By Gabby Martin
Self-inflicted perils are even more worrying. The nuclear arsenals represent a serious hazard, with thousands of warheads available to rogue nations. AI and terrorists keep us on alert. Existential risk scholars like Nick Bostrom and Toby Ord put the likelihood of a full nuclear cataclysm in this decade at about 1 in 1,000 sufficiently large to warrant serious consideration, as such a war could affect nuclear fallout leading to mass starvation. The threat of man-made pandemics made a danger by the advances in biology is equally terrifying. Toby Ord places the risk of such a pandemic in this decade at roughly 1 in 30. Climate disruptions, biodiversity loss, and geopolitical instabilities further multiply such dangers. According to Ord’s book
The Precise, long-term survival of the Homo sapiens might depend on the development and establishing of self-sustaining off-world habitat. Being multiplanetary is no longer a fantasy it is a realistic insurance policy against the collapse of our civilization. Once the biosphere is too fragile, we need options to ensure long-term resilience.
The human drive to explore is natural. From the first us of tools for homo habilis to the first powered flight by the Wright brothers, to the first steps by Neil Armstrong on the moon, all these have broadened humanity. Space exploration is the natural extension of those discoveries.
Since its creation in 1958, NASA has jump started the development of over 2,000 documented spinoffs that have changed life on Earth. In the 2023 fiscal year, the technology transfer activities of NASA generated 1564 new technology reports, 40 new patent applications, 69 new patents and 5277 software usage agreements. Such innovations are proving investment in frontier science offers greater returns than expenses.
Many innovations have transformed our healthcare. Memory foam beds are now readily available, an original innovation for cushioning the astronauts on take-off and landing. These are now common in mattresses, hospital beds, and sports equipment to avoid sores and impact injuries. The infrared ear thermometer, which originated is an original design from the technology for measuring used to measure the temperature of stars, planets, can now measure body the temperature in a fast and non-invasive manner in a medical setting. The lightweight material and cordless surgery tools derived from the engineering approaches in space suits have made the operation rooms more efficient and result in more favorable surgery outcomes. The NASA money endowed research has contributed in the transformation to implants that has helped tens of thousands of people to get their hearing back.
Consumer Technologies has also been shaped for the better. CMOS image sensor, originally created for image from space telescopes and planetary rovers now a part of every smartphone camera and DSLR and medical imaging equipment. Without those modern innovations the photography, video calling and millions of diagnostic tools would be nonexistent. GPS geolocation is the outcome of the research done in navigation for NASA, in the background is our ride sharing software, precision agriculture, and emergency response around the world. Applications of utility in public safety and environment protection are also remarkable. Purifying our air system initially developed to be used on the International Space Station (ISS) is now available in hospitals, schools and public buildings to reduce the airborne viruses as in the case during the Covid 19 pandemic. With the development in purifying the waters, the clean drinking water can be provided in rural and third world communities. The freeze-drying food saving method that was developed for food to be used in space now is used for emergency rations and regular consumer products. Firefighting equipment including advanced oxygen masks and the heat-resistant materials have saved countless lives. The aviation improvements in the anti-icing system, the digital winglets and light composite material decreased the emissions and the operation cost. Even the athletic performance benefits from the research conducted by NASA for space exploration. The LZR racer swimsuit was developed based on the research of fluid dynamics from NASA this helped athletes to break multiple world records.
Economic wise, those innovations bring back several times of economic value from NASA’s budget. One dollar invested into NASA translates to several dollars’ worth of economic activity and supports industries worth hundreds of billions every year. The baby formula enriched with the omegas 3, originally developed for the long duration space flight nutrition, was the start of vertical farming that was designed for the future Mars missions but now used in sustainable agriculture here on Earth to maintain our modern lives
