Says Sunita Williams, in response to a question from the science site at the press conference held by NASA representatives who arrived at the space conference
The meeting was opened by the CEO of the Fisher Institute, Assaf Agmon: "This is the third international space conference we are holding in the name of Ilan Ramon. This year we mark five years since the Columbia shuttle disaster, with very brave partners for the third year - the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sports and the Space Agency and the Ramon family. We decided after the first conference we did three years ago that it would be a long-standing tradition because it is necessary and we have a desire to continue the legacy of Ilan Ramon and you saw today the enthusiasm of the students and the rest of the audience who were enthusiastic about what they heard and that is only half of the first day. During the week, the astronauts traveled throughout the country, meeting high school students, soldiers, students, defense industry workers, and we want all these meetings to be an inspiration to continue investing in space and an incentive for students who want to become astronauts and want to follow in the footsteps of Sunita and Mike Vanjin.
We had the privilege of asking the first question and addressed it to Sunita Williams who participated in the Boston Marathon during her stay on the International Space Station.
"Every marathon we run on Earth or anywhere else is difficult, in space it's different, luckily I don't have climbs. The idea of my participation in the marathon is that we want to make it clear to the public that they should not take their health for granted and that they should keep fit and that if they want to be astronauts. I'm glad everyone is interested in it. The very fact that you asked me the question and everywhere I go they ask me about this marathon and not about the other things I did in space, shows that I was able to achieve my goal.
Zohar Guri, editor of "Rosh Gadol" asked Williams who or what you missed during your long stay in space (195 days on the AB space station): "Apart from my husband, I missed my dog the most, going for a walk with him on the beach or in the forest and these are the things we miss in space . We don't have the feeling of the sand nor the sound of the falling leaves.
Regarding space tourism, Williams said: "The space station was not designed for tourists and therefore it is not the best place for tourists. The idea is that people from all kinds of backgrounds will be able to get to space, and we hope that one day it will be possible to get there and enjoy the view which is unbelievable and changes the attitude of life on Earth. I very much hope that the private space ventures will succeed."
A question asked by one of the journalists was what was the reason for going into space, and should Israel be a leader in the field?
Michael Lopez Alegria: "We need to go into space because it will determine the fate of the human race. Without this exit he will be destroyed."
Assaf Agmon: "The great inventions did not arise from the demands of the consumer but because people dared and decided that they were going to cross borders and look for other solutions. Space is the best example of these things. A significant part of the inventions of the 20th century came from investment in space. "
Zvi Kaplan: "Investments in civil space are not high and range around NIS 10 million per year, spread over many authorities. We think in light of the lectures that were here at the conference that it is not appropriate for a country like Israel to invest so little, especially since space is not only military, it is the future media, the whole issue of climate change, globalization, economic benefits, not everything will come only from the military field, we want to be at the top of the club. President Peres addressed this in his speech and we are in the midst of a paradigm shift
In the past the motive was political, is this still the case or is it frustrating that there is currently a crisis between the US and Russia, are we once again returning to the space race?
Lopez-Alegria: Initially, the field advanced thanks to the race, today we collaborate. But space exploration has always been involved in politics because the space industry, including the civilian one, depends on the government and that depends on the public's willingness to spend money on the field. Part of our job is to explain to the public that there is a profit in entering a space. It's like teaching the poor how to fish and not giving them prepared food. Today there is competition for resources and our job is to direct them to the field of space."
Cox: "I understand why a country would want to join the space-going countries. In the US it is one thing to start a space program for political reasons. The important thing is to let it keep running. A country cannot maintain a high level of spending. With the help of robotic tasks we can maintain a constant level over time. It is good to have a consistent level. In the US there is a misconception of how much of the expenses go to space, they don't understand that it is less than 1% of the American budget. "
Kaplan: "The space was political and will remain political. Although mainly in democracies, the public is increasingly asking why we need it, but if we scan the world, in East Asia there is a very strong resurgence of space and these countries do not intend to be second-order players, they want to engage in manned flights and in all aspects, both from the desire to lead the world but also from practical considerations. Sarabhai, the father of the Indian vision claimed that India will not reach 10% growth per year without the use of space. Europe, which is supposedly very conservative and cautious, runs two multinational projects - Galileo and the environmental project GMES, in each of which it invests many billions of euros to establish its place as a power of the 21st century, and of course the small ones want to resemble the big ones. In many countries, people treat space with less cynicism and with great national pride."
Nanotechnology in space - is there a connection between Israel and NASA in this field?
Cox: "This is an area that we are examining in several research institutes. I don't know specifically about cooperation with Israel, I know that the approach of miniaturization continues to be the key to robotic missions. The cost of launching into orbit is very high, there is a team at JPL that examines the consequences of miniaturization, as well as in areas such as inflatable spacecraft."
And we have technology for nano-satellites - as you may remember, at the morning event that we reported separately, Cox said that a significant portion of the recent graduates seeking to work as scientists and engineers at NASA experienced space thanks to the tiny satellite projects they carried out in universities and some even in high school. Also in the audience was Raz Tamir, chairman of the Association for Tiny Spacecraft, who explained that "we must reach very small sizes in order to solve the problems of reaching space. There are many, many challenges. The size of the satellite can be very small. And we in Israel are developing nano satellites, some of which are in the display below, all of which weigh less than 10 kg and can do almost anything. The project is first and foremost educational with the participation of groups from all over the country, in Ma'ale Adumim - Algorithm Reduction and in Herzliya - building a ground station. There is no better way to teach physics and mathematics than the practical way.
Rona Ramon was asked about her feelings on the fifth anniversary of the disaster: "We believe in the fulfillment of dreams, a potential destiny. When we set out on the mission we took into account that there is a risk, the experience of living in such an atmosphere of extraordinary people, people who have an ambition to explore and learn and the issue of inspiration in the education of the youth in this regard is an extraordinary experience. The connections are very special and the experience I would recommend to anyone, not necessarily on the topic of space flight. Any Israeli who leaves for a few years and comes back will appreciate what we have here. As for dealing with disasters, Ramon said: "We deal with life from a perspective. We are here in life to live it and make the best of it. We had a strong position in the family that we are retarded but optimistic. We remained optimistic."
On the same subject
The Air Force must take on involvement in the development of space capabilities
The first Israeli nano satellite will be launched at the end of 2008
The youth must be excited about the field of space - Report from the Knesset Science Committee meeting on Monday this week, with the participation of the delegation from NASA
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