main tasks will be to search the surface of Mars for water. Heggy, argues that technologies utilized by Curiosity can be adapted to search for water right here on Earth since we are running out of fresh water. NASA, Heggy says, has been using radar imaging technologies for over 40 years to search for water. He says the first use of this technology was not Earth, but on Venus and the most recent use of this technology was on Titan - Saturn's moon.
It is clear that without human's exploration of the cosmsos this technology, which may become useful on Earth in the future, would never have been developed.
Curiosity's missions on Mars will also give scientists a look into Earth's future. Scientists know Mars was once covered with rivers and oceans, but they all dried up. As the effects caused by globabl warming on Earth's water cycle become more drastic could our planet also lose all of its water?