Many technologies were developed or perfected in preparation for the manned flights to the moon and today they are integrated into many products in our daily lives, but the most important and most influential innovation is our recognition of the importance of protecting the environment after seeing the thin atmosphere in the photograph of the "Blue Planet"
By Daniel Brown, Lecturer in Astronomy, Nottingham Trent University.
Translation: Avi Blizovsky
NASA's Apollo program was one of the most challenging technological achievements of the 20th century. Beyond the space race and search, she contributed to several inventions and innovations that still affect our lives. But at the same time, some myths have developed regarding the question of which technologies exactly are the result of the program.
My favorite myth is that Teflon was developed by NASA. This seems logical, as it is a very heat resistant material - something that space missions require. However, it was accidentally invented in 1938 by Roy Plunkett of the DuPont Company when he was researching materials for the then developing refrigerator industry. Velcro is another false myth. It was invented in the XNUMXs by George de Mestral but its enormous utility in everyday life in space cannot be denied. Imagine how you could secure your attachment to the bed while sleeping in zero gravity.
As it has now been fifty years since the Apollo 11 moon landing, it is a good time to shed some light on what technological innovations are the result of the space race and what are not. Here is a list of some developments from a long list. Some were not directly created by NASA, but might never have been revealed if not for the enormous help and promotion they received from the space agency.
1. Water purification
NASA developed a small and light unit, which purified the water in the manned space flights. It worked reliably without the need to use silver ions (atoms that had lost electrons) to kill bacteria. It turned out to be very useful for purifying water on Earth, in this case without the need for chlorine since chlorine is broken down by sunlight or heat, and the eye stinging problems in swimming pools are also solved.
NASA's system is currently used to keep the water in the cooling towers clean, and it helps support air conditioning around the world and has even begun to use it to clean pools. Carefree Clearwater, Ltd., has implemented it to clean spa facilities and swimming pools across the US.
2. Breathing masks
Breathing systems used by firefighters around the world originated at NASA. Although NASA itself did not invent them, the agency was responsible for making them easy to use. In 1971, many of the American firefighters had to carry 30 kg of equipment which led some of them to even abandon their systems to reach the fire.
Using its experience in developing astronaut equipment for the moon landing, NASA collaborated with other US government agencies to develop better breathing systems in the years to come. The improved system was lighter, it was also easy to wear and it also includes a face mask with a wide field of vision.
3. Polymer fabric
Polymers are materials made of long chains of molecules, and they tend to have impressive properties such as rigidity and heat resistance. American chemist Carl Marvell was the first to synthesize a polybenzimidazole polymer in the 1s. It was not developed for NASA but it has made great use of it. The reason for this is that the space agency was looking to develop non-flammable and stable textile fibers under a wide range of temperatures - from liquid hydrogen to molten gold. It was following the Apollo XNUMX disaster where all three crew members were killed on the ground due to flammable material igniting.
The International Association of Firefighters then partnered with NASA in Project FIRES in 1971 to incorporate the new material into firefighters' protective gear. The polymer found its way into US fire services in the 70s and 80s to reinforce their protective clothing. It is still being used in new ways in various fields including disaster first responders, motor sports, military and industry.
4. Wireless devices
The Apollo astronauts wanted to return rocks to Earth and make some measurements while on the moon without connecting to a power source. For this they needed efficient wireless devices. Fortunately, the Black & Decker company developed some initial products of this type but in 1961 NASA contracted the Martin Marietta Company to help develop custom tools for the lunar missions such as hammers and a drill
It is also quite a challenging task to turn screws when floating in a spaceship in zero gravity without the astronaut turning as well. This led to the development of screws designed for zero gravity.
So NASA helped initiate an important innovation of wireless devices, which later moved to vacuum cleaners but also to medical equipment.
However, as a cultural astronomer, I like to sit back and think about what other material inventions manned spaceflight and the moon landings have given us. I personally think that the development of new and innovative concepts of thinking about us and the environment was central to our modern society. The overview effect - the global view of the Earth from space, and in particular the image of the "blue planet" had a decisive influence on the establishment of the environmental movement.
Manned spaceflight cannot always be measured in terms of its material impact, but it should also be evaluated in terms of how it has changed our thinking.
To the article on THE CONVERSATION website
More of the topic in Hayadan:
4 תגובות
The esteemed author forgot the urban legend: space engineers invented the pencil because a fountain pen or ballpoint pen does not function in a gravity-free environment. It is true that the pencil that needs to be sharpened from time to time was invented by Russian engineers, but the "Chinograph" that is so loved by Kambatzim in Tehel, is an American invention (despite the Chinese name).
It's a ball!
Ori,
It's a disc, not a ball
In the "Blue Planet" photograph above, as in many similar photographs, not only of the Earth, the average light density is uniform across the image of the sphere, from the center to the periphery. There is no real explanation for this in the scientific literature. There is no explanation at all.